A Map of Toronto's Cultural Facilities - ERA Architects Inc.

Toronto Artscape has played an important role in anchoring artists and arts organizations
within Toronto’s downtown. The Toronto Artscape model relies to a great degree on partnership
opportunities with the City of Toronto as three of its five properties are City owned.
Artscape has also been successful in negotiating long-term leases with private owners such as
floors 7th and 8th of the Darling Building at 96 Spadina Avenue. Artscape’s other successful
venture was the purchase of 900 Queen Street West as live/work space. This purchase was
made possible through a provincial housing grant.
Gooderham and Worts is an excellent example of a public private partnership between the City
of Toronto, the property owner and Toronto Artscape. Using Section 37 of the Planning Act,
the City of Toronto secured the commitment from the owner for cultural amenities in return
for additional residential density. As a result, Toronto Artscape has entered into a 20 year lease
to develop a number of Incubator facilities on the site. The agreement also commits the developer
to maintaining the historical integrity of the site.
Ownership is a sure way of ensuring tenancy for some Incubators. However, ownership is
frought with its own problems such as the capital costs of maintenance, repairs and upgrades.
Buildings in need of repair put enormous pressures on an arts organization’s limited resources;
they limit audiences’ enjoyment, hinder artists’ work and restrict an organization’s ability to
earn revenues. The recent Study of Facility Needs of Small and Mid-Sized Professional
Theatres in the City of Toronto by Sandra Tulloch identifies that the price tag for current or
planned facility projects for Toronto’s small and mid-sized professional theatres is approximately
$20 million.
6.3.3 Showcases
There are 122 Showcases identified on the map. They are located in the following areas:
City owned Non-City owned Total
South District 17 96 113
North District 2 4 6
East District 1 1 2
West District 0 1 1
Showcases are overwhelmingly located in the South District. These cultural facilities are primarily
market driven and therefore are dependent on earned revenue for their survival.
Alternatively they are unique venues that have popular appeal and are marketed primarily to
tourists. For example, the Toronto Zoo is the City-owned Showcase found in the East
District. It is a Showcase because it is a world-class facility and the only one of its kind in the
Greater Toronto Area. The two City owned Showcases in the North District are the
Cultural Facility Analysis page 18 of 27