Not feasible for City of Toronto to assume operations of the Ontario Science Centre: report

A report from City of Toronto staff says the feasibility of the City being able to assume and operate the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) at its current location appears to be “very low.”

The report was requested by City Council at the June 26 meeting and is set to go before the Executive Committee Tuesday. It found that if the city were to operate the Science Centre it would need to find an additional $20.2 million in operating revenue every year, above the current earned revenues.

“These revenues can also be expected to decline, as the asset is facing a declining brand and the site will require at least partial closure for extended periods of time to allow for necessary capital repairs to be completed,” reads the report.

They also assume that the $19.4 million in provincial grants the OSC received in 2023 would no longer be available. This was without taking into consideration the facility’s critical infrastructure needs.

The report also said any attempt to restore and run a science centre on the site would also be challenged by the provincial government’s plans to re-establish the Ontario Science Centre at the redevelopment Ontario place site, although that is not set to open until 2028 at the earliest.

The preliminary analysis found it would not be sustainable for the City alone to assume operations of the OSC under its current conditions.

Mayor Olivia Chow vowed to look into the city’s options when the Science Centre was closed abruptly after an engineering report found that the roof was at risk of collapse later this year.

The land on which the Science Centre has operated since 1969 in the east end of Toronto is leased to the province by the city and its conservation authority.

The lease does restrict the province’s permitted use of the OSC Site to be a science centre but does not obligate the operation of one.

City staff has requested more details regarding the province’s plan with respect to the current OSC

The advocacy group, Save Ontario Science Centre, will be holding a press conference at Nathan Phillips Square on Tuesday morning alongside Councillor Josh Matlow.

A deal last year between the city and province saw Ontario agree to take over operations of two Toronto highways in order to provide the city with some financial relief, and part of the deal included a discussion of maintaining some form of science programming at the original science centre site – Chow has previously said she wants to get that started.

Ontario is in the midst of searching for a temporary home for the science centre before the Ontario Place facility opens. A request for proposals indicates it’s eyeing about 50,000 to 100,000 square feet — a fraction of the original building’s 568,000 square feet.

With files from The Canadian Press