Two new parks have arrived in Spadina-Fort York as a result of the condominium development project at Garrison Point and the construction of the Garrison Crossing pedestrian and cycling bridges. One new 1.2 ha (3 acres) park is located at 10 Ordnance St. and the other 1 ha (2.3 acres) park is located at 801 Wellington St. W., near Strachan Avenue. The design for each new park, including the amenities and features, was determined with the help of community and stakeholder feedback through the community engagement process.
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The timeline is subject to change. Construction in each park will be phased to accommodate Metrolinx work.
This project has been classified as a Collaborate project based on the International Association of Public Participation Spectrum. This means we aim to partner with the public, stakeholders and rightsholders in each aspect of the design process, including the development of a vision, design options and the identification of a preferred design.
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This project has a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) with a mandate to provide a forum for feedback, guidance and advice to the project team at key decision points during the community engagement process. The CAC will meet once during each phase of the community engagement process. The CAC is not a decision-making body and does not speak on behalf of the entire community.
This project has an Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC) comprised of 16 members. These members have a critical advisory role and provide feedback and engage in meaningful discussions on Indigenous placekeeping design elements for the new parks during Community Engagement Phase 3.
This phase of the community engagement process started in April 2023 and included conversations with community groups to help the project team better understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the parks. As an outcome of this phase, the team has developed a summary of key insights.
In this phase of the community engagement process, the City worked with community members, including the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), to help define an overall vision for the two new parks.
The vision, guiding principles and big moves were developed based on community feedback collected in Phase 2 and refined using feedback collected in Phase 3A and Phase 3B.
The vision is co-created with the community to describe the ideal future parks. It is a big-picture statement that should inspire everyone toward a common understanding of the project’s overall goals and objectives.
The Ordnance and Wellington parks will provide a unique urban green space with spectacular views of the City skyline. The parks will become an important green link between adjacent communities and to the broader open space network, offering a balance of green, ecological design; restful open spaces; and the creation of a social and playful public realm that will bring Indigenous histories and futures into focus.
The guiding principles are high-level directions that reflect the community’s most important values and ideas for how the parks should look and feel. They help to clarify the vision statement and guide how the parks should be designed by describing the desired outcomes.
The big moves communicate the main priorities of both the community and the City for the design of the parks. They are specific directions for how the physical design can achieve the vision and guiding principles.
On June 13, the CAC met at the Fort York Visitor Centre to learn about the site context and scope, develop themes to inform a vision statement and collaboratively discuss design principles and big moves.
Download the June 2023 CAC meeting summary.
On May 29, the CAC met virtually for the first time to introduce the project, meet one another, and review roles, responsibilities and the Terms of Reference.
Download the May 2023 CAC meeting summary.
In this phase of the community engagement process, the City and its design consultant used the outcomes from Community Engagement Phase 2 to develop two design options for the parks. These options were presented to community members, including the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), for feedback.
In response to a request from the local Councillor’s office (Ward 10, Spadina-Fort-York), the project team is exploring the opportunity to include a community garden and public washroom in one of the park designs. The project team is currently conducting a study to explore the technical feasibility of these potential additions, and this will delay the project timeline. Please note that this is only a study, and these additions may not be possible. An updated timeline will be shared as soon as it is available.
From August 21 to September 11, an online survey collected feedback from over 800 community members on the draft design options for the new parks.
Download the September 2023 survey summary.
On August 23 and August 27, approximately 255 community members participated in pop-ups at the northwest corner of 801 Wellington St.
Download the August 2023 pop-up summary.
On August 3, the CAC met to review the two design options.
Download the:
In this phase of the community engagement process, the City shared the preferred design for each park with community members for feedback.
The outcome of this phase was a refined preferred design for each park. The project will move into the detailed design phase where the design team will finalize the designs by working through the technical details and drawings for the construction contractor.
The preferred design for each park includes sculpted landforms that create distinct outdoor spaces, a balance between active and passive experiences, and frame the unique expansive views toward the City skyline.
Through careful manipulation of topography (landscape features), the preferred design improves overall circulation within the park and to adjacent public spaces, preserves existing uses, and provides new flexible space for programming.
The preferred design builds on the existing topography (landscape features) of the site, creating a peninsula with a naturalized grassland meadow that rises over the rail corridor to provide unique views of the City skyline.
The park will include public art depicting a family of beavers, made from repurposed timber and lumber by artists Lisa Steele and Kim Tomczak. The wood sculptures will be treated for fire safety and will be weatherproofed in an environmentally safe manner.
During previous engagement, the project team heard from the community that the new parks should incorporate Indigenous Placekeeping elements into the designs. As a result, Indigenous Placekeeping elements have been integrated through consultation with an Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC) and an Indigenous design consultant. This includes:
During this project phase, the City considered the addition of an all-season washroom and a new community garden, informed by input from the Spadina-Fort York City Councillor, community feedback and broader project objectives. As a result, both are being integrated into the preferred design for the new park at 801 Wellington St. W. The final locations were chosen based on site conditions and technical considerations, including water servicing requirements.
The project team gathered community feedback on the washroom pavilion in March 2024 at the open house and in April 2024 through the online survey and community pop-up.
The new community garden will replace the existing Garrison Flats Community Garden, located directly west of the new park. The garden is being relocated to make room for a planned affordable housing development on City-owned properties at 805 Wellington St. W., which currently includes the garden and Strachan House. CreateTO is leading the development, and Development Review will review the future development application.
The project team will integrate technical details for the garden design into the overall park design. The detailed design will incorporate feedback from the City’s Community Gardens Program, in consultation with the Garrison Flats Community Garden Working Group (CGWG).
The site plans shown on the project webpage were updated with the locations of the community garden, washroom pavilion and Indigenous Gathering Circle.
On October 29, a third design workshop was held in person with the CGWG. The meeting objectives were to:
The project team shared a presentation that was followed by a discussion period.
On August 14, a second design workshop was held in person with the CGWG. The meeting objectives were to:
The project team shared three draft design approaches for the community garden, followed by a discussion and collaborative sketching on the design plans.
Following this meeting, a refined community garden design was prepared based on the preferred design option. The CGWG shared this with all members of the Garrison Flats Community Garden for input and feedback.
On May 22, the first design workshop was held in person with the Garrison Flats CGWG. The meeting objectives were to:
Before the meeting, a member of the CGWG led members of the project team on a tour of the existing Garrison Flats Community Garden to understand the site context.
At the design workshop, CGWG members shared information about the existing site, followed by a presentation by the project team and a discussion period. Following this workshop, the project team prepared three design options for the new community garden.
On March 27, the project team hosted a virtual information session for all members of the existing Garrison Flats Community Garden. The meeting objectives were to:
In total, 34 community garden members participated in the session. Following this workshop the CGWG was formed, which included four member representatives from the Garrison Flats Community Garden.
Download a combined summary of the April 2024 online survey and pop-up and the March 2024 open house.
From March 28 to April 15, an online survey collected feedback from 630 respondents on the preferred design for each park.
On April 14, the project team collected feedback from approximately 20 community members at a Community Environment Day event hosted by the Spadina-Fort York City Councillor at Stanley Park.
On March 27, the project team hosted an in-person open house to provide updates on the project, share the preferred design for each new park and gather public feedback. Approximately 50 community members attended the event.
On March 26, the IAC met virtually to discuss and share feedback on the proposed Indigenous Placekeeping elements in the new park designs.
Download the:
On February 13, the IAC met virtually for the first time to discuss Indigenous Placekeeping in the new parks.
Download the:
