Ontario Science Center closes current location | Revitalization of Ontario Place

The Ontario Science Center is permanently closing access to the general public at its current location in northeast Toronto today because engineers detected structural problems.

Roof panels risk giving way under the weight of snow next winter, according to a report from the Rimkus Consulting Group. The museum therefore absolutely had to close by October 31. Although the building is still safe during the summer, the provincial government explains in a press release that this period will be necessary to allow staff to safely vacate the building.

The Center’s move was already planned to a new building that would be built at Ontario Place and could open in 2028, according to the province. This move has raised criticism, like many decisions surrounding the modernization of Ontario Place.

The provincial agency Infrastructure Ontario assures that the decision to close the current building before the snow arrives is undoubtedly a health and safety issuebut that it is safe for the moment.

The Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Michael Robertson, says thatthere will be no immediate layoffsbut did not want to come forward any further.

Expensive repairs

Some of the lightweight concrete panels used to construct the roof, a popular material from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, are damaged and could have failed if no action had been taken.

The Science Center, which has three buildings, is comparable in size to a shopping center. Replacing the roof could cost $40 million and take two to five years. The engineering firm believes that the building should have been empty in any case to undertake such work.

Infrastructure Ontario points out that the roof is just one of the items that needs repair.

The Science Center opened its doors in 1969. A report released by the government in November 2023 estimated that modernizing the building and necessary repairs would cost at least $478 million. These potential costs continue to rise, according to Infrastructure Ontario.

Activities canceled or moved

The provincial government clarified in the afternoon that private events already planned for the weekend could take place there.

It will also reimburse within 30 days members of the Science Center and parents who had registered their children for summer camps there. The province will move these camps to a nearby school. They will be free for children who have already registered.

By the end of October, the Center will remove the exhibitions and collections located inside the building. It will also try to find ways to offer its programs, virtually or in pop-up locations, while Infrastructure Ontario looks for a temporary location while waiting for the new building at Ontario Place.

Favoritism and neglect, according to the opposition

The liberal opposition accuses the government of having neglected the Science Center.

As he did with our hospitals and schools, Doug Ford neglected the Ontario Science Center to justify his big plans to enrich his friends and those in governmentsaid Don Valley East MP Adil Shamji in a statement.

The leader of the Green Party, Mike Schreiner, also deplores that there was not more prevention, to avoid reaching this point.

Now residents of Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park, with just hours notice, are losing a center that is vital to the communityhe writes.

Communities outside the city center have the right to have nice things tooadds NDP leader Marit Stiles, a reference to the fact that the new Science Center will be built downtown, far from its current location. The closure of a world-class scientific and cultural establishment is heartbreaking.