The Toronto mayor said the province’s lease agreement means they cannot relinquish responsibility over the 55-year-old building and that the city cannot afford the hefty price tag required to repair it
Toronto mayor Olivia Chow said Friday that the Ontario government has an obligation to preserve the original Ontario Science Centre building and the city cannot afford theThe provincial government permanently closed the facility three weeks ago, citing an engineering report from Rimkus Consulting Group that showed structural issues with the roof. The government said a second report released– they cannot just walk away,” Ms. Chow said.
The mayor said the city is projecting a significant budget shortfall this year and has already identified $26-billion worth of infrastructure costs over the next 10 years.Earlier this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s decision to close the facility and said it’s up to the city to determine what happens to the building.
On Thursday, the province released a peer review of the Rimkus report by VanBoxmeer & Stranges Engineering, which confirmed the first report’s findings. Neither report said that the science centre needs to be closed, but both recommended that if the building’s high-risk roof panels are not replaced by Oct. 31, there should be “restricted access or full closure to prevent any persons from walking in areas where high risk panels are present.
Ash Milton, spokesperson for the Minister of Infrastructure said in a statement that the land where the science centre is located is owned by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority but that no decisions have been made on the future of the site. He said that a recent fiscal deal between the province and the city included an agreement to discuss the future of the old science centre building.
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