The long-awaited revitalization of Ontario Place doesn’t have to start with the roar of bulldozers demolishing what’s already there.

In fact, it most decidedly shouldn’t.

Instead, the rejuvenation of the once-bustling lakeside park should start with a plan that first and foremost preserves the newly renovated Cinesphere and iconic pavilion pods.

They are after all, the heart of the site designed by famed architect Eberhard Zeidler.

Mayor John Tory, urban planners, architects and many Torontonians are united in that view. But it seems that preserving the landmark structures has already been ruled out by the Ford government, not surprisingly without any public consultation.

Indeed, Tourism Minister Michael Tibollo’s recent call to developers for proposals to renew Ontario Place specifically includes the pods and Cinesphere as sites open for redevelopment.

Says Toronto architect Michael McClelland: “It’s like developing Niagara Falls and saying, ‘You don’t have to keep the falls’.”

It’s important to realize that the buildings are architecturally significant, even if they’re not as old as those in the Distillery District or as historically important as Old City Hall or Queen’s Park.

Cinesphere, for example, was the first permanent IMAX theatre in the world. And the iconic pavilion pods were futuristically designed to look as if they’re floating over the site. They’re part of our history.

True, the park has been shamefully neglected in recent years. Much of it is rundown and needs a lot of work.

But it shouldn’t be treated simply as a demolition site.

Sadly, though, it sounds like that could well happen. While Ontario Place is identified under the Ontario Heritage Act as a provincially significant heritage property, it’s not clear that would stop the Ford government from allowing the buildings to be torn down.

Alarm bells have been ringing since Jim Ginou, a friend of Premier Doug Ford who is the newly named chair of the board of Ontario Place, said nothing on the site “can be saved.”

He added, rather ominously, that that means Ontario Place “can be rebuilt in any way that Ford wants it to be rebuilt.”

And what is the premier’s vision? So far it seems pretty much on track with the Disneyland-ish one he envisioned for the Port Lands back in 2011 when he was a city councillor. That called for the world’s biggest Ferris wheel, a megamall and casino.

Now, to almost no one’s surprise, the call for new proposals suggests shopping venues — which sounds an awful lot like code for Ford’s megamall idea.

And, although city council voted against the idea of a waterfront gambling venue in 2013, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli recently said the government won’t “close the door” on the possibility of putting a casino on the site.

Further, if anyone thought Ginou was speaking out of turn, that notion died after QP Briefing reported this week on a closed-door meeting Tibollo held with tourism industry representatives. He echoed Ginou’s remarks and resurrected another of Ford’s old ideas for the Port Lands: building a monorail.

That raises fears that the province is prepared to deep-six the long-planned Waterfront LRT that will serve several burgeoning neighbourhoods like Liberty Village and Cityplace.

What can the city do? Apparently nothing. The lands are provincially owned.

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This is all part of a disturbing trend coming from the PC government. They don’t appear to believe it’s necessary to consult with the public before giving the go-ahead to whatever Ford dreams up with developers. “Up until now,” says city councillor Joe Cressy, “the conversation reeks of a backroom deal.”

Ontario Place used to be a vital part of Toronto’s waterfront. In their heyday, the Cinesphere and pods helped to attract three million visitors a year to the park.

It’s good the province wants to breathe new life into the site. But the last thing it should do is to start by trashing what’s already there.

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