In the new Toronto, no space is too small to go unused. The latest example is unfolding on the southeast corner of Front and Yonge, where changes now under way will soon bring the busy downtown site into public use.

The spot in question isn’t large, but until recently, it didn’t exist. The idea is to create a new plaza that will extend south from Front at street level. It will continue all the way to the north wall of the L Tower, which occupies land directly south of Sony Centre.

When complete, the new amenity will be fully accessible. Its designer, Montreal landscape architect Claude Cormier, envisions an outdoor room filled with tables and chairs and sculpture. The space beneath will replace back-of-house facilities lost to the 60-storey landmark tower that now sits on the corner of Yonge and The Esplanade.

Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, best known here for the Royal Ontario Museum’s Crystal, the condo was a presence on the skyline even before it opened. Its distinctive curved façade makes it hard to ignore; so does the unfortunate blue metal cladding that couldn’t look cheaper or less appealing.

“The project was loaded with constraints,” Cormier explains. “But the more constraints, the more I like it. The challenge was to pay homage to both (Peter) Dickinson” — who designed the Sony Centre — “and Libeskind. The space had to incorporate the existing geometries and the architectural compositions of the two buildings. It wasn’t just about putting in plants.”

As Cormier tells it, one of the main constraints was that the Sony Centre is a heritage site. Municipal officials were adamant that it be treated with the respect due all historical locales in Toronto. And yet, the original landscape scheme they were so worried about has vanished beneath the new structure.

If this is what Toronto planners consider heritage protection, may the gods have mercy on the city. In fact, the terraced landscape that has disappeared, though beautiful, was never quite a part of the larger context. Still, the confusion that attends all city decisions was much in evidence throughout this project. But for the leadership of Councillor Pam McConnell, it most likely wouldn’t be happening.

“The original landscape was introverted,” Cormier points out. “The new one will be extroverted. Public space must be a part of daily life.”

This idea remains difficult for some, especially in a city historically suspicious of any occasion or space that encourages people to sit and enjoy themselves. But wandering around the evolving downtown core, one sees any number of examples of Torontonians’ hunger to do just that. Take a look at the immensely popular outdoor food market at Union Station. Open Streets, though limited by political timidity to a few hours two Sundays a year, attracts hordes.

“Good design is good business,” argues the developer behind the L Tower, Alfredo Romano. “All developers have realized that they’re not gonna get anywhere now without the best design.”

Many might not agree that Libeskind’s tower represents architectural excellence, but clearly Romano has gone out of his way to avoid mediocrity. So has Cormier. Indeed, just east along Front, he’s also working on a scheme for Berczy Park that includes an enormous fountain with 27 cast-iron dogs — and one cat — each with water shooting from its open mouth. When finally finished, it will be a happy alternative to statues of Queen Victoria and abstract bronzes that relate to nothing.

When the new plaza opens next summer, it will give neighbours, audiences and visitors another way to love Toronto. On the other hand, this city’s leaders, apostles of cheapness deathly afraid of anything “fancy pants,” will hate what they see. It might make voters expect more.

Christopher Hume can be reached at chume@thestar.ca