PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
General Motors plans 7 acre
downtown Toronto complex
the site will begin later this month,
with construction expected to take
two years.
The project is designed by Quad-
rangle Architects.
Province, developer
reach air rights deal for
$102 million Mimico
GO Station redevelopment
General Motors is preparing to
build a seven-acre complex in
downtown Toronto.
The development, called the
Toronto GM Mobility Campus, will
combine research and development
facilities with vehicle sales.
With frontage along Lakeshore
Blvd. East, the south half of the
seven-acre property will house a
160,000-sq.-ft. building comprised
of a lower level podium that will rise
to five storeys, with three wings of-
fering panoramic views of Lake On-
tario and downtown Toronto.
The complex will include offices,
R&D facilities for urban mobility, GM
vehicle sales and service area, and
a public experience area showcas-
ing innovations in mobility, includ-
ing electric and autonomous
vehicles, e-bikes and car-sharing.
According to CBC, demolition at
PAGE 6 – NOVEMBER 2018 – The GTA Construction Report
The provincial government has
reached an agreement with a
private developer to rebuild the
Mimico GO Station in Etobicoke in
exchange for development rights
above the station.
Developer Vandyk will refurbish
and enhance the existing site, build-
ing a mixed-use project.
The government news release
did not specify the expected devel-
opment value or other details about
what will be built on the site. How-
ever, CBC news reports the project
has an estimated $102 million
value. The station will include a new
station building, pedestrian tunnels
and elevators, refurbished plat-
forms and new entrances to the
station and below grade parking. In
exchange for development rights,
Vandyk will pay for all construction
costs for the main station building,
new parking and Greenway at the
station. “We are very excited about the
opportunity at Mimico GO Station,”
Phil Verster said in a statement.
“Bringing a new station into a com-
munity at little or no cost to the tax-
payer is something that has great
potential. It also makes good busi-
ness sense. Metrolinx continues to
be open to innovative, joint ap-
proaches with the private sector
that reduce the cost to taxpayers
and also provide efficient, safe and
affordable transportation options.”
Ontario’s NDP asked for greater
transparency and for affordable
housing to be including in the de-
velopment. "Any deal regarding this site,
which has been the source of scan-
dal in the past, must be absolutely
transparent. Furthermore, such a
deal must include affordable hous-
ing, which is sorely needed in this
community," said NDP transit critic
Jessica Bell.
The scandal Bell referred to was
an earlier deal with another devel-
oper to construct a 242-unit condo
building with direct access to the
GO Station. Metrolinx backed out
of the deal in 2012, and in 2017, the
development was placed into court-
ordered readership, after trade con-
tractors filed liens on the project,
which stalled when it was about 15
per cent completed. About 200
condo buyers were to receive de-
posit refunds.