Toronto’s government management committee has approved a proposal to create a “culinary, cultural and retail” experience beneath the Great Hall at Union Station.

The committee is recommending that council authorize an amendment to a 2009 lease agreement between the city and Osmington, the company that manages and leases space in the historic transportation hub.

“The overall vision is to turn this into a destination in itself and make it a great civic space,” said Osmington’s Brad Keast, vice-president, development.

“With the commuters using the station, at its peak, four hours a day, we think that there’s opportunity to animate the space and make it a destination the other 20 hours a day.”

The “vision is consistent with the mixed use and function models employed at both Grand Central (Terminal) in New York City, and St. Pancras Station in London,” according to a city staff report.

Union Station has been undergoing a massive revitalization, plagued by delays and cost overruns. The original pricetag of $640 million has climbed to more than $800 million, and the entire project was supposed to be completed last year.

But the proposed $37 million in construction costs will not be borne by the city, though the committee approved a recommendation to pay an additional $500,000 to lawyers to oversee remaining work at Union.

According to the proposed terms, Osmington will initially fund this total cost and amend established revenue-sharing formulas “so there’s zero risk to the city,” Keast said.

The original 2009 plan already called for retail in the lower concourse area. But the company’s plan evolved — food vendors will now account for 60 per cent of the leased space — due to market trends and the condo population explosion south of Front St.

There was also a “strong response” to last summer’s outdoor market, held in the Sir John A. Macdonald Plaza in front of Union Station. “It showed that the station can be a destination” in off-peak hours, Keast said.

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