The three levels of governments will spend $1.25 billion over seven years to clean up Toronto’s Port Lands, considered one of North America’s largest under-used and under-developed urban areas.

The funding will flood-proof the southeastern downtown area, making possible the long-sought after dream of transforming the polluted, industrial area into a mixed-use community surrounded by parks and green space.

“This project will create a better quality of life for the people of Toronto,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said standing on a raised podium on Polson St. with the city skyline — and flooded Toronto Islands — as a backdrop.

He was joined by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Mayor John Tory and Will Fleissig, CEO of Waterfront Toronto, the agency in charge of overseeing the renewal of the waterfront.

The federal government is kicking in up to $384 million for the project. The province and city will each contribute more than $400 million.

“By doing this work, we’re unlocking the potential of this amazing piece of land to build a community where people will live, where they’ll work, where they’ll shop, where they’ll play and where the land will be healthier,” Wynne said.

The project will also be another step in restoring the Don River, “one of Toronto’s natural treasures,” she added. She noted the location of the news conference, on a helicopter pad next to a parking lot, was once Ontario’s largest wetland.

But about 100 years ago, as the Don Valley became heavily industrialized, the river was re-routed to enter the lake into a concrete channel, Wynne said. The project will create a new mouth for the Don between the Ship Channel and Keating Channel.

“Now, as part of this project, the mouth of the river will be turned back into a natural valley and I think that is awesome — to rip up a parking lot and create a wetland, to create a green space,” Wynne said.

The three leaders all emphasized that the co-operation demonstrates what happens when different orders of government sit down and work together.

Mayor John Tory said the project will prime the investment pump, lead to the creation of a new transit hub and allow for the building of new communities, including those with affordable housing units.

The project will also mitigate the impact of climate change on the city, Tory added.

“It took a long time to get here but we’re here doing something important,” he said.

“While it’s not always popular to say so, Canada as a whole, not just Toronto, will benefit from the investment and the thousands of jobs which will come about because of today’s sensible, necessary investment.”

John Wilson, who chaired a now-defunct city council advisory committee on the Don River, was all smiles after attending Wednesday’s announcement. He called it a culmination of decades of work.

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“I can retire happy now,” Wilson said. “The whole area has just been underappreciated, it’s been trashed, it’s been misused and abused and people like me, we love our waterfront, and we love our river. This is turning a corner.”

The transformation will take a lot of work and investment but “for the future of our city, this is where the future of the city is.”