A new 820 m2 park is coming to 464-470 Queen St. W., at the corner of Queen Street West and Augusta Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood. The park design will be shaped through community engagement and is proposed to include lighting, seating areas, plantings and more.

  • Winter to Spring 2025: Construction of base park by the developer
  • Spring 2025: Hire a design team
  • Summer to Fall 2025: Community engagement
  • Fall 2025 to Summer 2026: Design development and demolition of 468 Queen St. W. starts
  • Winter to Fall 2026: Detailed design
  • Fall 2026 to Winter 2027: Hire a construction team and demolition at 468 Queen St. W. complete
  • Spring 2027: Construction starts
  • Fall 2027: Construction complete, park opens

The timeline is subject to change. A base park is the area that is cleared and prepared for future park features and amenities.

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Level of Engagement

This project has been classified as an Involve project based on the International Association for Public Participation Spectrum. This means we work directly with the public, stakeholders and rightsholders throughout the design process to ensure that ideas and aspirations are understood and considered in the design process.

Community Advisory Committee

This project has a Community Advisory Committee made up of representatives of the local community and identified stakeholder groups. The Committee will offer feedback, guidance and advice to the project team at key points during the community engagement process, meeting one to two times per phase. They have an advisory role and do not make decisions or represent the whole community.

Indigenous Sharing Circle

This project will have an Indigenous Sharing Circle made up of community members who are Indigenous to Canada and represent a diversity of Indigenous backgrounds and experiences. The Circle will provide feedback and engage in meaningful discussions on Indigenous Placekeeping elements at the park throughout the community engagement process, meeting in each phase. They will have a critical advisory role and do not make decisions or represent all Indigenous communities.

In this phase, the City worked with community members and the Community Advisory Committee to develop a draft vision statement, guiding principles and big moves for the new park, which will help shape design options in Community Engagement Phase 2.

Draft Vision Statement

The vision is co-created with the community to describe the ideal future park. It is a big-picture statement that should inspire everyone toward a common understanding of the project’s overall goals and objectives.

The new park at 464-470 Queen Street West will be a clean, green, and accessible public space that offers a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of the city. It will be a place of refuge and reprieve: a peaceful, inclusive, and vibrant destination where people of all ages, abilities, interests, cultural and economic backgrounds can come together to rest, reflect, and connect.

The park will recognize the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples who call this area home, acknowledging that Toronto is situated on Treaty 13 and Dish with One Spoon territory. It will honour Indigenous teachings, including seven generations thinking and reciprocity with nature.

The park will foster meaningful relationships between people and nature, while celebrating the rich arts and culture of Queen West through its design and use. With native and medicinal plants, gardens, adequate seating and shade from the elements, and public art, the park will support the well-being of both humans and animals year-round.

Draft Guiding Principles

The guiding principles are high-level directions that reflect the community’s most important values and ideas for how the park should look and feel. They help to clarify the vision statement and guide how the park should be designed by describing the desired outcomes.

Resilience through Flexibility and Simplicity

The park should feature durable and multi-use infrastructure that is accessible and easy to maintain. The design should support year-round enjoyment and embrace sustainable, long-lasting materials that reduce upkeep.

Create a Calming Sanctuary

The park should provide a retreat from the busy streets, offering shelter from the elements and a comforting atmosphere where visitors can sit, reflect, and recharge.

Celebrate Queen West

The park should serve as a destination that draws people from across Toronto, with distinctive, innovative features and public art that reflect and celebrate the creative spirit of Queen West.

Nurture Indigenous and Green Connections

The park should integrate native plants and landscapes that honour Indigenous environments and histories. This connection to nature should foster coexistence between people, plants, and wildlife.

Ensure Inclusion and Accessibility

The park should welcome people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. It should be a gathering place where friends and strangers alike feel a sense of belonging and community.

Support Social Gathering and Dining

The park should provide space and amenities for eating, dining, and socializing, including tables, seating, and gathering areas that encourage people to connect and spend time together.

Draft Big Moves

Big moves are the main priorities for the design of the park. They are specific directions to the design team that flow from the vision and principles and help to make them a reality.

  1. Add an accessible path or walkway
  2. Add a drinking fountain
  3. Add Indigenous place keeping features
  4. Add lighting
  5. Add new plantings
  6. Add places to sit or eat
  7. Add public art
  8. Add shade structures
  9. Add a water feature or misting station

Community Engagement Meetings and Events

September 2025

Indigenous Sharing Circle Meeting 1

On September 23, the Indigenous Sharing Circle met to learn about the project and share feedback to draft a vision statement, guiding principles and big moves to inform the design process.

Feedback Summary

Participants suggested that the park should incorporate signage to recognize First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples who call the City home, and acknowledge that Toronto is situated on Treaty 13 territory. It was also suggested to recognize the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Wendat and Haudenosaunee Nations, and the Wampum agreements that governed their relationships.

Participants felt that the design could reflect seven generations thinking, reciprocity with nature, and the seven grandfather teachings as guiding worldviews.

Participants supported creating spaces that support Indigenous cultures, ceremony and reflection, such as circular seating areas, sharing circles and a space for a cultural fire.

Participants encouraged the integration and visibility of Indigenous art, symbols and languages throughout the park. Suggestions included involving local Indigenous and Two-Spirit artists and youth.

Participants recommended incorporating traditional and medicinal plants such as sage, sweetgrass, lavender, rosemary and milkweed, along with native plantings. These elements could support pollinators and reflect teachings of care and reciprocity.

Participants suggested the use of recycled and/or sustainable materials and encouraged a more natural space.

Participants supported adding interpretive signage and adding QR codes and interactive materials to share Indigenous teachings, in the languages of the traditional Nations.

Participants encouraged celebrations of water in the built environment or in artwork to highlight its significance to Indigenous peoples.

Participants suggested incorporating animals in the design or artwork to celebrate our connection and shared responsibility.

Indigenous Sharing Circle Application

From August 29 to September 18, community members who are Indigenous to Canada could apply to be a member of the Indigenous Sharing Circle. Members will provide insight and feedback on key project elements to help shape the park design.

August 2025

Community Advisory Committee Meeting 1 and 2

On August 6, the Community Advisory Committee met to learn about the project, draft a vision statement for the new park and develop initial draft guiding principles and big moves to inform the design process.

Download the combined June and August 2025 Community Advisory Committee meeting summary.

July 2025

Online Thought Exchange Activity

From July 4 to August 1, an online thought exchange activity gathered ideas for the new park. The activity received a total of 304 thoughts and 6,106 thought ratings from 333 participants.

Feedback Summary

Respondents were asked what they would most like the character of the new park to be, what they would like to do at the park, and what park features they feel are most important. Responses are shown in parentheses below.

Respondents selected their top three choices for what they would most like the character of the new park to be:

  1. green and sustainable (71 per cent)
  2. peaceful (54 per cent)
  3. eventful (34 per cent)
  4. social (32 per cent)

Respondents selected all activities that they would like to do at the park:

  1. relax in open green spaces (74 per cent)
  2. sit and/or eat (71 per cent)
  3. enjoy and observe planting areas (53 per cent)
  4. gather with friends and family (46 per cent)

Respondents selected all features that they felt were most important:

  1. seating and seating areas (72 per cent)
  2. shade feature (71 per cent)
  3. drinking fountain (66 per cent)
  4. planting areas (57 per cent)
  5. flexible open green spaces (51 per cent)
  6. quiet reflective spaces (42 per cent)
  7. flexible space for events or gatherings (32 per cent)

Additional comments that were highly rated by participants included:

  • A green and shady place to rest, cool off, relax and meet friends on a busy stretch of Queen Street West.
  • Plant lots of trees and native plants to bring life, shade, and calm to the area, support pollinators, and make the park easy to care for.
  • Keep it simple and green with more grass, trees, and planting, not hard surfaces.
  • A quiet, welcoming space where people can take a break from the noise, connect with nature, and enjoy time with others.
  • Add comfortable, shaded seating and drinking water so that everyone, including seniors and people with disabilities, can sit and cool down.
  • Make it safe, easy to maintain, and designed for the community.

Review a summary of the July 2025 Thought Exchange activity results, including the top thoughts and themes.

June 2025

Community Advisory Committee Meeting 1

On June 25, the Community Advisory Committee met to learn about the project, draft a vision statement for the new park and develop initial draft guiding principles and big moves to inform the design process.

Download the combined June and August 2025 Community Advisory Committee meeting summary.

Community Advisory Committee Application

From May 23 to June 16, community members could apply to be part of the project’s Community Advisory Committee.

In this phase, the City and the design consultant will build on the outcomes of Community Engagement Phase 1 to develop design options for the new park. These options will be shared with the community and Community Advisory Committee for feedback, which will help shape the preferred design.

The anticipated outcome of this phase is the selection of a preferred design.

The community engagement activities anticipated in this phase include:

  • an online survey
  • an open house

In this phase, the preferred design for the park will be shared with the community on this page and the project mailing list. The project will then move into the detailed design phase where the design team will work through the technical details and plans for the construction contractor.