Ontario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled the final designs for a reimagining of Ontario Place, the popular tourist attraction on Toronto’s waterfront. Ford said the redevelopment will create more than 5,000 jobs and will welcome millions of visitors every year.
Some of the new additions include a large spa and a waterpark, all sitting around glass buildings and green walkways. Familiar sights such as the Cinesphere will remain. There will also be a 400 million dollar revenue-generating parking structure and a new state-of-the-art Ontario Science Centre, along with a redesigned amphitheater
Ford was painting quite a scene about what the new Ontario Place will be.
“You can just imagine people strolling along the shoreline at sunset, enjoying stunning beaches and wetlands, canoeing, boating and kayaking along our beautiful waters. And taking in concerts, markets and festivals,” Ford said. “This is going to be spectacular, something this country’s never seen.”
Ford said the new parking area will be especially accessible for school bus trips, and an expanded rapid transit will be just steps away. He said it’s all designed to offer a world-class destination that would attract as many as six million people a year.
He said the investments in Ontario Place will create five thousand jobs in the construction and tourism sectors. The more than two and a quarter billion-dollar redevelopment is not without its critics, though. But Ford insists it will pay for itself.
Construction is set to begin next year, with the opening projected by 2029.
