Six months ago, Oxford Properties unveiled plans for their recent high potential purchase, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Oxford has been seeking permission to completely redevelop the Convention Centre, with the addition of high-rise buildings in the form of a hotel, condominiums, and office space. If approved, the development would feature 600 new condominium suites, more than 1,000 new hotel rooms, 2.5 million square feet of office space, and upwards of a million square feet of retail.

Oxford Place and the downtown Toronto casino

One aspect of the proposal that captured the attention of many was the inclusion of Toronto's first downtown casino.

“Although the casino itself represents less than 10% of the project’s area, it is a necessary and essential catalyst for the entire development and is a use that will be complementary to Toronto’s core in the way that we have designed and conceived it.,” Michael Kitt, Executive Vice President of Oxford, said in a statement last October.

Will Oxford Place move forward without a casino?

Toronto City Council recently voted against a casino in the downtown core, so that leaves the current proposal for Oxford Place up in the air. Does Oxford Properties have a back-up plan?

Months ago, Blair Hutcheson, President and CEO of Oxford, told the Toronto Star, “If they choose not to have (a casino), let’s move on with life. I think it would make all of our lives a lot easier, frankly ... There’s a lot of unsavory behaviour that goes on here, and I hope that you won’t see any of that from us...We’re not saying we wouldn’t do anything there; we’re not saying that it’s this or nothing. We’re saying it is a catalyst to help us accelerate it and to help us spend money on things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to spend on, particularly a convention centre.”

What should be done at the site?

So the question remains, what will happen to Oxford’s plans at the Toronto Convention Centre? Will we still see that hotel and condominium project? Will we still see the new office towers and redeveloped convention centre? Or will Oxford come up with an entirely new proposal for the site?

What would you like to see on the huge piece of land? The location is amazing and space is plentiful – what are some other possibilities?

Let us know in the comments!