The Ford government says it plans to keep a smaller, temporary science centre open for as long as five years while it builds a new site for the shuttered attraction at Ontario Place.
The province had to look for a new science centre immediately after the abrupt closure of the popular landmark at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue on Friday. Officials announced the closure just hours before it came into effect, before the weekend, claiming concern about the state of the roof had driven the sudden move.
The change was met by sharp backlash, with the architecture firm that designed the building announcing they did not believe it needed to close.
The Ford government had, for at least a year, planned to close the science centre and move it to a new home at Ontario Place, with plans to construct a new building there already underway.
Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said the plan had been to “keep the building alive” until that move in early 2028 but said health and safety concerns ultimately forced the government’s hand.
A government spokesperson told Global News that the temporary science centre would be big enough to “accommodate key components” from the current site.
“The goal is to transform it into a space that ensures families, students and youth can continue to access and benefit from science-based programming and education until the new Science Centre opens as soon as 2028,” they said.
The request for proposals — which asks anyone who has a commercial or retail space to host the attraction to apply — suggests temporary science centre could be as small as 50,000 square feet and as big as 100,000 square feet. The recently closed site was 568,000 square feet.
The province said there would be “flexibility” built into the terms of the new, temporary science centre so it could offer activities until the new site is open. That means the lease would run for roughly five years — which would give the government cover for its new site to be delayed until 2029.
“We look forward to receiving proposals and reviewing them to determine what could be the best fit for the temporary… location,” the province said.
Officials with Infrastructure Ontario, the government body managing the move, have refused to say how much they are budgeting for the temporary space.
Even as the search begins for a temporary space, critics are demanding the existing building be saved and reopened.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles is among those urging the government to repair faulty roof panels rather than permanently close the whole building.
“No one is buying Ford’s excuses for permanently closing our Science Centre; we all know it’s about sweetening the deal for his luxury spa at Ontario Place,” Stiles wrote in a statement.
“Now we see the government planning to build an interim Science Centre for a fraction of the size of the original, with unknown costs to the public, and no chance of opening for at least a year. Just repair the existing Science Centre!”
— with files from The Canadian Press