June 25, 1998 

To: The Urban Environment & Development Committee

From: Dianne Young, Interim General Manager

Subject: Demolition of Exhibition Stadium

Purpose:

The following recommendations with respect to the Demolition of Exhibition Stadium, which were unanimously approved by the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place at its meeting on Friday, June 19, 1998, are being submitted to the Urban Environment & Development Committee and the City of Toronto Council for its concurrence.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) the tender for Contract No. 98-4008-80820 be awarded to Greenspoon Brothers Ltd. for demolition of both the North and South Grandstands and associated work at a cost of $1,819,324.00;

(2) a budget in the amount of $645,000.00 be approved for the other required work associated with the demolition of the Stadium subject to the further approval by the Board of any award of a contract associated with such work;

(3) a budget in the amount of $30,000.00 be approved for consultant services to study the storage space requirements at Exhibition Place;

(4) staff, in consultation with the City of Toronto Department of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism develop a restoration/landscaping plan for the Stadium Site and report back to the Board on this plan;

(5) this report be submitted to the City of Toronto Council requesting concurrence; and

(6) staff take the necessary action to give effect hereto.

Background:

At its meeting of February 27, 1998, the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place had before it a report entitled "Demolition of Exhibition Stadium" approving a recommendation to proceed with the tendering process for the demolition of the Exhibition Place Stadium and requesting that staff report to the Board on the funds available in the Stadium Reserve Fund for demolition; plans to minimize the impact of demolition on existing events and trade shows; current parking utilization and number of temporary parking spaces that could be accommodated on the Stadium site as well as estimated revenues; and the cost of landscaping to enhance the site until future development occurs.

Discussion:

A. Tendering Process

As approved by the Board, staff proceeded with the tendering process. Prequalification of the contractors was completed at the end of March and a tender advertisement for the demolition of the Stadium was placed on April 29, with a mandatory site tour on May 5 and tender closing on May 20, 1998. The tender document outlined several options and separate pricing packages in order to allow the Board flexibility as it considers and determines the extent of the project. Ms. Fatima Scagnol, Interim Corporate Secretary, supervised the tender opening of this Capital Project. Four (4) contractors were prequalified and four (4) tenders were received. Bid values submitted on individual tender documents provided pricing on three separate options and specific work related to those options. Basically, Option I is the demolition of both grandstands; Option II is the demolition of only the North Grandstand; and Option III is the demolition of the South Grandstand only. The necessary work to be done by the contractor and which were added to the basic tender price were dependent on the option that was considered. For example, if the North Grandstand was being demolished and the South Grandstand was to remain in place, then the cost of removal of the eleven lighting towers around the South Grandstand would not be added to the contract price.

The total price by option as submitted by the four contractors is as follows:

In every option Greenspoon Brothers Ltd. was the lowest tenderer and accordingly, staff are recommending that the contract be awarded to Greenspoon Brothers Ltd. at a contract price of $1,819,324.00 which would include the demolition of both grandstands; the removal and setting aside of 10,000 North Grandstand seats; the removal and setting aside of the 11 lighting towers; and asphalt restoration as required.

This recommendation is contingent upon approval of the Toronto Commissioner of Finance and Treasurer for the Surety Company which will supply the bonding requirements and the Fair Wage Office to confirm that the recommended contractor and his sub-contractors maintain wage rates and working conditions in accordance with Toronto Workers' Rights requirements. It is also contingent on approval by the City of Toronto Council of these recommendations.

B. Additional Costs

Additional costs will be incurred because of the demolition. Preliminary meetings have been held with staff of the City of Toronto Department of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism about the restoration and landscaping of the footprint of the Stadium which is approximately 12.5 acres and will become open space with the demolition of the Stadium. City staff have indicated that they would be very interested in working with Exhibition Place to develop a plan to restore/landscape this area in keeping with the Program and Development Concept Plan recently adopted by the Board and with an aim at not only greening the area but making it a safe location for pedestrians who transverse the area from the NTC/TTC/GO Station to parking areas and Ontario Place. Other principles that would guide any plan would be to avoid permanent restoration/landscaping in areas that are to be developed and not to substantially reduce the present parking available on the site. Given the very large track of land that needs to be restored, City staff estimate that a minimum budget of $500,000 would be required. Following adoption of this report, Exhibition Place will work with City staff and present to the Board some options for restoration/landscaping of the Stadium area which will include a parking lot design.

Other costs associated with the demolition include the disconnection and reconnection of utilities located in the Stadium and the removal and safe storage of the PCB transformers and hazardous materials located in the Stadium. These costs total $145,000.00.

OTHER WORK REQUIRED

C. Study of Storage Area Needs

The South Grandstand is presently used as a major storage area for equipment used mostly during the CNE. Approximately 45,000 square feet of this grandstand is used as a secure, weather protected storage area. With the demolition of Exhibition Place Stadium, new storage areas around the grounds must be identified to accommodate material stored in this facility. Presently three areas at Exhibition Place are utilized as storage facilities. These are the Food Building (predominantly CNE storage), Better Living Centre Basement (CNE long-term, climate controlled storage) and the Press Lot Storage Building (year-round storage and equipment facility for Exhibition Place). At this time all three of these areas have been fully maximized as storage facilities. Some of these facilities, i.e. Food Building, could not accommodate the storage of more equipment because of the early move-in of the CNE to this building and subsequent double handling of materials and costs associated with this. While other buildings could be used for storage on a temporary basis pending development of other permanent uses for these buildings, staff recommend that it would be advisable to review the whole issue of long-term storage needs at Exhibition Place in light of the intent to find permanent uses for the buildings and the inventory and equipment held by Exhibition Place for the purposes of trade shows, the CNE and other events. Therefore, staff are recommending that a budget of $30,000.00 be approved to have a consultant review this issue with a further report back to the Board during the 1999 budget cycle.

D. Staging of Demolition/Parking Arrangements

As with the construction of the NTC, staging of the demolition is very important in order to decrease as much as possible any impact on the trade shows. Following approval of this report, Exhibition Place staff along with the NTC General Manager will consult with trade show producers on the staging of the demolition. In addition, the tender document has set out some staging requirements. First, the grandstands will be demolished at two different periods. The South Grandstand is to be demolished first to minimize the impact on parking during the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Hoarding will be erected only around each grandstand as it is being demolished and the centre field area will remain clear and available for parking throughout the work. All demolition crews must enter and exit through the west side via Ontario Drive and onto Lakeshore Boulevard and access in and out of the Princess Gates and Dufferin Gates is not permitted. During the demolition, contractors are required to set up hoarding no more than 50 feet from each structure, except the north side of the North Grandstand where a minimum of 10 feet of sidewalk has to be maintained. Contractors are to take all precautions and steps to maintain the surrounding area safe and clean in accordance with Ministry of Environment guidelines.

At the present time, during major events the centre field area includes up to 660 parking spaces for passenger cars/vans. However, during the demolition period, that maximum number will be reduced to 420. A review of Exhibition Place parking reports for 1997 and 1998 indicate that staff will be able to provide alternative parking to offset the 240 parking spaces lost during the demolition period. The Parking Department is looking at utilizing parking lots "H" (east of Ontario Government Building), "J" (west of Medieval Times) and "L" (north of Press Building) to relocate these 240 lost parking spaces. A shuttle bus program could be put in place at that time to transport people to and from these outer lots to the NTC.

Conclusion:

The Stadium Reserve Fund was $4,176,000 as of December 31, 1997 and the total budget for the Stadium Demolition approved by Council for the 1998 Capital Works Budget for Exhibition Place is $3,710,000.00 which includes construction costs, fees, in-house work and administrative charges. The total budget for the demolition and other costs as outlined in this report is $2,498,324.00 which is within the estimated capital budget allocation. Therefore, this report recommends the award of the tender contract and the expenditures outlined in this report and other necessary costs. The remaining balance in the Stadium Reserve Fund after this draw may be still required in the future for other works associated with this demolition subject to approval of such works by the Board.

Dianne Young

Interim General Manager

Telephone No. 393-6011