The City is building a new aquatic and multi-use community centre on the Davisville Junior Public School and Spectrum Alternative School site, east of the intersection of Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue. The facility will include two indoor swimming pools and several multi-purpose rooms to serve various community needs.

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 James Cho at 416-338-6702.

  • Fall 2020 to Winter 2021: Hire a design team
  • Spring 2021 to Fall 2021: Community engagement and design development
    • Spring 2021: Phase 1, Towards a Vision
    • Summer to Fall 2021: Phase 2, Exploring Design Options
    • Fall to Winter 2021: Phase 3, Setting the Direction
  • Fall 2021 to Spring 2022: Detailed design
  • Spring 2024: Hire a construction team
  • Summer 2024: Construction starts
  • February 2027: Construction complete

The timeline is subject to change.

Sign Up for Updates

Sign Up Now

Sign up for or unsubscribe from updates related to Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre.

June/July 2025

Construction Update

Waterproofing and backfilling of the foundation walls are ongoing. Forming and rebar installation for the basement and pool walls continue. Construction of the interior basement walls is progressing, and portions of the basement concrete slab have been poured. Underground mechanical and electrical work is underway.

A construction site under a clear blue sky, featuring concrete foundation walls for a large rectangular building. It is further described following the image.
A tall blue crane with a hook hanging down is positioned on one side. Steel rods, storage containers and other construction materials are piled along the edges of the site. Safety bollards and fences line the perimeter.

May 2025

Construction Update

Backfilling around the foundation elements is underway, while forming and rebar installation continue. Waterproofing of the foundation walls is in progress, and preparation has begun for the basement concrete slab. Construction of the interior basement walls and below-ground pool walls is ongoing.

A wide-angle view of a construction site on a sunny day, featuring concrete foundation walls for a large building. It is further described immediately after the image.
A large blue crane is positioned on one side of the partially excavated foundation area, near a construction vehicle. Safety bollards, wooden beams, pallets and other construction materials are visible throughout the fenced site. Trees and low-rise buildings surround the site.

April 2025

Construction Update

Construction of the interior basement walls is underway. Ongoing work includes forming and rebar installation for the foundation elements, installation of the below-ground pool walls and foundation waterproofing.

A fenced construction site with a partially built concrete foundation for a large building, adjacent to a multiple-storey brick building. The image is further described immediately following the image.
A red truck and a blue crane tower are situated at the centre of the site, surrounded by various construction materials including safety bollards, storage containers and pallets. A worker wearing safety gear is visible by a foundation wall. In the foreground, a handwritten “No Smoking” sign is attached to a chain-link fence leading into the site. In the background, tall buildings and trees stand under a cloudy sky.

March 2025

Construction Update

Student artwork inspired by the new community and aquatic centre has been installed on the construction hoarding along Davisville Avenue. Forming and rebar installation for the foundation elements continues. Work on the below-ground pool walls is ongoing, along with foundation waterproofing.

A fenced construction site with an excavated area surrounded by concrete foundation walls and scattered construction materials. The image is further described immediately following the image.
A yellow excavator is parked in the centre, next to a blue construction crane and several storage containers. In the foreground, orange and black safety bollards and a green hose run along a dirt path into the site. In the background, a mix of residential and high-rise buildings can be seen under an overcast sky.

February 2025

Construction Update

Forming and rebar installation for the foundation elements are ongoing. Work has begun on the below-ground pool walls, and foundation waterproofing is underway. The project team is actively working to minimize any impacts on the project schedule.

A construction site covered in snow, with a large excavation area surrounded by retaining walls. The image is further described immediately following the image.
In the foreground, orange and black safety bollards mark a snowy path leading into the site. A blue crane tower stands on the left, with construction materials, rebar, and equipment scattered around. Temporary construction offices with “WILLSCOT” branding are visible along the perimeter. In the background, a mix of residential and high-rise buildings can be seen under a clear blue sky.

January 2025

Construction Update

Shoring and excavation work is complete. Supports and beams for the building foundation are in place, while formwork and concrete reinforcement continue.

A construction site covered in snow with a deep excavated area where some workers are present. The image is further described immediately following the image.
The excavated area is surrounded by walls made of wooden slats, while the entire site is enclosed by a tall wooden fence. The bottom of a construction crane is visible, along with pylons and piles of construction materials. Trees, houses and buildings are visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

December 2024

Construction Update

The removal of contaminated soils and crane installation are complete. Shoring and excavation work continues, with formwork and concrete pouring for the building foundation underway. More rubble has been discovered on the east side of the site and will be removed.

A construction site enclosed by a tall wooden fence. The image is further described immediately following the image.
The foreground shows the bottom of a construction crane and an excavator near a rectangular excavated area. Snow covers the ground. Trees, houses and buildings are visible in the background under a grey sky.

November 2024

Groundbreaking Ceremony

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 12, 2024, with the local Councillor, City staff and representatives from the Toronto District School Board.

Shoring and excavation work is ongoing, and the previously discovered rubble has been removed. The removal of contaminated soils is underway, and the unsuitable soil at the southwest corner of the site has been addressed.

Watch the November 2024 construction progress video.

October 2024

Construction Update

Excavation is underway. Initial work has uncovered rubble from previously demolished buildings and contaminated soil across a large portion of the construction site. Some soil in the southwest corner has been deemed unsuitable for foundations. The project team is working to minimize the impact of these findings on the project timeline.

A construction site with a yellow excavator enclosed by a tall wooden fence. The image is further described immediately following the image.
A yellow excavator and other equipment placed near piles of soil and materials. In the background, trees and buildings are visible under an overcast sky.

September 2024

Construction Update

Hoarding and fencing have been installed on the construction site and supports are in place to keep the sides of the excavation safe while digging.

Construction site along Davisville Avenue with scaffolding and heavy machinery. The image is further described immediately following the image.
The scene includes a wooden fence surrounding the site, traffic cones lined along the road, and a cloudy sky above. In the foreground, there are pedestrians walking on the sidewalk, and buildings can be seen in the background.

August 2024

Construction Update

The installation of construction hoarding around the future facility is nearly complete. As a result, one westbound lane on Davisville Avenue and a section of the north sidewalk will be closed.

Summer 2024

Construction Starts

Construction for the new facility starts.

June 2024

Public Meeting

On June 18, the City’s project team and the Toronto District School Board presented an overview of the project, the proposed facilities and the construction plan.

November 2023 to May 2024

Construction Team Hired

Pre-qualified contractors with experience in net-zero energy and emissions building construction submitted bids for the project. In May 2024, the contractor was hired.

Renderings of the final design and floor plans for the new centre.

Floor Plans

Basement

A floorplan of the basement, with spaces labelled in the numbered list that follows.

  1. Lower lobby
  2. Link to underground parking
  3. Underground parking (shared with school)
  4. Service and mechanical space (no public access)
  5. Main staircase
  6. Elevator
  7. Secondary staircase

Ground Floor

A floorplan of the main floor, with spaces labelled in the numbered list that follows.

  1. Main entrance
  2. Lobby with reception desk
  3. Main staircase
  4. Elevator
  5. Staff offices and lunchroom
  6. Family change rooms, with private change stalls, private washroom stalls, lockers and shared mirror/sink space. The change rooms include two universally accessible washroom/shower/change stalls.
  7. Lane pool with ramp entrance
  8. Leisure/tot pool with water toys and ramp entrance
  9. Drinking fountain
  10. Deck-side showers
  11. Service exit
  12. Emergency exit and basement access
  13. Hallway
  14. Storage

Second Floor

A floorplan of the second floor, with spaces labelled in the numbered list that follows.

  1. Main staircase
  2. Lobby
  3. Pool viewing areas with accessible-height countertops and seating
  4. Meeting room
  5. Staff office
  6. Dance Studio
  7. Teaching Kitchen
  8. Multi-purpose room with folding walls and a small storage room
  9. Multi-purpose room with folding walls and a small storage room, sink and cupboards
  10. Elevator
  11. Secondary staircase
  12. Individual washrooms
  13. Staff office
  14. Hallway
  15. Storage
  16. Drinking fountain

Third Floor and Rooftop

A floorplan of the third floor/rooftop, with spaces labelled in the numbered list that follows.

  1. Main staircase
  2. Lobby
  3. Multi-purpose room with sink, cupboards and storage room
  4. Multi-purpose room with folding wall and storage room
  5. Multi-purpose room with sink, cupboards, folding wall and storage room.
  6. Outdoor gathering area with two barbeques, sinks, a fixed seating and table area and moveable chairs and tables. This area is covered by a pergola and power outlets are available.
  7. Outdoor multi-purpose lawn area
  8. Outdoor walking track
  9. Outdoor fitness area
  10. Skylights which provide light to the floors below
  11. Service and mechanical area (no public access)
  12. Elevator
  13. Secondary staircase
  14. Storage
  15. Hallway
  16. Setup area for outdoor movie screen
  17. Planters
  18. Individual washrooms
  19. Drinking fountain

In this phase of the community engagement process, the project was introduced and four draft design principles were presented to the community for feedback. Community feedback was also collected about the desired features and programming for the new centre.

April 2021

Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) Meeting 1

On April 21, the first SAC meeting welcomed and introduced members and the project team; reviewed and confirmed the Terms of Reference; shared, discussed and confirmed Program Goals and Design Principles; answered questions of clarification; and shared next steps.

Download the April 21, 2021 SAC meeting summary and final terms of reference.

Online Survey

From March 1 to April 5, an online survey asked for feedback on the type of programming and features community members would like in the Centre’s community multi-purpose rooms, lane pool, leisure/tot pool, rooftop and lobby. The survey also received feedback on the proposed design principles.

The survey received 989 responses, which included participation from 1,598 individuals.

Download the April 2021 survey summary.

Youth Engagement

On April 1, the project team held an online youth workshop with 18 grade 11 and 12 students from Northern Secondary School to ensure the centre is designed to be welcoming for local youth. The interactive workshop lasted approximately one hour and was hosted online.

Download the April 1, 2021 youth engagement summary.

Additional local elementary and high schools were invited to participate in youth workshops as well, but classrooms were either unavailable over the month-long engagement window or did not respond to the invitation and reminders. Schools will be re-invited to take part during the next round of engagement.

March 2021

Online Public Meeting

On March 24, an online meeting provided a project overview, identified how the community could get involved and had staff answer questions.

Download the

In this phase of the community engagement process, a draft design of the community recreation centre was presented to the community for feedback.

July 2021

Youth Engagement

To ensure the centre is designed to be welcoming for local youth, the project team held online youth workshops with two local grade five classrooms (Davisville Senior Public School and Maurice Cody Junior Public School) and one local grade 11 Architectural Design classroom (Northern Secondary School). Each interactive virtual workshop lasted approximately 30 to 60 minutes.

Download the July 2021 youth engagement summary.

July 2021

Online Survey

From June 25 to July 25,  an online survey to collect feedback on the draft design. The draft design was developed based on community feedback collected in the spring.

Videos explaining the draft design are available, with auto-generated translated subtitles:

Download the July 2021 survey summary.

June 2021

Phase 2 of Public Consultation Begins

The goal of this phase of engagement is to present and get community feedback on a draft Centre design.

Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting 2

On June 15, the second SAC meeting test-ran the public presentation for this phase of engagement, which will later be recorded to accompany the online survey; presented and gathered feedback on the draft design for the new Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre; answered questions of clarification; and shared next steps.

Download the June 15, 2021 SAC meeting summary.

In the final phase of the community engagement process, a proposed community recreation centre design was presented to the community for feedback.

November 2021

Online Survey

Feedback on the proposed design was collected through an online survey from October 27 to November 24. Paper copies of the online survey were also available at Northern District Library and Deer Park Library. In total, over 750 responses were received.

Download the November 2021 survey summary.

October 2021

Virtual Public Meeting

The October 27 meeting presented the proposed design for the new Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre and provided an opportunity for community members to ask the project team questions and share feedback.

The October 2021 meeting recording is available on YouTube.

Download the:

Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting 3

On October 18, the third SAC meeting presented and gathered feedback on the proposed design for the new centre and test-ran the public presentation.

Download the October 18, 2021 SAC meeting summary.

Location

The new Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre will be located on the Spectrum Alternative School site, near Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue. It will be a three-story building located beside the new public school, connected through an underground parking lot.

The new Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre (CAC) will be located on the Davisville Junior Public and Spectrum Alternative Senior School site, near Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue.
An aerial map of the facility’s location.

Features

The new three-storey Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre will be accessible, target net zero emission building design and is planned to include:

  • A six-lane, 25-metre lane pool
  • A leisure/tot pool
  • Community, multi-use space
  • An active roof
  • WIFI access throughout
  • Gender-neutral washrooms and change rooms

The new Centre’s community spaces will be available for permitting through the standard Parks and Recreation Facilities Booking process.

Change Room Stalls

People of any gender, gender identity and/or gender expression enter the same change rooms. People remain clothed in all shared spaces and swimwear is worn while showering. All changing occurs in private stalls.

To support privacy and inclusivity, gender-neutral change rooms include:

  • private changing stalls of different sizes for family and individual use
  • lockers (locks not be provided)
  • shared shower area where swimsuits must be worn
  • enclosed and accessible – Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) – shower and washroom spaces

This inclusive approach to change room space has become an industry standard and has been successfully implemented in new and renovated community recreation centres across the city.

Gender-neutral change rooms provide:

  • Improved safety, where
    • children and their caregivers can use the same space and children do not have to use a change room by themselves
    • transgender and non-binary patrons are not required to use gender-specific change rooms
    • staff of any gender can respond quickly and without hesitation when entering a change room to provide first aid
    • Better sightlines from the pool deck into the change room for staff to enhance patron safety
  • Improved privacy, as patrons are able to change in a privacy stall rather than an open area
  • Improved service, as staff can clean facilities with less disruption to programs by closing only one side of the change room at a time
  • Greater flexibility in delivering and transitioning different types of programs. For example: gender-specific programs can be offered at the same time as gender non-specific programs

Facility Sharing

The Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre will share facilities with the new Davisville Junior Public School next door, through a partnership with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The school will have access to the aquatic facility’s swimming pools and the City will have access to the school’s double gymnasium and underground parking garage outside of school hours to support City recreation programming.

As a result of negotiations with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) led by the local Councillor, a plan to jointly redevelop Davisville Junior Public School with a City of Toronto recreation facility was proposed. The City of Toronto then undertook a recreation needs assessment which analyzed current and future demographic projections, confirming the community’s need for a new aquatics facility with space for City-operated sport and physical activity programming. In order to meet these recreation needs, in July 2016 the City entered into an agreement with the TDSB to:

  • Lease land from the TDSB to build an aquatic community recreation centre that will be owned and operated by the City of Toronto.
  • Invest in the redevelopment of the Davisville Junior Public School to gain shared use of space to the school’s new gymnasium, ancillary spaces and underground garage.

Davisville Junior Public School is complete.

Sustainability

Davisville Community and Aquatic Centre will be one of the first net zero community recreation centres to be built in Canada. The building will target net zero emissions and energy with:

  • A 100 per cent electric building that is not powered by any fossil fuels
  • Energy-efficient building with well-insulated windows, walls and roof
  • Geothermal and air source heat pumps to heat and cool the building (electric boiler backup)
  • Ventilation that provides 85 per cent heat recovery efficiency
  • Drain water heat recovery