Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan joined federal and municipal colleagues on March 27 to launch the work on one of the most important urban revitalization projects in Ontario – the West Don Lands.

“Toronto’s West Don Lands is a waterfront precinct as big as London’s Canary Wharf or New York City’s Battery Park,” said Minister Caplan, “and I am confident that it will become one of the most dynamic neighbourhoods in Toronto.”

The West Don Lands is a 32-hectare area located east of downtown between Parliament Street and the Don River, and King Street and the rail corridor. It will be a model of urban renewal with greenspaces, brownfield revitalization, easy access to transit, childcare centres, and 1500 units of affordable housing in its 6000 new residences.

"This project will create an accessible, affordable community that will attract a wide range of families from diverse economic backgrounds," said Minister Caplan. “I am particularly pleased that this development – the  first major sustainable community in Toronto in years – is  being built on land owned by the Government of Ontario."

The $230 million West Don Lands project will provide for the demolition of buildings, cleaning contaminated soil, building parks and community buildings, creating flood protection measures and developing the light transit line along Cherry Street.

Work now underway includes building demolition, foundation removal, and environmental remediation. Flood protection construction will start soon with the expansion of CN's Kingston rail bridge, followed by the start of construction of a low-lying berm on the west side of the Don River at the end of the summer.

The West Don Lands is the Ontario government’s top waterfront revitalization priority, the centrepiece of a 2,000-acre waterfront project.

The government has shown strong leadership and support for the revitalization of the West Don Lands and the Toronto waterfront.

	We used to have urban planners from all over the world come and look at the St. Lawrence neighbourhood and use Toronto as an example of doing things right. They haven’t done that now for decades and this is a chance to re-establish our leadership.
	- Minister Caplan

Last September, Minister Caplan signed the West Don Lands Memorandum of Understanding. It makes the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (TWRC)  the master developer and sets out the important collaborative role of the province’s land agency, the Ontario Realty Corporation, in supporting the revitalization efforts. Ontario was the first to put together such an agreement with the TWRC.

The government will also introduce legislation to enable tax increment financing to assist with brownfield redevelopment and public infrastructure development. This new municipal fiscal tool would be introduced on a pilot basis, allowing for its prudent use in revitalization initiatives. If the legislation passes, one of the two pilots would be the West Don Lands.

“The West Don Lands is an example of how our government believes modern communities should grow,” said Minister Caplan.  This will be outlined in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, to be released later this spring.
He explained that the project follows the important principles of growth planning, from affordable housing to brownfield revitalization and transit-oriented development.

Minister Caplan commented: “The West Don Lands project symbolizes our commitment to the restoration of Ontario’s public infrastructure.  The McGuinty government inherited a huge infrastructure deficit, and we developed the comprehensive $30-billion ReNew Ontario investment plan to address how we will pay down that deficit. Now, we have begun to implement that plan. Just as work begins at the West Don Lands, so shovels are going into the ground in infrastructure renewal projects right across the province.”