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Metrolinx is proposing to expropriate an orphan corner of Fort York National Historic Site for the construction of a hydro substation as part of the Ontario Line subway. It’s the triangle of land (centre of image) bounded by Strachan Avenue on the east, the Gardiner to the south and the rail corridor – where the subway will emerge above ground – to the north. Under the Gardiner here are some bricked-in storage rooms of Exhibition Place that were used by the Bentway in October for its Pulse Topology installation.
On the east side of Strachan is the Bentway’s new Strachan Gate stage and event space. An old Grand Trunk Railway cut runs just beside it and under the Strachan bridge – making a perfect future pathway linking Garrison Common to Manitoba Drive. The draft plans of Metrolinx show an allowance for a multi-use pathway along the edge of the triangle and both The Friends of Fort York and the Bentway will keep an eye on it. Aerial photo courtesy City of Toronto
An esports complex with a 7,000 seat auditorium and a 30-storey hotel is coming to Exhibition Place. Facing south over Lake Shore Blvd, it will rise beside the Officers’ Quarters of threadbare Stanley Barracks on a site the Exhibition Place master plan has earmarked for building. An organization called Overactive Media has a lease, expects City Council approval this year, and ambitiously aims to open in 2025.
Overactive is the parent of Toronto Defiant and Toronto Ultra – City that specializes in stadiums. They faced the Design Review Panel in early May and, among a variety of concerns, the DRP “felt that there was little to no sensitivity given to the barracks” (according to urbanToronto.ca) by the original proposal. This is the revision, released on October 29, which does indeed better connect the heritage building to its imposing new neighbour. The quarters are leased to Hotel X (just out of sight to the right) and, although they’ve gained back their original door to the lake and a thoughtful plaza to the north, the building has been dormant since the hotel opened. Rendering by Populous
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