The existing Etobicoke Civic Centre has not been sold and will remain open until at least 2028 when a new one is opened.
The existing Etobicoke Civic Centre will be in operation for at least four more years as a new one is constructed.
The centre, at 399 The West Mall, is expected to remain in operation until the new one is open and councillors have moved in,” said Ward 2 Councillor Stephen Holyday.
“There are still meetings that take place there,” Holyday said. “The Etobicoke York Community Council is still there.”
The new civic centre is expected to be completed in 2028, with staff moving in by December.
Sections of the existing Etobicoke Civic Centre has been deemed to have heritage value and the property is expected to be sold for housing, including affordable dwellings.
There are other gatherings, art shows and exhibitions that regularly take place at the centre that was built in 1958 and is 66-years-old.
Holyday said parts of the centre, like a section of the front door, has been deemed as having heritage value and has to be kept intact.
He speculates at some point some sections of the massive property will be sold for possible use for housing. The centre has a large parking lot in the front and rear.
He, and other city officials, deny reports on social media that the property has already been sold to developers for condos.
The sale has to be approved by City Council before it can proceed.
The Etobicoke Civic Centre cenotaph is popular with residents and will have to be moved to another site.
He said before that proceeds a decision also has to be made on what happens to the historic limestone cenotaph, the War Memorial, that was constructed in 1968 in memory of the brave men who lost their lives in World War 1, World War II and the Korean War.
Adjacent to the Cenotaph is a provincial plaque commemorating Corporal Frederick George Topham, V.C., an Etobicoke war Hero that was erected in 1980. Hundreds of area residents gather at the cenotaph to commemorate Remembrance Day.
Properties next door to the Centre used by The Board of Education and Ontario Hydro are also owned by the City having been acquired by Etobicoke for civic use in 1969.
A plaque honoring Etobicoke war hero Corporal Frederick George Topham, V.C., is located at the Cenotaph.
Construction of the mixed-use Etobicoke Civic Centre is underway at City-owned lands at 3755 Bloor Street W., in the Kipling Avenue and Bloor Street W. area. It is expected to be completed in 2028, with staff moving in by December.
The Centre will be the cornerstone of a community on six hectares of former Westwood Theatre Lands. It will anchor a new residential and retail area with as many as 2,700 homes, 900 of which will meet Toronto’s affordable housing criteria.
The new civic hub will feature more than 508,000 square feet of accessible public-facing space. It will include four office towers, a podium-level multi-purpose council chamber, a child care centre, a new Toronto Public Library branch, a public health clinic for dental services and breastfeeding.
There will also be a recreation centre, ceremonial rooms, public meeting rooms, an art gallery and retail spaces, all leading out to an open civic square with a Sacred Fire Vessel.