New, innovative public space planned for under the Gardiner Expressway
By Lucas on Nov 17, 2015
The debate over the fate of the east side of the Gardiner Expressway was highly controversial and its future was unsure for a long period of time. We can’t say the same about the west side of the Gardiner.
Mayor John Tory, Waterfront Toronto CEO John Campbell, Toronto City Councillors Joe Cressy (Ward 20) and Mike Layton (Ward 19) and Lai-King Hum, President of the CityPlace Residents Association just announced that through a private partnership with philanthropists Judy and Wil Matthew, Waterfront Toronto will build a large, innovative public space under the Gardiner.
For now, it’s going by the name “Project: Under Gardiner.” The plan calls for 10 acres of land from just west of Strachan to Spadina Avenue to be developed into public space and 1.75 kilometers of multi-use trails.
This “outdoor living room” will be frequented by over 70,000 locals from Liberty Village, Niagara, Fort York, CityPlace, Bathurst Quay, and Wellington Place, plus all the tourists that visit Toronto’s waterfront every day.
The space will be divided into “rooms,” based on the concrete post-and-beam structure, which allows for 55 rooms. The use of each room is still to be determined through community meetings, but the possibilities are really limitless. Music, food, theatre, visual arts, education, dance, sports, recreations - nothing is off the table.
The 1.75 kilometers of trail will create an easier way to access a number of attractions along the waterfront and south end of the downtown core. The trail will connect Molson Ampitheatre, to BMO Field, to Harbourfront Centre, Ripley’s Aquarium, CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Air Canada Centre, and the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal.
Ken Greenberg, renowned city planner and urban designer is leading the design team, which is comprised of Adam Nicklin and Marc Ryan of PUBLIC WORK, an urban design and landscape architecture studio.
A naming campaign, “Reclaim the Name,” will start in December, which will encourage the public to come up with the best name for the collection of rooms under the Gardiner. Construction is scheduled to commence next summer, with Phase 1 of the project being completed sometime in 2017.
Aside from this being a very exciting project for the City of Toronto, it demonstrates the creativity and possibilities that come to life when public and private sectors collaborate. This could spark the beginning of a more popular and streamlined way of designing and building our city’s public spaces.
We are really looking forward to watching this project unfold. Stay tuned, we’ll be keeping a close eye on it!
