Premier Doug Ford is making an announcement about Ontario Place’s future on Friday morning.
According to Ford’s itinerary, he will be joined by Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, and Mayor John Tory to make the announcement about Ontario Place.
Earlier in July, The Globe and Mail had a report stating that three companies had won bids to help redevelop the site.
Back in October, an initiative was formed to protect Ontario Place from possible future demolition and privatization.
The Future of Ontario Place Project was launched by the World Monuments Fund (WWF) in collaboration with John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto (Daniels Faculty), and Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO).
The projects wanted to the protect the landmark from potential demolition and privatization, through a web portal and social media campaign that will allow for more recognition and appreciation of the site.
In 2012, decreasing revenues led the provincial government to close large portions of the site.
And in 2019, the initiative says that the provincial government launched a global call for developers to submit proposals to “comprehensively develop and reinvent the site,” opening up “the possibility of privatization, reinvention and demolition.”
Ontario Place has been around since 1969, and is considered to be innovative in its design with the steel-and-aluminum pods which are suspended over the water, and its signature geodesic dome, the Cinesphere, which houses the world’s first IMAX theatre.
Ford’s announcement is expected at 10 am.
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