As early as this fall, a new park will open up in the developing West Don Lands, giving Toronto skyline lovers something to smile about.
A man-made hill crowned by a park will give visitors a chance to take in the eastern profile of Toronto's business skyscrapers.
Coun. Pam McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale), who represents the area, described the view in one word: "Fabulous."
The park sits immediately east of Cherry Street near the Distillery District, extending west to the Don River then north to King Street and south to railway tracks.
The Don River park is a $26-million part of the West Don Lands project, where the athletes' village will be constructed for the 2015 Pan American Games.
Depending on the season, children will be able to either toboggan or use a splashpad while their parents relax and enjoy the view.
"I'm very excited. For probably 25 years, it was a wish and a dream, and it's really becoming a reality," McConnell said of the changes to the formerly derelict lands.
"We've really turned contaminated land into a piece of heaven, and I think that's exciting city-building."
The park, and the athlete's village, can exist because the changes to the land now protect against catastrophic flooding.
In designing the park, the engineers and landscape architects determined that a storm matching the ferocity of 1954's Hurricane Hazel going up the Don River watershed would send floodwaters to just west of Bay Street, and from King Street down to the lake.
"If you saw the (flooding) modeling, it's quite astounding," Meg Davis, vice-president of development for Waterfront Toronto, said of the area under threat.
Added McConnell: "The building of the earthworks, which took five years to do, is such an important cornerstone. The reason we've never been able to develop in this area is it's on a flood plain."
The resulting berm protects about 250 hectares of downtown. The earthen structure is designed to last forever. "It won't erode, it won't go anywhere. It's as if the topography were completely different," Davis said.
The only thing that might move the berm is a new ice age, she joked.
Once the berm was chosen, that limited what could be built on top because you can't tamper with it by driving construction pilings in, as one example, Davis said.
Those who come to the park probably won't appreciate the engineering and construction subtleties that created the hill on the Don River's west bank. At its tallest, the hill sits 13.75 metres above Lake Ontario and 7.75 metres above nearby Mill Street.
Children may appreciate the recreational equipment, such as a climbing net, swings and a slide. Teens can toss a football or a Frisbee around on a small sports field.
All visitors will enjoy the wind baffles built into the hilltop pavilion, along with the communal barbecue and concrete tables for gatherings.
Walking northward from the peak reveals a change in elevation. That's because the height of the berm changes in relation to the flood threat predicted by computer modeling.
An artificial marsh was built to collect storm water, draining into a large permanent pond which will provide irrigation water for the park's trees and grass.
Further north to the elevated roadways of Eastern Avenue and Richmond Street sits Underpass Park. Here, teens will be able to play half court basketball, skateboard and otherwise hang out as vehicles above them drive in and out of the downtown core.
Funky play equipment -- such as climbing nets strung like a spider's web -- has been installed for younger children, and there's a gathering area for adults to sit and chat.
The park, which cost about $5 million, will be bisected by a new southward extension of River Street. It joins up with Bayview Avenue, where a parkette has been constructed. Bayview Avenue will then hook up with Mill Street.
Bikers and hikers will be able to access the Lower Don recreation trail. Right now, access is blocked because of ongoing construction.
On the west side of River Street just south of King Street East, work is commencing on a Toronto Community Housing complex. Just to the east of that project, construction is going strong on Phase One of the River City condominium complex, the first private-sector partner of the West Don Lands revitalization.
While the majority of work has been done on the parks, some of the finishing touches -- such as planting the remaining trees -- have yet to be completed. Much of that work can't start until spring, Davis said.
Because the city has to inspect and approve the park, it might not be accessible until the fall of this year or early 2013, she said.
Pan Am Games
The athlete's village for the 2015 Pan and Parapan Am Games will be located within the West Don Lands. More than 10,000 athletes and officials will be housed there.
When the events end in mid-August 2015, the village will be converted back to housing stock.
McConnell said the needs of the village fit perfectly with the space available in the West Don Lands.
There will be 253 affordable rental housing units, with an additional 787 condo units to be sold at market rates. There will be a 500-student residence for students of George Brown College, a first for the downtown school. About 1,150 Ontarians will live in the college residency and rental housing.
Once the games are done, a training facility being built for the games will be converted into a YMCA centre. It will provide area residents with access to a pool, gym and fitness equipment.
Front Street, which runs through the heart of the villages, is to become a tree-and-restaurant-lined promenade.
Although the provincial government held an event on Jan. 12 to mark the project, construction actually began back in September 2011, said Peter Wilson of Infrastructure Ontario, the provincial agency overseeing the project.
The developer is Dundee Kilmer, which is responsible for the Distillery District that sits immediately west of the West Don Lands, he said.
Wilson said that Dundee Kilmer thinks the parks will feature nice amenities when it comes time to market the condominiums, as well as other area residents and all Torontonians.
"The Don River park is part of what is called the public realm. … The public realm in the West Don Lands project is of a very high level of urban design," he said.
McConnell said, "This is a great good-news story for Toronto and Torontonians."
