Ontario Place could host beach volleyball for the Pan Am Games but there are no guarantees the iconic Cinesphere will stay as the province vows to move at “lightning speed” to revitalize Ontario Place by 2017.

Tourism Minister Michael Chan said Wednesday the government has endorsed the 18 recommendations in last month’s report from former Progressive Conservative leader John Tory to turn the waterfront park into an all-season destination with places to live, work, shop, eat and play.

“Today is the first step to move ahead,” said Chan, who has earmarked $5.5 million to get the site ready for developers to make proposals for condos, a hotel, stores, restaurants and offices within two or three years.

With the province fighting a $15-billion deficit, no budget has been set for further development that would involve a series of public-private partnerships.

“It’s a bit early to estimate,” Chan added, citing the park as a potential beach volleyball venue for the 2015 Pan Am games. “The possibility is workable.”

He acknowledged “the timeline is quite tight” for having a new, improved Ontario Place open for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017 but said the minority Liberal government — which faces another election in 2015 at the latest and could easily fall before then — will do its best.

While Tory recommended keeping the Cinesphere and pods over the lake, Chan said it’s “too early to tell” whether that will happen after private-sector redevelopment proposals come in for consideration by the government.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” he said. “Let the designers . . . tell us what to do . . . we will look to all the possibilities.”

The glossy 55-page report from Tory’s advisory panel recommended better TTC service and a mix of condos, businesses, festivals and musical acts to keep people coming to the waterfront park year-round as “a new public backyard.”

But critics have questioned how to cover costs that will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more, to turn the money-losing summer venue into a year-round hub.

Condos on the west island, a hotel or resort, corporate headquarters or an educational research institute would cover no more than 15 per cent of the prime waterfront site, with the rest devoted to parks, cafés, artists’ studios, splash pads and other draws, such as a new Forum stage, under the Tory plan.

The New Democrats said the “wholesale acceptance” of Tory’s vision marks the beginning of the end of the prime land as a public space and is a potential death knell for the Cinesphere.

“The government’s so-called vision for Ontario Place is rapidly being reduced to what corporations are willing to bid on,” said Trinity—Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese.

Tory warned it will cost as much as $100 million to upgrade existing buildings such as the Cinesphere, pavilions and walkways over the lake, and an additional $100 million to extend a streetcar line to the nearby BMO Field soccer stadium at Exhibition Place and on to Ontario Place.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Proceeds from selling Ontario Place land for condos, a hotel and other businesses are intended to be a trade-off to fund development in the rest of the park.

McGuinty’s government shuttered most of Ontario Place earlier this year to save $20 million. The Molson Amphitheatre, marina and Atlantis Pavilion banquet hall have remained open.

Read more about: