TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Kimberly Spice –
The revamped 2009 Master Plan, created by the Entertainment District BIA (ED BIA), was revealed Feb. 6 at Metro Hall to neighbourhood residents.
New additions to the Downtown neighbourhood can already be seen such as the newly designed, circular icons on light standards that represent the different districts.
Those include such as the wearhouse, theatre, commerce, events and Union Station areas. These will educate as well as guide visitors through the core of the city.
The upgrades to John Street are still coming with a tree-lined, cobble stone roadway, which will be closed off for various activities and festivals.
The BIA had a design competition for the southeast corner of King Street and John, which they hope will become the heart of the ED, with the winning entry by Coryn Kempster titled Urban Ballroom. Additional animated squares and plazas will also be added as construction continues along the street.
Popular outdoor events such as movie night, the farmers market, and live performances will continue at David Pecaut Square, located beside Roy Thompson Hall. The BIA would also like to combine the hall’s lower-level pond into the square by creating steps onto a skating rink on the north side of the building.
More formidable, costly, ideas include decking the railway lands to create a clear link between Front Street and Bremner, which would lead to a smooth connection to the waterfront.
The ED BIA district, created in 2008, includes the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre as well as the ACC and the TIFF Bell Lightbox, within a 1 km square area located in the core of Downtown.
This is home to approximately 2000 businesses with a growing residential population that is estimated to grow by 144 per cent by 2014 from 2009.
ED BIA is a non-profit organization.
