The two-story below-grade garage, built in 1985, has been operated by the Harbourfront Center under a long-term lease, but staff say the structure needs millions of dollars in repairs and is likely to close for good by early 2024.
This, in turn, would create the opportunity to use the land it sits on as part of a new three-acre waterfront park planned for the area.  The vision for the park also calls for a structure to be built over part of the adjacent Portland Slip.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference Tuesday, Mayor John Tory said the disused parking garage will essentially serve as a “structural foundation” for the “new waterfront park feature.”
Construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2026, but Tory said he believes the timeline could be sped up.
“I’m excited about Bathurst Quay Waterfront Park because we’re going to open up another three acres of our waterfront,” he said.  “For so many years this city has turned its back on the waterfront.  I was at something just last week and noticed the fact that I remember when there were literally car wreck yards and used tire bays right on the water.  That was there and we are changing it.  A car park may have seemed like a good idea at the time it was put there, but like many things times change and we’re going to do something much, much better.”
The update on the Bathurst Quay project is included in a wider staff report that also details planned park initiatives for the median that runs along University Avenue, as well as areas around existing rail corridors that cut through the downtown core .
Tory admitted the projects are “big” and “will take some time to complete,” but said it’s “important” for the public to know the city is making progress.
For that reason, the staff report details the activities undertaken to date to advance each of the projects, as well as timelines for the work the city hopes to complete over the next five and 10 years.
“Like all important moments in the life of our city, we are laying the groundwork today to provide public spaces for current and future generations of residents and visitors,” Tory said.  “These projects are opportunities to provide much-needed public space and green space in areas where it is currently lacking.  They will provide beautiful new parks and public spaces for everyone who lives here, works here and visits here.  These projects are all possible, even if they are also complex.”
Staff say the “early conceptual design” for Bathurst Quay Park envisages a “mix of hard and soft spaces suitable for a range of passive and planned park uses and functions”.
They also say the Canada Malting Company’s historic silos will be used as “a year-round outdoor canvas for potential custom projection mapping shows, waterfront film festivals hosted in the new park space, and/or public art exhibitions showcasing both traditional and digital artistic media’.