Huge casino and waterpark to be built near Toronto
Love those glitzy casino vibes but hate going all the way to Niagara Falls?
The GTA is moving ever closer to getting its own "premier casino resort" in the form of Durham Live – a 1.1 million-square-foot dining, hotel, retail, entertainment, sports and casino complex connected directly to the Go Train.
Ontario Gaming GTA LP (OGGLP) announced yesterday in a press release that DLive, as it has been dubbed, is now proceeding toward the municipal permitting stage for a site near Highway 401 in Pickering, Ontario.
A render of the Durham Live casino complex at night.
No estimated start date for the project has been released at this time, but when the whole shebang is finished we can expect everything from an film studios and amphitheatres to an indoor waterpark and 150,000 square feet of luxury retail shopping space.
The complex will boast four different dining districts, according to its website, and a "casino district" with over 330,000 sq.ft. of gaming space and a grand fountain.
It is also promised to create more than 10,000 jobs, "particularly for young people graduating from college and university who wish to remain in the area."
This rendering shows some of the restaurants and other buildings in the development beyond the casino.
OGGLP, which is behind this and several other casino projects, is a partnership between the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation and Toronto's own Brookfield Business Partners.
The group was selected in August by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to operate three gaming facilities in the Greater Toronto Area: Casino Woodbine, Casino Ajax, and Great Blue Heron Casino.
The building housing the casino is the main focal point of the area.
"As part of the significantly expanded gaming and entertainment options under development as part of Durham Live, Casino Ajax will relocate when the casino resort at Durham Live is operational in late 2019."
