Therme Canada has unveiled updated designs for its Ontario Place facilities, including publicly-accessible spaces, family-friendly activities and traditional spa amenities, but some Torontonians are still not impressed with the plans.
On Tuesday, the company released updated designs for Toronto’s new waterpark and wellness centre at the new Ontario Place.
The new plans reveal that Therme’s facility will include botanical gardens embracing three zones, dedicated to different purposes: Play, Relax and Restore.
Its Relax area will include traditional spa offerings, such as warm thermal pools, social saunas and steam rooms, and relaxation areas. Meanwhile, the Restore area will go deeper into wellness, with aufguss sessions in several saunas, warm mineral pools meant to revitalize the body and relaxing massage sessions.
However, the Play area is meant to deliver fun with family-friendly activities, such as waterslides, a wave pool, and multiple food and beverage offerings.
In total, the facility will include more than 20 waterslides, 10 pools, (including three for relaxation, six mineral pools and the wave pool), 14 saunas, nine steam rooms, cold plunges, cold showers and an ice fountain. The space will also include 21 food and beverage options, with grab-and-go, casual dining, bars and cafés.
The new Ontario Place was developed by architecture firm Diamond Schmitt as well as Therme ARC, with the collaboration of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), design and architecture company STUDIO tla, and sustainable design company Trophic Design.
“This design offers a globally inspired wellness experience that is also grounded in a distinctly Canadian identity and informed by the landscape of Ontario,” Principal at Diamond Schmitt Gary McCluskie said in a statement.
According to Therme, the facility is also going to pay tribute to the original Ontario Place, focusing on family-friendly activities and inclusive spaces, with elements dedicated to family fun.
Besides the private spa spaces, the new designs will also include 16 acres of publicly-accessible parkland, with sand beaches, change rooms, walking trails, and picnic spots, along with four Indigenous place-keeping sites.
Developers say these spaces could be used for art exhibitions, live performances, pop-ups, markets, festivals, water activities, firework viewings, and other events.
“Ontario Place has always been a place of connection — to land, to water, and to each other. This project is about honouring those connections through design that reflects Indigenous teachings, ecological stewardship, and community use,” MCFN Chief Claire Sault said in a statement.
The updated designs also reveal that the building has significantly reduced its size and environmental impact, reducing its footprint by 14 per cent to 32,600 m2, and the structure now standing at 43.5 m and 22.0 m.
Therme is projecting about 2.5 million annual visitors will come to the spa, with 7,000 daily visits on average weekends and 15,000 on peak days.
MIXED REACTIONS ABOUT NEW DESIGNS
The announcement comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled his final plans for the park last month, including a full map with the new layout. The map revealed that Therme’s megaspa would take up a large portion of the project’s West Island.
The project has also received some backlash after the government says it’s investigating Theme following a report by the New York Times saying the developer may have misrepresented itself before signing a 95-year lease with the province.
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With the unveiling of the new project, especially the family-friendly facilities, some Torontonians appear to approve of the project.
“I’m actually starting to like this… Maybe I’m off on some of this, but if it’s so, I actually think this will be a very interesting place that you can go to multiple times per year,” one Reddit user said.
“It doesn’t seem for the rich. 40 dollars for a day pass seems incredibly affordable for Toronto,” another user added.
“Somewhere else in Toronto and I’d actually be excited for it. I love the idea of various water experiences and saunas,” a different user said.
Meanwhile, many residents online still seem concerned about the new Ontario Place plans.
“I’m highly doubtful that this is going to be a serene experience. If it’s aimed at families, it’s going to be more like Great Wolf Lodge, which no adult wants to visit,” one user said.
“It’s an absolute waste of tax payer dollars and public land to create a play area for the rich,” another user said.
“A ‘beach-like family pool’ is going to be a sewer. My local fitness facility has to close its family-accessible hot tub seemingly weekly due to ‘fouling’ incidents. I don’t want to be anywhere near a ‘family pool’ of any kind,” a different user added.
During the announcement last month, Ford said the province will push for the new Ontario Place to open in 2029, which could happen in “stages.”
