Estimated costs for Toronto's Rail Deck Park rise to $1.66 billion
City staff say funds from developers could pay a significant portion of the costs for the proposed 21-acre park called a "now-or-never opportunity" by Mayor John Tory but did not release details about how much money different financing methods might raise.

Thestar.com
Jennifer Pagliaro
Nov. 21, 2017

The plan for a signature park backed by Mayor John Tory over the downtown rail corridor is now estimated to cost $1.66 billion.

City staff are looking to push forward with design of the 21-acre (8.5-hectare) park, which is now at a very preliminary stage, saying a financing plan could see charges the city collects from new development and funds already collected from developers pay a significant portion of the costs. The current timeline projects construction some time beyond 2019.

But on Tuesday, staff would not discuss details of how much the different financing methods being considered could potentially raise. The strategy relies, at least in part, on contributions from local businesses and corporations that are not yet secured and have not yet been explored.

“The importance of Rail Deck Park is thinking about the city 25 years from now,” said acting chief planner Gregg Lintern. “We’ve got to imagine a city where a substantially increased number of people are going to live here, perhaps double the number of people we’ve got in the downtown right now. We’ve got to think about the livability for those people.”

Staff have identified a “priority phase 1” option for the park that could be built first -- a 9.5-acre stretch from Spadina Ave. to the existing Puente de Luz pedestrian bridge, at a cost of $872 million. This would have a significant impact in a downtown core currently lacking in parks, staff say.

Staff believe a significant portion of the funds can be collected from ongoing development.

Provincial legislation allows cities such as Toronto to collect land, or cash in lieu of land, for the creation and development of parks from developers seeking to build beyond the allowed height and density of a site.

Staff are currently reassessing the cap on the rates developers are charged to see if more funds could be raised through that process during an unprecedented development boom in the city.

Deputy city manager John Livey noted there are 180,000 new units coming to the downtown core by 2041, with 99,000 units already in the pipeline.

Cash-in-lieu collected from developers that has not yet been spent and can only be spent on parks is held in reserve funds. But staff would not say how much from those reserves could be used towards Rail Deck Park, or how much they forecast will be drawn from future development.

“We’ve seen increases in height that haven’t provided ... cash-in-lieu for parkland and I think there’s an opportunity to capture some of that,” Livey told reporters after a briefing. “Really it’s the last opportunity for a large park in the downtown and we should not let that opportunity pass.”

A report says staff will also seek “commercial contributions” as part of the financing strategy.

Livey noted the Blue Jays organization recently sent a letter expressing support of an animated public space that is proposed to eventually extend to Blue Jays Way.

“Surely they’ll support us in some fashion to help that become a reality,” Livey said. The letter did not specifically speak to financial contributions.

In a statement, Tory called the park a “now-or-never opportunity.”

“Today’s staff report demonstrates that this vision is both necessary and feasible, and can be largely paid for through the growth that continues to happen in our city, meaning that the cost will not be carried by people’s property taxes,” the statement said.

An application from a consortium of developers to build a deck over the rail corridor but substantially occupy it with eight condo and office towers, along with a smaller, 12-acre park, presented a question of ownership of the air rights above the corridor.

While the developers, which call themselves P.I.T.S. Developments Inc., say they have a conditional agreement to purchase the air rights from the rail companies that hold them now, city staff reported Tuesday that this transaction has not yet taken place and the titles are still in the rail companies’ names.

The report does not comment on what challenges might exist if the city would have to purchase the air rights from the developers. The cost of acquiring the air rights from the rail companies is assumed in the $1.66-billion cost, but staff would not say what that specific cost is.

Executive committee will consider the report on Nov. 28.