A call to Black Artists and Designers for public artwork for the new park on King Street East is now live. Submissions close on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 9 a.m.

Two new parks are coming to the Moss Park Neighbourhood as part of mixed-use development projects. The park designs will be determined through community engagement.

This park does not have a name yet. At the end of the design process, parks are often given names that describe the park’s features or location (e.g. Princess Street Park). These names, developed by City staff, make it easy for residents to identify and locate parks in their neighbourhoods and around the city. Alternatively, community members can develop and submit proposals for a commemorative park name before the end of the park design process. A proposal to give a park a commemorative name instead of a location-based name is first reviewed by City staff, and then needs to be approved by Community Council. Before developing a proposal, we encourage you to review and consider the park vision, which was informed by community feedback.

The timeline is subject to change.

Winter 2022: Hire a design team

New Park on Richmond Street East

  • Spring 2022 to Fall/Winter 2023: Community engagement and design development
    • Spring/Summer 2022: Phase 1, Building a Vision
    • Winter/Spring 2023: Phase 2, Exploring Design Options (current phase)
    • Summer/Fall 2023: Phase 3, Setting the Direction
  • 2024: Detailed designs
  • 2025: Hire a construction team and construction starts
  • 2026: Construction complete, park opens

New Park on King Street East

  • Spring 2022 to Fall/Winter 2023: Community engagement and design development
    • Spring/Summer 2022: Phase 1, Building a Vision (current phase)
    • Fall 2023: Phase 2, Exploring Design Options
    • Fall/Winter 2023: Phase 3, Setting the Direction
  • 2024: Detailed designs
  • 2025: Hire a construction team and construction starts
  • 2026: Construction complete, park opens

Call for Black Artists and Designers – New Park on King Street East

April 3 to 28, 2023

A call to Black Artists and Designers for public artwork for the new park on King St E is now live. Submissions close on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 9 a.m. Visit the competition webpage to learn more and apply.

This call for artists reflects the park vision, which is based on feedback collected in Community Engagement Phase 1. The vision for the new park on King Street East is an accessible, green and calm urban oasis with spots for the community to sit, gather and be social. The design focus in this park will be to celebrate and/or commemorate the history, presence, diversity and future of Black communities in the neighbourhood.

Community Pop-Up Event

  • Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023
  • Location: Moss Park Market (260 Queen St. E.)
  • Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • This pop-up is outdoors and will be cancelled if there is inclement weather.

Drop by the Moss Park Market to review the draft park designs for the new park on Richmond Street East and provide your feedback in person. Two members of the project team will be available to collect feedback and answer questions.

Level of Engagement

This project has been classified as a Collaborate project based on the International Association of Public Participation‘s 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 design options and the identification of a preferred design.

Black Communities Advisory Group

A Black Communities Advisory Group (BCAG) has been established for this project to act as an advisory body to ensure the perspective and needs of Black communities are reflected throughout the park design process. The BCAG, comprised of 15 members, will meet in each phase of the design process to review, deliberate, and discuss key project elements.

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Two new parks are coming to the Moss Park Neighbourhood as part of mixed-use development projects:

  • New Park on Richmond Street East: this park will be 1400 m2 (about the size of a hockey rink), and will be located on the north side of Richmond Street East, west of Ontario Street. This park is being built as part of a development agreement at 261 Queen St. E.
  • New Park on King Street East: this park will be 470 m2 (about the size of a tennis court), and will be located on the north side of King Street East, west of Ontario Street. This park is being built as part of a development agreement at 254-260 King St. E.

Indigenous Placekeeping (an approach to design that focuses on Indigenous histories and futures while connecting ecological, historical and cultural relationships to a place) will be incorporated into the design of both parks.

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 Alex Lavasidis at 416-318-1887.

Both new parks are located in the North St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. The new park on Richmond Street East is show in in Orange and is 1400 metres squared. It is located north-west of the intersection of Ontario Street and Richmond Street East. The new park on King Street East is shown in purple and is 470 metres squared. It is located north-west of the intersection of Ontario Street and King Street East.

Park Vision

Based on the feedback collected in Community Engagement Phase 1, the design vision for this park is:

An accessible, green and calm urban oasis with spots for community to sit, gather, and be social. The design focus in this park will be to celebrate and/or commemorate the history, presence, diversity, and future of the Black communities in the neighbourhood.

Community Engagement Phase 1: Building a Vision

In this phase of the community engagement process, community members were asked to provide feedback to help develop a draft design for each park. The draft design will be presented to the community for additional feedback in Phase 2.

Spring to Summer 2022

Discussion with Rights Holders

The project team met with representatives from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to introduce the project and gather initial feedback.

Indigenous Community Outreach
  • Fourteen local Indigenous-serving organizations were contacted and asked to provide feedback (through an online survey, phone interview/meeting, or in-person pop-up event). Three organizations provided feedback through an online survey. One organization provided feedback through an online meeting.
  • Project staff presented to the City of Toronto Aboriginal Affairs Advisory Committee, and the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council Friends and Partners Sharing Circle
  • Project staff met with the Project Manager for the Indigenous Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ICIE)
  • Project staff presented to the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC) Friends and Partners Sharing Circle

Black Communities Advisory Group

On July 14, 2022, the first meeting of the Black Communities Advisory Group took place.

Download the:

Youth Workshops

On July 8 and June 29, 2022, one-hour in-person youth workshops were held with local City youth groups. Approximately 25 youth participated from ages 10 to 16 years.

Download the workshop summary.

Community Pop-Up Event

On June 21, 2022, the project team held two community pop-up events. The pop-ups consisted of project information boards and feedback boards that allowed community members to learn about the project and share their preferences for the design of the two new parks.

The pop-up events took place on King Street East, west of Ontario Street from approximately 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Queen Street East, west of Ontario Street, from approximately 3 to 6 p.m. Approximately 100 community members provided feedback.

Download the feedback summary.

Online Survey

From June 8 to June 30, 2022, an online survey took place to collect the community’s ideas for the two new parks. The survey received a total of 476 responses. As some surveys included feedback from multiple people (e.g. entire households), in total 831 people participated in the survey.

Six community organizations also provided feedback online through a parallel survey.

Download the survey summary.

Community Engagement Phase 2: Exploring Design Options

This phase of the community engagement process will start in fall 2023. In this phase, draft design options for each park will be presented to the local community for feedback and revisions.

January 2023

Black Communities Advisory Group

On January 19, 2023, the second meeting with the Black Communities Advisory Group took place.

Download the meeting summary.

Community Engagement Phase 3: Setting the Direction

This phase of the community engagement process will start late 2023. In this phase, a final proposed design for the new parks will be presented to the local community for a final round of feedback and revisions.

The Draft Park Design Options are meant to reflect the park vision, which was developed based on the feedback collected during Community Engagement Phase 1.

Park Vision: The design vision for this park is an accessible, green and calm urban oasis, with the flexibility to host events and performances. The design focus for this park is Indigenous Placekeeping.

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 Katie Black at 416-338-0224.

A rendering of the proposed design for the new park on Richmond Street. The view is into the park from Richmond, towards the west entrance to the park. At the entrance to the park there is a set of garbage and recycling bins on the left and a community notice board on the right. Near the entrance is a small circular seating features. There is bike parking along the sidewalk on the right side of the image. The centre of the park is open space for gathering. Along the outside of the park are semi and half circle planting beds with trees and plantings. On the inside of each planting bed is tiered stone seating, facing into the park. There are walking pathways along all side of the park, between the park and neighbouring buildings. There are light posts with multiple light bulbs attached to the side of the posts near the top, pointing down.
Rendering of the proposed design looking north into the park from Richmond Street East.
A rendering of the proposed design for the new park on Richmond Street. The view is south through the park from the north east corner. The centre of the park is open space for gathering. The centre of the park is marked with a light coloured circular paving feature, while the rest of the paving is red brick. Along the outside of the park are semi and half circle planting beds with trees and plantings. On the inside of each planting bed is tiered stone seating, facing into the park. There are circular seating features throughout the perimeter of the park. On the right there is a tiered seating feature with a large enough surface to double as a stage for live performances in the park. On the left, by the walkway along the outside of the park there are cafe tables and seating. These are located next to but outside of the park, the rendering suggests these would be put out by businesses, as they are on private property.
Rendering of the proposed design looking south through the park from the north-east corner.

Proposed Park Layout

An aerial plan view of the proposed design for the new park on Richmond Street. There are six semi and half circular planting beds along the perimeter of the park that include trees and plantings. on the inside edge of each is stone tiered seating, facing into the park. Throughout the space there are 13 small circular seating features. There are large trees that can provide shade throughout the space. The paving is red brick, aligned with the cardinal directions. In the centre of the park is a light coloured circular paving feature. There is bike parking on the south end of the park. There is bench seating along the outer edge of the park with spaces for people using mobility devices. There are walkways around all sides of the park that abut the neighbouring developments. There is a pathway north from the park that leads to King Street and a pathway from the north east side that leads east to Ontario Street.
Note that labels 2, 3, and 13 Moons seating features are Indigenous placekeeping features, which are explained in the video following this image.

 

A video of the proposed design where Ryan Gorrie, Indigenous Design Advisor for the new park, provides an overview of the draft park design, with a focus on the proposed Indigenous placekeeping features.

Park Vision

Based on the feedback collected in Community Engagement Phase 1, the design vision for this park is an accessible, green and calm urban oasis, with the flexibility to host events and performances. The design focus in this park is Indigenous Placekeeping.

Community Engagement Phase 1: Building a Vision

In this phase of the community engagement process, community members were asked to provide feedback to help develop a draft design for each park, which will be presented to the community for additional feedback in Phase 2. The project was also shared with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for feedback.

Details of the Phase 1 community engagement process, including summary documents, are located in the New Park on King Street East section.

Community Engagement Phase 2: Exploring Design Options

In this phase, draft design options for each park will be presented to the local community for feedback and revisions. This phase is taking place now. Visit the Get Involved section for more information.

January 2023

Black Communities Advisory Group

On January 19, 2023, the second meeting with the Black Communities Advisory Group took place.

A meeting summary will be posted when available.

March 2023

Community Pop-Up Event

On March 21, 2023, the project team held a drop-in pop-up event at John Innes Community Recreation Centre at 150 Sherbourne St., from 2:30 to 7 p.m.

The pop-up allowed community members to review the draft park designs for the new park on Richmond Street East and provide their feedback in person. Two project team members were available to collect feedback and answer questions.

Approximately 15 community members provided feedback at this popup.

A summary of all community popups will be provided.

Virtual Community Design Workshop: New Park on Richmond Street

On March 23, 2023, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., the project team held a virtual community workshop. Participants could review and provide feedback on draft design options for the new park on Richmond Street in an interactive virtual space. Two community members attended the workshop.

A workshop presentation and summary will be provided.

Online Survey

An online survey for community members ran from March 3 to April 2. Participants could review and provide feedback on draft design options for the new park on Richmond Street East. The draft design options were developed based on the feedback collected in Community Engagement Phase 1.

A summary of the feedback collected will be posted on this page when available.

Community Engagement Phase 3: Setting the Direction

This phase of the community engagement process will start in mid-2023. In this phase, a final proposed design for the new parks will be presented to the local community for a final round of feedback and revisions.