Spanning four volumes totalling more than 1,500 pages, Sidewalk Labs’ master plan for a smart-city development on Toronto’s waterfront has the look of an encyclopedia set.

For many closely watching the proposed development, however, the plan comes with as many questions as it does answers.

The Master Innovation and Development Plan, titled Toronto Tomorrow: A New Approach for Inclusive Growth, offers a vision of how the Google sister company aims to transform the area through innovation and technology.

We look into some of the biggest questions that emerge from the plan, including how far the smart city will stretch, how much will the government pony up in payouts and just who will oversee the promised land of innovation.

1. How far will the Sidewalk stretch?

Monday’s report made clear that Sidewalk Labs is eyeing much more land than the 12 acres in Quayside put in play by Waterfront Toronto’s initial Request for Proposals (RFP).

Sidewalk and its local partners plan to develop the western part of Villiers Island — city-owned land not part of the existing deal — which would be home to an expanded Google Canada headquarters as well a blend of commercial and residential space.

Those developments are the first steps to creating a 190-acre Innovative Development and Economic Acceleration (IDEA) district.

In an open letter, Waterfront Toronto Board Chair Stephen Diamond called the concept of the IDEA district “premature.”

“Waterfront Toronto must first see its goals and objectives achieved at Quayside before deciding whether to work together in other areas,” Diamond’s letter reads.

2. Who’s in charge of the IDEA district?

The IDEA district has the power to galvanize economic growth and foster innovation, the master plan says. But its success will depend on who’s overseeing it.

The proposal calls for the appointment of “a public administrator that can prioritize innovation and new approaches without compromising the public interest,” the report said.

The administrator’s responsibilities would include steering the district’s innovation strategies and certifying development applications before they’re submitted to the city.

Who would wear that crown is unclear, however. The master plan says Waterfront Toronto is well positioned for the role, but also suggested the responsibilities could fall on another public entity or a new agency altogether.

“We don’t know who is intended to be the public administrator, how many people sit on (the body) who appoints them, and how it fits in with the existing legal framework, and where the City of Toronto and the province fit into that structure,” Diamond said.

3. Cutting a cheque for performance?

Sidewalk Labs says it and its local partners will put $1.3 billion of funding and financing into the waterfront transformation.

It expects to get money out of the project, as well.

Sidewalk’s revenue sources would include rent and condo sales, as well as income from its tall timber factory that will produce the material for the tech district’s wood buildings.

Sidewalk is also looking for government payouts to compensate the company for “accelerating development on the eastern waterfront,” the master plan said. These “performance payments” would kick in after Quayside and Villiers West are built and certain benchmarks are met in the areas of “job creation, sustainability, mobility, affordability and urban innovation.”

The master plan proposes three payments in 2028, 2032 and 2035. The exact terms of the payouts — including how much each would be — would be determined through negotiations.

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