January 24, 2012

Toronto council approves $1.1 billion in capital projects

TORONTO

Toronto City Council has approved a capital budget that was essentially unchanged from that recommended by the executive and budget committees recently.

The tax-supported capital budget, calls for a total project cost of $1.124 billion and a 2012 cash flow of $2.832 billion with future year commitments of: $2.057 billion in 2013; $1.249 billion in 2014; $787.511 million in 2015; $358.892 million in 2016; and $207.344 million from 2017 to 2021.

During the week of Jan. 9 both the budget and Toronto’s executive committees recommended full council approve staff-recommended capital budgets, with several amendments.

One notable amendment from the budget committee was a loan of up to $9 million for the Leaside Arena board for construction of an expanded hockey venue at Millwood Road and Laird Drive in the former Town of Leaside.

That amendment, which was not changed by full council, included a provision for a $1.5 million loan from Infrastructure Ontario.

The committees recommended that agreements be entered into between the city; arena board, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the arena foundation, to ensure donations net of fundraising costs are applied to the IO loan and that city council appoint a representative from IO to the Arena Board.

While most amendments to the tax-supported budget passed by full council they were for increases to the operating budget, which council also passed, by a vote of 37 to seven, a motion to reduce by $200,000 the Albert Campbell Square project, previously budgeted at $1.9 million, near the Scarborough Town Centre south of Highway 401 and west of McCowan Road.

Key Toronto tax-supported capital projects over the next 10 years include:

• $411.322 million on extensive renovations on Union Station, plus $48.023 million to construct a second platform;

• $287.660 million to continue installing electronic signaling systems on the Toronto Transit Commission Yonge-University-Spadina subway line, which would allow trains to run more frequently along the U-shaped route, running from Yonge Street and Finch Avenue south to Union Station, then looping north again north to the Downsview Station at Sheppard Avenue and the Allen Expressway;

• $142.625 million for waterfront redevelopment, including $137.477 million from 2012-16 to develop the West Don Lands and East Bayfront precincts and $5.148 million from 2012 through 2016 to develop other waterfront sites including Port Union, Sherbourne and Don River Park;

• $123.524 million to replace four police division headquarters ($37.079 million each to relocate and replace both 13 and 41 divisions, located in the former City of York on Eglinton Avenue at the Allen Expressway and in Scarborough at Eglinton Avenue and Birchmount Road respectively; $36.446 million to relocate and replace 54 division, located in the former borough of East York on Bermondsey Road northwest of O’Connor Drive; and $8.91 to replace 14 division headquarters, on Harrison Street, east of Dovercourt Road and north of Dundas Street);

• $87.209 million to complete up to 100 kilometres of off-street bicycle paths, 80 km of critical on-street connections and 8,000 new bicycle parking spaces;

• $78.5 million from 2012 to 2015 to redevelop the Kipling Acres long-term care home based on revised provincial standards;

• $72.469 million to maintain 10 long-term care homes to meet provincial safety compliance requirements;

• $60.636 million from 2012 through 2016 to redevelop St. Lawrence Market North, to construct a multi-storey facility including a public market at grade, three levels for traffic courts and three levels of parking;

•$40.548 million to redevelop the Six Points Interchange, where Kipling Avenue, Dundas and Bloor Streets meet about 15 km west of the downtown.

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA

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