Category: Community Centre
Have your say on public art for new Wabash Community Centre
Public art is coming to the Wabash Community Recreation Centre soon to be built at Sorauren Park, and you can have your say on the five finalists short-listed through a City of Toronto public art process.
You can read about the five proposals and leave your comments on a survey published by the City. The survey closes at end of the day on May 13. You can also learn more about the proposals in-person at a City-run pop-up in Sorauren Park on Saturday May 11 and Sunday May 12.
The new artwork will grace the main public lobby area planned for the new centre. You can see renderings for the new centre under the “Preferred Design” tab on the City’s project page.
“While no specific theme was provided to the shortlisted artists, they were encouraged to expand on the project’s vision of inclusion, community-building, and environmental stewardship,” says the City. “They were asked to consider the flow and continuity between the building and Sorauren Park, the town square, and the beadwork patio designs created by Terence Radford [which will form the pattern on the reconstituted town square]. They were also asked to create a community engagement plan detailing ways they would involve community members during the development and/or creation of their proposals, should they be successful. They were also encouraged to create a mentorship plan.”
The City’s survey includes detailed descriptions of each proposal from the artists. They are worth reading for the thought put into each design, and how the art connects with and reflects community.
The short-listed proposals and artists are:
- A Part of the Whole – Shellie Zhang
- Earth, Water and Sky – Michael Belmore
- Hanging Garden – Jyhling Lee
- Swarm and Flock – Lou Sheppard
- The Spiral of our Relations – Alexandra Iorgu, Roark Andrade, Alan Colley
Community Centre final consultations
The City of Toronto is in the final phase of community engagement for the new Wabash Community Recreation Centre. This is your last chance to comment on the preferred design.
You can sign up for an online consultation on July 5 at 6:30 pm, take an online survey before midnight July 9, or attend pop-up events in the park (no schedule available). Comments are invited on both the interior layout and features, and the exterior landscaping that integrates with the park.
The City has posted new renderings of the exterior, interior and rooftop terraces on its Wabash Community Recreation Centre web page under Preferred Design.
Here’s a timeline of the project to date (not counting community advocacy by Friends of Sorauren Park, predecessor groups, Roncesvalles Macdonell Residents’ Association and many others that began in the 1990s):
- Summer 2018: Public Meeting to introduce the project
- December 2019: Design team hired
- Summer 2020 to Summer 2023: Community engagement and design development
- Summer 2020 to Summer 2021: Community Engagement Phase A, Building a Vision
- Fall 2021 to Fall 2022: Community Engagement Phase B, Exploring Design Options
- Spring- to Summer 2023: Community Engagement Phase C, Setting the Direction (current phase)
- 2023 to 2024: Detailed design
- 2024: Hire a construction team
- 2024 to 2027: Construction
Subscribe to the Friends of Sorauren Park newsletter or follow @SoraurenPark on Instagram, FB and Twitter for updates.
Take the Wabash Community Centre design survey till Nov. 17
The city and its design consultants, Diamond Schmitt Architects and PMA Landscape Architects, have released the draft designs for the exterior, interior and landscaping for the new Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park.
And they want your feedback on the designs. Take the online survey (all responses are anonymous) at toronto.ca/wabash. The survey is open till November 17. Concepts for net-zero energy usage are also included.
As you work through the survey, design rationales are explained alongside images.
Your feedback will help inform the next phase of detailed design work. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026 or 2027 depending on the many variables that affect capital projects including permits and approvals.
Follow @SoraurenPark on social media or subscribe to Sorauren Park News for community centre updates. The city’s project page also tracks progress and includes reports from community engagements.
Public meeting Nov. 3 for Wabash Community Centre
The City has announced the start of the next round of public consultations for the forthcoming Wabash Community Recreation Centre at Sorauren Park. An online public meeting is scheduled for November 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, and a new online survey will also begin November 3.
Continue readingCity chooses Wabash Community Centre site design option
The City of Toronto has announced it has chosen “the Angler” as the preferred site design option for the new Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park.
“Based on spring and summer consultations with local community members, Indigenous representatives, and the City’s operational staff, the Angler has been selected as the site design option that will be further refined through continued community consultation,” wrote the City in a September 21 email to community members.
The City’s consultations included the Friends of Sorauren Park, which voted for, and promoted, the Angler as the best option.
“We’ve looked closely at the options, and while there are always site compromises in a constrained space, in the end there was little debate among the directors,” said Joël Campbell, chair of Friends of Sorauren Park, in May 2021 when the five site options were presented. “Design option 5, the Angler, was the clear winner for us. We look forward to continuing the collaboration with the City and the design consultants as work progresses through the design process.”
Continue readingWabash Community Centre: how we got here
Watch Stephen Dorsey, a volunteer member of the board for Friends of Sorauren Park, give the quick history of how community advocacy turned an industrial site into Sorauren Park and soon, the Wabash Community Centre. For a longer history, visit our History page, or watch the 25th Anniversary documentary video.
This is the latest in a series of short video updates on the progress of the community centre.
Also visit the City of Toronto’s Wabash Community Centre project page, and follow @SoraurenPark on social media or subscribe to our popular newsletter.
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