Ontario seeks much smaller home for temporary science centre

Ontario is searching for a temporary home for the Ontario Science Centre at a fraction of the size of the building the province abruptly closed last week due to structural concerns.

Government officials announced mid-day Friday that the science centre would permanently close in its east Toronto location at the end of the day after the province received an engineering report on the state of the roof.

The government was already planning to relocate the science centre to the waterfront Ontario Place attraction, but that is not slated to open until 2028, so officials said they would look for a temporary space to house some of the programming and exhibits in the meantime.

Infrastructure Ontario has now released its request for proposals for retail or commercial space to accommodate a temporary Ontario Science Centre, and it is seeking about 50,000 to 100,000 square feet — much smaller than the original building's 568,000 square feet.

Opponents of the science centre relocation were already critical of the fact the new building at Ontario Place is set to be half the original building's size, and the temporary location would be less than half of that smaller facility.

WATCH | Hundreds of Ontario buildings use Science Centre roof panels — and remain open: 

Hundreds of Ontario buildings use Science Centre roof panels — and remain open

5 months ago

Duration 2:05

The roofing material that triggered the closure of the Ontario Science Centre is used in hundreds of other public buildings across the province, including schools. But as CBC’s Mike Crawley explains, those other buildings have not been closed over safety concerns.

"We have consistently termed the Ontario Place plan as a half-size, mini OSC," said Jason Ash, co-chair of the group Save Ontario's Science Centre.

"We would easily term this a micro Ontario Science Centre, and I would personally go so far as to say Premier (Doug) Ford is offering the people of Ontario a Chuck E. Cheese-size facility for the next four to five years."

'Just repair the existing science centre!': NDP 

NDP Leader Marit Stiles is among those urging the government to repair faulty roof panels rather than permanently close the whole building.

"No one is buying Ford's excuses for permanently closing our Science Centre; we all know it's about sweetening the deal for his luxury spa at Ontario Place," Stiles wrote in a statement.

"Now we see the government planning to build an interim Science Centre for a fraction of the size of the original, with unknown costs to the public, and no chance of opening for at least a year. Just repair the existing science centre!"

Stiles and many others have been fighting a water park and spa by European company Therme planned for Ontario Place. A government-commissioned business case on the Ontario Science Centre said relocating it to Ontario Place could help temper criticism of the overall project.

A report from the auditor general also found that the province was obligated under its lease with Therme to provide a "site-wide parking solution." Incorporating that parking with the new science centre building could dispel concerns, a proposal to government decision-makers said.

The government has said the science centre at a redeveloped Ontario Place would have more exhibit space than the original building due to a more efficient use of space, but a report from the auditor general said there would actually be 18 per cent less.

The request for proposals for the temporary space says the Ministry of Infrastructure is working with the Ontario Science Centre to "expeditiously" find an interim site, and that there is a "degree of flexibility" in the specifications if it would allow the facility to open sooner.

Temporary location shouldn't be hard to find: analyst

The government is seeking a start date of "no later than" Jan. 1, 2026, and is looking for a property centrally located and no more than one bus ride away from a major public transit station such as subway or rail, and within 500 metres of public transit. It should also have up to 500 parking spaces, and a food court or restaurant within 500 metres, the request for proposals says.

Cost is a critical issue, officials write in the document.

"Please specify any concession package to be provided by the landlord (e.g. free rent, Tenant Improvement Allowance, etc)," the request for proposals says.

Ben Haythornthwaite, director of market analytics for the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Golden Horseshoe for CoStar Group, said it shouldn't be difficult for the province to find a temporary science centre location.

Haythornthwaite, a commercial real estate analyst, said the commercial vacancy rate is now about 11.1 per cent as compared to the 2.5 per cent commercial vacancy rate that was recorded in the city before the pandemic. 

"It should be easy to find it," he said. "I think this is a bit of a no-brainer really."

While the search for a new smaller location gets underway, the fight to keep it open continues.

Former prof willing to donate $1M if centre stays put

Geoffrey Hinton, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, said he is willing to donate $1 million to help to repair the roof of the science centre if the province is willing to keep the centre where it is currently located.

Hinton said the science centre is a "jewel" of Ontario and it is a "wonderful thing." He said it has engaged the curiosity of children in how things work. He said the science centre is going to be important for the future and it  would help to make new scientists and engineers.

"I was a single parent for a while and I used to take my children there regularly on weekends. I loved various aspects of it. I loved the rainforest," Hinton said.

"While I was working at Google and making a high salary, I set up a foundation. The foundation has $5 million and I think this is a very good use of $1 million from that foundation," he added.

Hinton said he was inspired by other large gestures of philanthropy to keep the building open. There's also a letter online demanding the centre stay open and it has racked up more than 50,000 signatures.

Workers to be laid off mainly women, racialized: OPSEU

JP Hornick, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said the union is working to redeploy the more than 50 food service workers who will receive layoff notices because of the closure.

Hornick said most of the workers are female, racialized and a number of them live in the surrounding community. The union says the workers are employed by Levy Canada, an outside contractor, which told the union that it was given no advance notice of the shutdown.

"To be frank, they shouldn't be going through this uncertainty at all. They shouldn't have to be redeployed. This didn't have to happen. The science centre didn't need to shut down entirely in order to fix the roof. It could be open right now for everyone, for the kids, for the families, for the summer camps, for our food services staff," Hornick said.

Hornick said the science centre is an anchor in the neighbourhood and losing it will create a "generational gap" in people pursuing science.