Authorization to Release Section 37 Funds from the Development at 200 Queens Quay West to the Bentway Conservancy for the Waterfront Reconnect Project to be constructed under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe Street - by Councillor Ausma Malik, seconded by Councillor Paula Fletcher

as a part of the Section 37 contribution the owner make a cash contribution in the amount of $90,000.00 toward the Bentway Waterfront Reconnect project for improvements under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe Street, to be paid at such time as the Zoning By-law amendment comes into full force and effect, and that such amount be indexed upwardly in accordance the Statistics Canada Construction Price Index, calculated from the date of the passing of the Zoning By-law Amendment to the date the payment is made. The Zoning By-law amendment is now in full force and effect and the City has received a Section 37 payment of $92,179.93 from the owner. The Bentway Conservancy is a registered not-for-profit charity whose objective is to plan, create and program new accessible and animated public spaces in areas underneath the Gardiner Expressway, so that these spaces become an integral part of the larger downtown public realm. As a not-for-profit organization providing community services and serving local residents, the Bentway Conservancy is eligible for Section 37 funds, provided they are for capital improvements. The Waterfront Reconnect project is a collaboration between the Bentway Conservancy, the City of Toronto, the Waterfront Business Improvement Area and the Toronto Downtown West Business Improvement Area. The project includes creative installations that re-imagine the experience of pedestrians and cyclists at two intersections under the Gardiner Expressway at York Street and Lower Simcoe Street. These installations are intended to address safety, reinforce a sense of arrival, and transition and transform the space into an opportunity for enhanced connectivity between the central city and the waterfront. The Waterfront Reconnect project to be installed at Lower Simcoe Street is called Pixel Story. The scope of work include painting the bents and girders of the Gardiner as well as various scales of pixels including walls with movable pixels, that display a range of stories from the historic shoreline to the daily experiences of residents and visitors about the waterfront and the attractions on both sides of the Gardiner. The Bentway Conservancy plans the Pixel Story installation to begin in early April of 2023 to be completed by the end of May 2023. Section 37 funds have been both secured and received by the City from the development at 200 Queens Quay West specifically for the Bentway Conservancy to fund capital improvements for the Pixel Story Waterfront Reconnect Project to be constructed under the Gardiner Expressway at Lower Simcoe Street. City Planning staff advise that the proposed purpose of the funds as set out in the recommendations of this Motion are in accordance with Council approved guidelines and protocols. Prior to receiving the funds, the Bentway Conservancy will be required to sign an Undertaking governing the use of the funds and the financial reporting requirements.

2. City Council approve forwarding the Section 37 funding in the amount of $92,179.93 to the Bentway Conservancy, subject to the organization signing an Undertaking governing the use of the funds and the financial reporting requirements.