National Historic Site to be Dismantled or Demolished for Island Airport Tunnel

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

In the latest Island Airport outrage, the Toronto Port Authority plans to dismantle or demolish the historic Airport Terminal Building.

This terminal, designated a National Historic Site, is an impediment to construction of the TPA’s wildly expensive and poorly‑justified pedestrian tunnel.

“Not content with trampling all over Toronto’s prime recreational refuge – its waterfront – with its ever‑increasing airport traffic, noise and pollution, the TPA now plans to dispense with an important part of our City’s heritage.  All just for a slight increase in convenience for Porter Airline’s passengers. We think that’s wrong.” said Brian Iler, Chair, CommunityAIR.

In a report to Toronto City Council last week (found at http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-39523.pdf) , City staff stated:

“The Tripartite Agreement includes a provision that addresses the future of the terminal in the event that the TPA determines that it is no longer required for the operation of the airport. In such circumstances, the City is to be given notice and within 180 days of receiving the notice, must decide whether to take over the Building.

“In advance of formally notifying Transportation Canada who, in turn, would issue the official decommissioning letter, the TPA already has advised the City that the Administration Building is no longer appropriate for airport uses and is required to be relocated. In an effort to help expedite the Tripartite Agreement timeframes, the TPA has offered to contribute $ 250,000 toward the cost of preparing, relocating, building a foundation for, and reassembling the building securely to a site that is acceptable to the City and Transport Canada.

“After thorough consideration, City staff has concluded that taking ownership of the building is not in the City's interest, but that the City should assist in efforts to have a third party own and operate the building in a manner consistent with the building's Heritage status.

“Although no final decision has been made on the future of the building, discussions between the Toronto Port Authority, the City and potential partners (i.e. Downsview Park) are on-going and positive. The Term Sheet provides that the parties will commit to continuing to work together cooperatively to find an agreeable solution.

Here’s why the Toronto Island Airport Terminal Building was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1989 (from  http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7530):

-          “it is a rare surviving example of air terminal construction dating from the formative years of air passenger travel; and

-          “geared to efficiency, it centralized passenger, baggage, and air traffic control services in a structure which was placed close to and in full view of the runway.

“Designed and built by the Toronto Harbour Commission in 1938-9, the Toronto Island Airport Terminal Building was part of the first group of aviation terminals to be funded and approved by the newly formed Department of Transport as part of the development of the federally funded Trans-Canada Airway. It is one of very few early terminal buildings to have survived and is likely the oldest, extant, operating terminal of its kind in Canada.