Plans to build a four-pad hockey arena in Toronto's port lands will be finalized this summer in a public consultation with neighbours and stakeholders before coming to the August meeting of Toronto's Executive Committee.
That was the word from the city's Community Development and Recreation Committee Wednesday, May 26 as they got their first public discussion about plans for the $34 million waterfront facility. The sports facility has generated controversy over the past few weeks, as a plan emerged to build the four-pad arena at the corner of the Don Roadway and Commissioners Street. That plan would have seen a giant parking lot stretching south to the shipping channel - in a configuration that critics said would be better in a suburban environment than as a signature piece in Toronto's waterfront. Architect Ken Greenberg quit the project, saying the four pads needed to be stacked to two storeys to make a more compact and appropriate design.That design is now on the table. But the committee heard that stacking the pads could drive the cost far beyond its budget. Parks general manager Brenda Patterson told the committee a second-storey pad costs 50 per cent more to build than one on ground level.Designers are also looking at moving some of the approximately 200 parking spaces - a number revised down from earlier reports of more than 400 parking spaces - underneath the structure.When everything is tallied in, Patterson said it would be very difficult to build the project for under $34 million, and even if the city found room to finance it, the city would be hard-pressed to allocate it to that single arena."We have arenas, pools, community centres, a whole host of infrastructure needs and we would need to make sure those needs were addressed," said Patterson. "Right now there is a limited amount of funding in parks, forestry and recreation's capital budget."The committee also dealt with the location. Several members wanted to know whether other sites - such as the decommissioned Hearn generating station - might be a better location. But staff said the spot would need sewer service and a wider road. And they pointed out the Commissioners site is convenient to the Don Valley Parkway, so the facility might serve more of a regional area.Local councillor Paula Fletcher said she supported the location."I think this site as a transition piece between the major film production facility to the north and residential to the south is not a bad plan - it's not a bad thing to go there," she said. "I will say there's a huge opportunity here."Several deputations said the site would act as an important pressure valve for the growing demand for ice time."The lack of affordable ice owned by the city is a problem for families," said Roanne Argyle, whose daughter plays in the East York Girl's Hockey League. "We think the construction of a four-pad facility in south central Toronto will provide many things, including providing hockey clubs with a first class facility for tournaments - and it will act as a pressure valve for the community."The matter will next be coming to Toronto's Executive Committee in August - at which point councillors will be asked to approve a final design for the project, and also have a clearer idea of the final cost.