Today, I look at two further areas of interest from the Auditor Generals report: the insights it provides about the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place, and the continued environmental destruction that we might expect to see taking place at Ontario Place.A recent photo of Ontario Places West Island, showing the removed trees and structures as the site is prepared for Thermes indoor waterpark and spa. The parking lot in the foreground is the site designated for the half-sized replacement for the Ontario Science Centre. As a size comparison, Thermes facility will occupy a footprint comparable to the Rogers Centre, while the mainland building for the new Science Centre is 88% smallerabout the size of that stadiums infield. Photo by Steven Evans.Planning continues for relocation of Ontario Science Centre to Ontario PlaceEven if the Auditor Generals office has questioned the value-for-money proposition of the relocation of the Ontario Science Centreboth in its 2023 and now its 2024 reportplans are continuing apace to move the storied institution to a half-sized new facility at Ontario Place.The new price tag of over $700 million for a new Science Centre includes an underground loading zone. To meet functional requirements for the Science Centre, this will likely be a two-storey underground space that also accommodates a bus loop, as well as car drop-off, bus entry, and shipping/receiving for Therme.The report notes that there was only a single bidder on the $5 million contract for a planning, design, and compliance consultant for the new Science CentreWZMH Architects is the consultant that was selected for this work. Their Output Specifications document is expected to be completed by early 2025, and the RFP planned to be released to up to three vendors in January 2025, delayed from the original projected date in the RFQ of Fall 2024.While the government has stated in the past that a new Science Centre at Ontario Place would open as early as 2028, it has now told the Auditor General that the new building is expected to open in 2029. The RFP for a temporary location suggests that a new Science Centre would not be ready until as late as 2034.That temporary location for the Ontario Science, which the government had promised to secure quickly, has not been publicly announced, although a memo to Science Centre employees indicated that it may be selecting a conference facility in Mississauga. Meanwhile, the presence of the Science Centre is currently limited to temporary pop-ups at Harbourfront Centre and Sherway Gardens.The Auditor General evidently sought to find out how much the closure of the Ontario Science Centre cost the public coffer but was refused access to this information. This withholding of information was clearly against protocol, prompting the Auditor General to issue a reminder to the government that as independent auditors, we require access to all information that could have an impact on our financial statement audit.While the Auditor General came short of stating that renewing the legacy location of the Ontario Science Centre would represent better value-for-money than relocating it to Ontario Place, the ballooning costs for a new Science Centre supports this conclusion. Moreover, the fact that key financial information about the closure was withheld from the Auditor Generals office strongly suggests that the unjustified closure was more expensive than anticipatedmaking the unpopular closure and relocation an even worse proposition to taxpayers.Continued environmental destruction at Ontario PlaceAs of October 2024, the report notes, 1,491 trees have been removed from Ontario Place. The Province is planning to remove an additional 298 trees, for a total of 1,789 trees. Only 149 trees (or 8% of the original tree inventory at Ontario Place) will be conserved on the site, the report notes. A 2022 arborist report prepared for Infrastructure Ontario had anticipated that while the Therme project would entail the removal of all trees on the West Island, 25% of the overall trees at Ontario Place would be protected.Most of the Auditor Generals recommendations were accepted by the government, but these largely consisted of pledges to improve of procurement practices in the future. The government rejected the sole recommendation concerning the current Ontario Place projecta recommendation that it implements mitigation measure identified in a draft 2023 Heritage Impact Assessment report. In its response, the Ministry of Infrastructure curtly notes the site is exempt from the Ontario Heritage Act.The recommendations of the draft 2023 Heritage Impact Assessment report seem to be relatively modest in the scope of a $2.2 billion project, but based on the governments response, we should not expect to see them implemented by matter of course. Those recommendations were as follows:Site-wide native planting and new landscape features (e.g., berms) to address the removal of extant vegetation, trees and landscape features. It is anticipated that approximately 2,900 trees will be planted within Ontario Place.New pathway system to improve accessibility, support pedestrian circulation and address the removal of the extant pathway systemNew pathway nodes and plazas with vantage points for views, to address the removal of vantage points within the extant pathway system and the obstruction of views by new buildingsNew aquatic habitat and boardwalks to create the opportunity for close-range experiences of water and mitigate the removal of the extant waterbodiesNew accessory structures that interpret the design and history of Ontario Place to address the removal of extant buildingsThis series will continue with two more parts, looking at the Call for Development process and the possibility for future, continued privatization plans at Ontario Place.Related:The Auditor Generals Report, Part 1: The cost of privatizing Ontario PlaceThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 2: The billion dollar question of parkingThe Auditor Generals Report, Part 3: ThermeThe post The Auditor Generals Report, Part 4: Collateral Damage appeared first on Canadian Architect.