The old power plant on Toronto’s waterfront that has sat idle for years is suddenly drawing new interest.
In June, the Luminato Festival kicked off its annual celebration with a big bash at the Hearn generating station on Unwin Ave., turning the industrial building into a glittering party spot for the city’s movers and shakers.
And just last Friday, officials with the city’s planning department traipsed through the giant facility — which is large enough to hold 12 Parthenons — dreaming of the possibilities.
But the challenges are huge: there’s a long-term lease that can possibly tie up the building until 2041, and big bucks are needed for any redevelopment project.
Mike Williams, the city’s economic development general manager, added that there is growing interest in Hearn’s neighbourhood, the Port Lands, as development projects get under way, including one at the old Unilever plant at the base of the Don Valley Parkway.
“On a personal basis, I think the Hearn is one of the most phenomenal opportunities that we have in this city,” he said. “It has been a favourite project for me.
“But it is fraught with all sorts of complications, including who controls the use, who owns the building, where it is, its state of disrepair,” Williams said, adding development of the Hearn could act as a catalyst for the area.
“We need to find a way to make it work. It is a future jewel for the city,” he said.
There is some optimism that “baby steps” are being taken to develop the Hearn into a sports and cultural hub, says Karen Pitre, chair of the Toronto Sports Council, who is spearheading the new Friends of the Hearn community group.
The site has a massive concrete slab nearly four metres thick, covering 2.3 hectares, making it ideal for redevelopment.
“Everybody thinks this is an incredible space, but it’s almost too big and too complicated,” said Pitre. “It does require everybody to play a role in it.”
When city council meets on Tuesday, politicians will be asked to deem the power plant a “strategic site,” with hopes of spurring development there — including transforming it into a mixed-use site with hockey rinks and indoor soccer fields.
After all, there’s $32.4 million earmarked for a regional sports facility on the waterfront that been sitting on the books for years. Despite efforts to build a sports complex, including a stacked hockey arena, that money is still unspent.
Councillors will be asked to endorse a plan that would see city officials work with community groups including Friends of the Hearn to determine whether a business case exists for an “adaptive reuse” of the building.
The Friends of the Hearn group is just emerging, and includes Evergreen, which redeveloped the Brickworks, as well as the Toronto Sports Council.
Friends of the Hearn “will enable momentum, but the momentum isn’t there yet,” said Evergreen CEO Geoff Cape, who believes a community-driven initiative will bring together the parties including the city, the province (which owns the property through Ontario Power Generation) and Waterfront Toronto, hopefully avoiding any territorial fights.
“People are starting to come to the table,” he said, noting the Luminato party hit a nerve.
“I think people were struck by it,” Cape said. “You could stand there and look 16 storeys straight up, and see the volume of the building, the layers of steel and the ruggedness.”
Councillor Paula Fletcher, who represents the Port Lands area, believes there is so much potential in the Hearn, and hopes the Toronto waterfront will embrace its industrial roots.
“Let’s not try to pretend it wasn’t an industrial area,” she said. “It won’t be a heavily manicured waterfront. It’s going to be edgy, gritty and exciting.”
She acknowledges there are many challenges at the site, including a lack of services such as sewer and water, as well as the long-term lease.
The Hearn was built nearly seven decades ago, and decommissioned in 1983; Ontario Power Generation signed a lease for the building with Studios of America, a group of partners including developer Mario Cortellucci that envisioned it would be ideal for a film studio.
But that business never took off, in part due to a falling dollar and the competing Pinewood film studio nearby. Under the lease, Studios of America can use, and change or even demolish the building in any way over the life of the lease, which allows for three possible extensions to 2041.
Over the past year, Pitre said her group has held discussions with Studios of America’s partners including Cortellucci in hopes of finding a way to make the Hearn project work. While talks are in the early stages, Pitre believes a way forward is possible.
Calls to Cortellucci for comment were not returned.
Paul Vaughan, president of Studios of America, cautioned that there is no formal discussion of any collaboration at this point.
“We have a lot of people kicking the tires,” he said. “We obviously listen to their proposals. We are happy to hear from them.”
Ever since Luminato had its opening night at the Hearn, Vaughan said calls have been pouring in with lots of interest for other events at the site.
Vaughan said his group welcomes the city council’s proposal to designate the Hearn a strategic site.
Both Cape and Pitre argue that there needs to be lots of imaginative thinking around this project. For example, because the site does not have water or sewer servicing, Cape said off-grid ideas could be implemented, such as composting toilets or saving rainwater.
Despite the daunting challenges, they are not deterred at all, saying as long as all parties are willing to work together, the Hearn could be like decommissioned plants that have found new uses, including London’s Tate Modern art museum and The Power Plant, an entertainment district in Baltimore.
“Big ideas attract big dollars,” said Pitre, saying the funding will need to come from lots of places, including private and public investment.
Fletcher believes there’s a growing interest in finding a way to showcase the Hearn, noting a workshop in March came up with lot of potential uses, including urban farming on the roof.
Other ideas include a music venue or performance space, incubator, urban farming or greenhouse, along with retail or mixed uses or even parking spaces, which are in demand due peak times due to dragon boaters, cyclists and those using the Cherry St. sports fields.
“There is a longing to explore every single aspect of trying to make this work. We can’t just let it sit there,” Fletcher said. “We’re trying to move this uphill. It’s inching its way.”
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