REDEVELOPING CANADIAN FORCES BASE DOWNSVIEW: Towards a Cultural Campus Development Model

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Felix Briggs
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1 REDEVELOPNG CANADAN FORCES BASE DOWNSVEW: Towards a Cultural Campus Development Model A report $bmtted to the School of Urban and Regonal Plannng n prutal fulfllment ofthe requrements for the degree of Master of Urban and Regonal Plannng By Zdana C. Komarncky Queen's Unversty Kngston, Ontaro September 2003 Copyrght Zdana C. Komarncky, 2003

2 EXECUTTVESU~RY Ths report evaluates the sutablty of an 89 acre parcel at Downsvew Park for redevelopment nto a proposed Cultural Campus, and the agency's progress n ganng the necessary project support. The challenges n developng a decommssoned mltary base for recreatonal and cultural uses are hghlghted, and recommendatons are made for the successful redevelopment of the ste. The specfc redevelo,ment ste, referred to as the Cultural Campus, has been desgnated the cultural and recreatonal centre of Downsvew Park (See Appendx 1). Downsvew Park s a 644 acre st1 centrally located n the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) (See Fgure 1). FoTenn,

3 The ste s horseshoelshaped and s bound by Keele Street on the west, Sheppard Avenue on the north, and Allen Road on the east. The nner boundary s fonned by the. de HavllandBombarder runway. After the closure of lcanadan Forces Base (CFB) Downsvew n 1994, the Federal Government establsh~d a redevelopment agency, Parc Downsvew Park nc. (PDP), and gave t the mandate qf redevelopng the fonner base nto an urban park.. Although the ste currently has the appearance of an abandoned mltary base, the Cultural Campus block has enonnous potental to become an nternatonally:-renowned publc space. Several buldngs forn1erly used by the Department of Natonal Defence (DND) currently stand on ths developtnent parcel, and are used prmarly for storage. - The propertes ~ mmedately surroundpg the Cultural Campus nclude the de Havlland runway, the Park, the desgnated comme~callands, and the DND tranng ste. PDP has spent the last eght years mplementng the Downsvew Land Use Plan (Appendx 1), whch l1ustrates the varous land uses ntended for the Downsvew Lands. The 644 acres have 1j>een subdvded nto thrteen development parcels ntended to accommodate resdental, commercal, and recreatonal uses. Some parcels have also been desgnated for the Department of Natonal Defence. Every component of the Downsvew Lands has adevelopment strategy n place wth the excepton of the Cultural Campus. Followng a development strategy ensures that the project s not guded, or msguded by sporadc decsons based on monetary consderatons whch would unlkely flow nto a cohesve fnb product. PDP must follow a development strategy to mantan

4 control over land uses, and to fulfll ts mandate. Ths report recommends a development strategy, wthout WDCr the Park development cannot succeed., To evaluate the rede~e1opment of the Cultural Campus, ths study employs a checklst that consders factors Whch affect the success of the development. The crtera that form,. the checklst are based on the redevelopment agency's objectves for the proposal and on relevant lterature ab~mt recreatonal and cultural development, toursm, and festval marketplaces. Based, on the framework provded by PDP documents (PDP Corporate Plan, 200 1; Park Conpetton Bref, 1999), more detaled crtera are derved from a comprehensve lterat~re revew. 1 ~ The crtera are grouped nto three categores: ste condtons, bult envronment, and poltcs and project support. Frst, the ste s evaluated based on ts. physcal characterstcs. The ste's physcal characterstcs must be sutable for the ntended development. seconj, the exstng bult envronment s evaluated to. determne whether the ste has any characterstcs or buldngs that can be retaned n the new desgn. Fnally, the redevelo~ment agency's progress n ganng project support s evaluated,' snce the agency requ~es ths support to proceed wth development. The resujs of the an~yss are summarzed n Table 1, whch demonstrates whether the crtera are satsfed (r ), not satsfed (X), or partally satsfed (1'1). -

5 . or other Ste Servcng Legend:.; = satsfes crtera X =does not s~tsfy evaluaton crtera - v

6 The analyss demonsttates that, for the most part, the redevelopment of the Cultural Campus ste s prornjng. The Cultural Campus ste meets most of the basc physcal, requrementsnecessat1y for recreaton ste development. PDP has made sgnfcant progress n ganng pl10ject support. The ntal ste mprovements, publc consultaton strategy and polcy ~hanges have resulted n postve support from stakeholders, ncludng the publc. However, PDP does not yet have an agreement wth the Department of Naton~ Defence regardng land ownershp, whch s the largest obstacle to redevelopment. \\fthout a land lease or ownershp agreement, PDP cannot begn, negotatons wth detelopers to redevelop the ste and cannot proceed wth any development wth surety of acton... Although the ste does not meet all the crtera fully, the ste has the potental to satsfy the crtera. Once pdp and DND resolve land ownershp ssues, the followng recommendatons can help PDP produce the ntended Cultural Campus: 1. t s reco~mended that PDP resolve land ownershp ssues, snce the agency cannot proceed wth development and thus fulfll ts mandate wthout absolute ontrol over land decsons. 2. PDP shol.lld mplement a development model and strategy to sustan a clear vson fo~ the future development of the Downsvew Lands. 3. Development should follow a vson and a theme so that PDP's objectves for the re~evelopment proj~ct are met. 4. PDP sh04ld mplement urban desgn prncples to gude the development of the Cultural Campus to create a world-class product. 5. The ste,ls nternal locaton demands the establshment of a marketng strategy market the lands to developers and to the publc. ' -v

7 6. PDP Sh9~ld change the exstng buldng nventory. Most exstng buldngs have be n on the ste snce the early 1940s and 1950s. Although ther prevousl ndustral use may have expred, some buldngs are archtecturally dstnct $1d have potental for reuse. 7. PDP may wsh to form strategc allances and partnershps wth the publc and prvdte sectors to mplement the Cultural Campus publc uses. 8. PDP sho~dd contnue to nvolve the publc n the redevelopment process to mantan :local project support. The recommendatons: n ths report should help PDP acheve ts mandate to successfully develop Canada's frs~ Natonal Urban Park. Once the approprate development strategy s mplemented, the Crltural Campus has the potental to become a world-class cultural-. recreatonal destnaton, whch commemorates a sgnfcant element of Canadan hstory... - v

J. Build new homes only on lands that are most suitable for development and associated wells and septic systems.

J. Build new homes only on lands that are most suitable for development and associated wells and septic systems. ~ Conservaton Areas are the frst areas to be dentfed when desgnng the subdvson. Development Areas are dentfed only after Conservaton Areas have been desgnated. The applcant and the Plannng Board shall