Canoe Landing Centre
45 Fort York Blvd, Toronto, Ontario
Type: New construction
Size: 169,305 sf
Project Cost: $67,100,500
Development Partners:
- Toronto District School Board
- Toronto Catholic District School Board
- City of Toronto
Status: Opened in 2020
Description
The Canoe Landing Centre (Block 31) combines social, recreational and educational facilities in a high-density urban neighbourhood. The centre includes elementary schools for 550 children, a community centre, and a childcare centre for 54 children. Notable features are a green roof, shared gym, separate outdoor play areas for each group, with energy efficiency elements.
Land
Canadian National Railways (CNR) transferred ownership to City of Toronto. The City entered into agreements in 1994 with the Canadian National Railways (CN, succeeded by Concord Adex and Wittington Developments), the TDSB and the TCDSB for the purpose of collecting development levies to fund the construction of a community centre, a child care centre and an elementary school for each of the TDSB and the TCDSB. The City has entered into an agreement with TDSB and TCDSB to develop the site.
Financing / Funding
The City collected development levy revenues from all development within the Railway Lands Central and West to finance the construction of a community centre and elementary schools for both of the TDSB and the TCDSB. In addition, the City received Section 37 funds dedicated to building a child care centre on the site.
Development levies were used to fund the construction of this facility. The levy funding sources include $28,150,893 from Parks, Forest, & Recreation Development Charges, $3,196,761 from Child Care Services Development Chargers reserve fund, and $35,752,773 from TDSB/TCDSB Schools Contribution. The total funds were $67,100,427.
User Interaction/Partnership Framework
The City of Toronto, TDSB and TCDSB entered a partnership to construct the centre. There was huge community demand for a community centre, as most of the railway lands were fully built with a community of 20,000 people without access to local schools, child care and public recreation facilities.
In 2014, a Development Agreement was executed between the City, The TDSB, and the TCDSB to define the matter in which the centre (“Block 31 facility”) would be designed and constructed. The agreement included a shared facilities agreement covering the ownership, use, maintenance and repair of the shared use areas, a shared-use park agreement, and a ground lease from the City as landlord to the City and School Boards as collectively as tenant.
There is service coordination and building efficiencies through this partnership. The shared spaces for the users, including access to gymnasium, washrooms, change rooms, and family conveniences like adjacent recreation, children care and elementary school spaces. There is shared use of the park (Canoe Landing Park), reduction in the building footprint, and reduction of common spaces such as corridors, lobbies, vestibules, mechanical and electrical spaces, maintenance, IT, AV and other. The cost to operate the schools and the childcare centre is typically lower than the City standard due to lower maintenance and repair centres. The operating costs are anticipated to be lower than the City of Toronto’s average due to sharing the gymnasia with the TDSB/TCDSB.
Questions?
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