westwood theatre

Abandoned Toronto movie theatre to become new civic centre

Since theWestwood Theatreclosed in 1998, the site has lay in various states of ruin. The building lasted until 2013, but since then the sprawling lot near Etobicoke's Six Points intersection has been something of an urban wasteland. Now, it's set to come back to life.

Build Torontohas announceda short list of candidates in an international design competition to create what it calls "a new civic landmark." The site will include a public square, a library, civic offices, and recreation centre.

The entire area is in the midst of a major transformation with a newGO transit hubat Kipling Station, ahost of condo developments, and thereconfigurationof the Six Points intersection. In a decade, the neighbourhood will desperately need the amenities offered by this civic hub.

The international presence in the competition is a nice signal that Build Toronto is taking the design component of this redevelopment seriously, but it's also nice to see a number of Toronto firms on the list.

Here are the candidates:

  • Adamson Associates, Henning Larsen, PMA
  • Diamond Schmitt, Michael Van Valkenburgh
  • KPMB Architects, West 8 Urban Design & Landscape
  • Montgomery Sisam Architects, Adjaye Associates, OLIN
  • 本森山& Teshima•麦乐伦Jaunkalns米勒佛RREC Ltd.

City council will vote on the results of the design competition and business cases later this year.

Lead photo by

AshtonPal


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