Starting the week of March 6, 2024, St. James Town West Park will be closed to the public due to ongoing staging and underground garage repairs.

The City is improving St. James Town West Park as a result of Medallion Developments Inc. redeveloping properties at 591-601 Sherbourne St. and repairing the roof of the parking garage below the park. This work creates an opportunity for a new park design that meets the needs of the community and considers the parking structure and future residential development project next door.

Download a project backgrounder.

  • Winter to Summer 2021: Community engagement
  • Spring 2025: Construction starts
  • Fall 2026: Construction complete

The timeline is subject to change.

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March 2024

Full Park Closure

The week of March 6, the entire park closed to the public, including the seating and path connecting Bleecker Street and Sherbourne Street at the south area of the park. The park improvements will start when staging for the adjacent residential development project and the underground garage repairs are completed.

Fall 2022

Park Closure

Due to staging for the new residential development tower by Medallion Development Inc., most of the park was closed to the public. The south area of the park, near Shoppers Drug Mart, which includes a path and benches, will remain open to allow access between Bleecker Street and Sherbourne Street.

Construction for the park improvements is anticipated to start in spring 2024.

Summer 2021

Phase 3: Preferred Design

In the summer of 2021 the City collected feedback on the Preferred  Design for St. James Town West Park. Feedback was collected through an online survey, virtual community workshops, pop-ups in the park, engagement with Indigenous rights-holders and input from a Youth Resource Group.

The features that received the most support were:

  • Pathways providing direct routes to places participants wish to travel to.
  • Lighting that created a safe and welcoming space for park users.
  • Indigenous place-keeping is thoughtfully and meaningfully incorporated into the overall design.
  • Seating options and places to sit and enjoy the park.

There was also strong support for features that enable play, exercise, and community events at the park, and for the mix of natural elements and lawn space that is proposed.

Download the Phase 3 Consultation Summary Report.

August 2021

Online Survey

An online survey was conducted to gather community feedback on the design options for the park. Print copies of the survey were available at the St. James Town Community Corner (200 Wellesley Street East), and was available in English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Nepali, Tagalog and Tamil. The survey received a total of 162 survey responses.

Pop-ups in the park

On July 31 and August 4, pop-ups were hosted at St. James Town West Park. Community members were able to chat in-person with the project team, see the designs and provide feedback.

July 2021

Community Workshops

On July 27, City staff hosted two interactive virtual workshops. Community members reviewed the preferred design and shared their perspectives, ideas and feedback on the designs in breakout rooms.

Download the meeting presentation.

Indigenous Community Sharing Meeting 3

On July 21, Indigenous Community Sharing Meetings are led by Bob Goulais, an Indigenous facilitator, and are meant to engage with Indigenous rights-holders and communities to understand and actively incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the design of the park. The final community sharing meeting was held on July 21, 2021.

During this meeting, Indigenous participants suggested further design ideas including but not limited to:

  • Incorporating the four sacred colours (yellow, red, black, and white)
  • A yellow bird (representing language)
  • Inclusion of Indigenous storytelling and languages through signs and interactive QR codes
  • Traffic calming on Howard Street
  • A dry riverbed rock garden
  • An orange heart honouring the spirit of the children whose lives were lost through Residential Schools
  • Soundscaping through wind chimes and water catchers
  • Planting trees that are significant

A complete record of this meeting is included in Appendix B of the Phase 3 Consultation Summary report found in the Summer 2021, Phase 3: Preferred Design section.

Spring 2021

Phase 2: Design Options

In spring 2021, the City gathered feedback on two concept design options for St. James Town West Park, to help inform the development of a Preferred Design. Feedback was collected through an online survey, virtual public meeting, engagement with Indigenous rights-holders and input from a Youth Resource Group.

Download the Phase 2 Consultation Summary report.

May 2021

Youth Resource Group Meeting 2

On May 3, the City led its second Youth Resource Group meeting and conducted virtual classroom sessions with students at Jarvis Collegiate Institute and Rose Avenue Public School. Key feedback highlights from conversations with youth included:

  • Mixed opinions on the skate spot with some identifying it as a valuable and unique neighbourhood amenity, while others identified that it may present conflicts with the nearby play plaza.
  • The importance of community gathering spaces for events was further emphasized by youth, as well as recreational spaces for hanging out with friends and family.

April 2021

Virtual Public Meeting

On April 20, a virtual public meeting was hosted by City staff to invite community members to learn more about the project, see the design plan options for the park redesign, and gather feedback through a virtual question-and-answer session. 54 community members attended, as well as the local Councillor.

Download the meeting presentation.

Online Survey

From April 20 to May 9, an online survey was conducted to gather community feedback on the design options for the park. Print copies of the survey were available at the St. James Town Community Corner (200 Wellesley Street East)

The survey received a total of 220 survey responses. Overall, participants were generally supportive of both designs with slightly more participants leaning towards Option 1 – Green Refuge. Many participants also indicated strong agreement with the way design elements were conveyed in Option 2 – Paths.

Indigenous Community Sharing Meeting 2

On April 22, a community sharing meeting was held. Indigenous Community Sharing Meetings are led by Bob Goulais, an Indigenous facilitator, and are meant to engage with Indigenous rights-holders and communities to understand and actively incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the design of the park.

Key feedback highlights from this meeting included:

  • The importance of meaningfully integrating design ideas shared through Meeting 1 in collaboration with Rebecca Baird (the project’s Indigenous artist)
  • Indigenous design elements and public art should be fully integrated into the park design rather than isolated elements.
  • Explore opportunities to represent water and the story of the Spirit Hawk throughout the design and through public art.

Winter 2021

Phase 1: Visioning for the Park

To help understand how the park is currently used, and what the community vision for the future was, the City conducted early consultations with local residents and stakeholders. Feedback was collected through an online questionnaire, engagement with Indigenous rights-holders and input from a Youth Resource Group.

March 2021

Visioning Questionnaire

From March 1 to March 22, 2021, an online questionnaire was conducted to gather community thoughts, ideas and experiences on how the park is currently used, and to identify park features and amenities to be prioritized for the park redesign.

Download the questionnaire result summary.

Youth Resource Group Meeting 1

On March 23, the Youth Resource Group (YRG) held its first meeting. It is an important element of community engagement for this project, and will reflect the significant role that youth play in the St. James Town community. The YRG is comprised of individuals aged 15-24 representing local community organizations, including St. James Town Community Ambassadors, the Wellesley Youth Council, Jarvis Collegiate Institute, and students from the Daniel’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design.

The first YRG meeting focused on gathering feedback, ideas and perspectives on the future vision for the park. Key feedback highlights from this meeting included:

  • A desire for the park redesign to create gathering areas for youth, and venues for local artists, and for other types of community events like outdoor movie nights
  • Ensuring proper park maintenance, including proper waste and recycling bins throughout
  • Preserving green space in the park
  • Using lighting and other park amenities to create safe and welcoming public spaces for youth

February 2021

Indigenous Community Sharing Meeting 1

On February 18, a community sharing meeting was held. Indigenous Community Sharing Meetings are led by Bob Goulais, an Indigenous facilitator, and are meant to engage with Indigenous rights-holders and communities to understand and actively incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the design of the park.

Key feedback highlights from this meeting included:

  • Bringing on an Indigenous artist or designer to the project team, to help develop and integrate Indigenous perspectives into the park redesign
  • Incorporating indigenous plantings and teachings to the park, such as a medicine garden that included educational programming – such as a medicine pathway with sweet grass and sage where park users could read about them and see that they are growing there
  • Anticipating Elder’s needs and access points to the park
  • Using symbolism in creative ways to weave Indigenous elements and symbols into the park (e.g. animal symbolism, references to Turtle Island through public art/mosaics)
  • Incorporating traditional pathways

While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is no text alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding our maps, drawings, or any other content, please contact Laurel Christie at 416-395-0074.
Aerial plan of the preferred design for the St James Town Park improvements, with numbered labels indicating the location of each feature listed below.

  1. Existing trees
  2. New plants
  3. Open lawn
  4. Raised planter
  5. Landform
  6. Medicine garden
  7. Urban plaza
  8. Neighbourhood plaza
  9. Playground
  10. Skateboard plaza
  11. Wood platform
  12. Bench-linear seat
  13. Projection light
  14. White hawk sculpture
  15. Red hawk sculpture
  16. Tile art
  17. Pavement art
  18. Artwork on benches
  19. Stairs to garage exit
  20. Drinking fountain with dog bowl

Project Renderings

While we aim to provide fully accessible content, there is no text alternative available for some of the content on this site. If you require alternate formats or need assistance understanding our maps, drawings, or any other content, please contact Laurel Christie at 416-395-0074.