New details leaked about mega-garage coming to Exhibition Place in Toronto

It seems that a critical fact about the Ontario Place redevelopment (one that was extensively covered by blogTO in the past) is just coming to light for the broader public, with new internal documents confirming details of what we already knew: that a contentious new mega-garage for the attraction's Therme spa will actually be located on the nearby Exhibition Place grounds.

News of Premier Doug Ford's secret promise to provide thousands of parking spaces for the private wellness brand as part of the green space's larger revamp shocked residents when it first broke back in fall 2023, with particulars of the facility — including its $800 million price tag on the backs of taxpayers — only drawing more questions as they emerged.

Parking lot for Ontario Place spa could cost $800 million and people are not having ithttps://t.co/6uaXTc14UM

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 29, 2024

The latest significant update from the mouth of Ford came last summer, when the provincial leader revealed that the multi-storey structure would likely be above ground.

"It costs so much to build underground," Ford told reporters in July, adding that designs for the garage had not yet been finalized. "We'd like to build as much on top without prohibiting the view."

While he also said at the time that the lot may go "on the other side" of Lake Shore Boulevard rather than at Ontario Place itself, this was already solidified in the Province's famous "new deal" with the City of Toronto, which was penned in November 2023.

"The Province [agrees] to change its current planned location for parking at the Ontario Place site and work with the City to establish an alternative parking solution at Exhibition Place that will improve public access to the shoreline at Ontario Place and could reduce the overall area needed for parking," states the document outlining the deal's full terms.

People seem more confused than ever about Doug Ford's Ontario Place parking garage😬 https://t.co/43N8XOeO4N #DougFord #Toronto

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 8, 2023

Internal emails sourced and just published by Global News this week substantiate this solid commitment, though the original public-facing release about the deal had used vaguer wording, stating that the Province has only "agreed to explore relocating the parking structure to the Exhibition Place grounds" — which is why this is new information to some.

A spokesperson for the Ministry did tell the news outlet Thursday, though, that the two levels of government have not yet come to a "final decision" about the garage's location, despite both the emails and publicly available documents that state otherwise.