Michael Lewis
Special to Ontario Construction Report
A Toronto city councillor has issued a callout to philanthropists to help salvage a $421 million plan to redevelop the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts after the city’s executive committee approved a staff proposal to scrap the project in favour of repairs to the aging facility.
“The recommendations in front of us are reasonable given the reality that we find ourselves in,” Ward 12 Toronto—St. Paul’s councillor Josh Matlow said at the committee’s Oct. 1 meeting.
Toronto, which faces a $26 billion infrastructure maintenance shortfall over the next decade, has identified more than $600 million in savings to balance a 2024 budget that it says protects services while investing in transit, housing, and policing.
“That being said, though,” Matlow added, “the vision for the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is beautiful and the reimagination is extraordinary. I would love to see more public spaces designed in inspiring ways.
“I know that there are philanthropists and proponents of this vision who would like to see it succeed,” he said, suggesting that they have until recommendations of the committee are brought before the full council on Oct. 9.
He said any private sector plan to salvage the revitalization even after costs have risen sharply should be considered before council makes the final decision.
And while Mayor Olivia Chow said there is always reason for hope, the committee approved amended recommendations in a report by Toronto’s CFO and Treasurer, Stephen Conforti, “that the redevelopment project does not proceed to the detailed design phase.” Funding would instead be dedicated to repairing the facility and updating its accessibility at a price tag of between $70 million and $80 million over the next decade.
“With a financing strategy that relies significantly on financial support from the federal and provincial governments and third-party fundraising, which are not yet secured, this project presents a considerable financial risk for the city,” Conforti said in the report.
The centre, Toronto’s official project commemorating the 1967 Canadian centennial, opened in 1970 after eight years of planning and is now one of three theatres programmed and operated by city agency TO Live.
With the structure requiring major upgrades — submissions to the city argued that it is beyond repair — the city in early-2020 approved a redevelopment dubbed STLC Next to include two performance halls along with creative spaces and studios, rehearsal rooms, and informal gathering areas. It would feature a glass facade that would wrap around the existing structure and include Indigenous design elements.
Hariri Pontarini, LMN Architects, Tawaw Collective and Smoke Architecture were selected for the project in 2023 after an international design competition. Their winning design would see the four-storey, 175,000-square-foot building reimagined to transform the downtown St. Lawrence neighborhood into an arts district and cultural hub.
TO Live said the aim of the design was to be “radically accessible,” with aspects of the project to create an open flow between the theatre and a public space on Scott Street — a sort of extension of the theatre that would offer public programs.
The main auditorium lined in wood would include about 950 seats and feature a floor system and acoustic doors that allow other configurations, while the second and third floors would include studios, rehearsal rooms, a 400-seat hall and a green terrace. The goal was to create the first zero-carbon performing arts centre in the country.
Construction was to begin by 2026, with completion slated for 2030.
Council had approved $8.5 million in funding to complete the design phase, reallocating money that was originally intended for repairs. The project would require $41.9 million in funds planned to meet state of good repair requirements and $371 million in costs that would need funding from all three levels of government along with private entities.
During the 2024 budget consultation council requested that TO Live report on the updated costs following the design phase. Elements of the report remain confidential, but it showed project costs climbing to $421 million.