Woodbine Live - Race Track | Proposed | Etobicoke / Rexdale

[FISHTAILS]

Hey Guys

Update...

From 2 different credible sources, this project is starting late fall (2011) or early winter

As to the official plans, they have been changed. I will try to get more details.

Since Rob is Mayor now, maybe he can get the ball rolling a little bit faster, since this was his Ward(2) when he was a councilor.

[Robin155]

Groundbreaking is this spring. Site clearing is in June and construction is starting in the fall.

[FISHTAILS]

So is the casino going to be at the Waterfront or at Woodbine?? Toronto gets paid either way..

OLG slots is finishing up there expansion by the end of 2012 at Woodbine.

As the second article states below, rail link to airport will starts this year..The rail link just happens to run right behind Woodbine...

Woodbine Live never had in the official plans to have a full blown casino at the site, however everyone wants the piece of the pie...




http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/04...oon-developer/

Natalie Alcoba

Faced with questions about why it has yet to break ground, a U.S. developer says it is poised to start construction “shortly” on the giant entertainment shopping complex called Woodbine Live!.

The Cordish Companies also signalled on Wednesday it might add its name to the list of companies potentially vying to build a casino in Toronto.

“There is no better site for a full casino in North America than Woodbine Live!” the company said in a statement.

Cordish has teamed up with Woodbine Entertainment to transform 80 hectares of underused land at the Etobicoke racetrack into a centre with retail, restaurants, clubs, a hotel and eventually homes.

Woodbine Entertainment is also interested in snatching the casino prize dangled by the provincial government, which wants to build a new complex in the Toronto area.
‘All we’re trying to do as a city is to move the project forward. My area is anxiously awaiting it’

With more than six million visitors a year and 3,000 slots machines, Woodbine bills itself as the “logical” place for a full-fledged casino. It may have some stiff competition from Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, which have already expressed interest in building a sprawling complex that includes shopping, shows and conference space.

Alan Feldman, senior vice-president of public affairs for MGM, made it clear its interest is downtown, near the water.

Meanwhile, Councillor Janet Davis is asking city staff to report back on the status of Woodbine Live!, the development frequently touted by Mayor Rob Ford during the last election as proof he can land big private-sector deals.

In 2010, Cordish told a newspaper it planned to break ground that fall.

“We’re working on a daily basis, the Mayor, myself, Cordish and Woodbine, every day we’re pushing this forward,” said Councillor Doug Ford, whose Etobicoke North ward includes the racetrack. “Obviously there’s a hold-up, and I’m not going to get into details. If they want to get into details, they can. All we’re trying to do as a city is to move the project forward. My area is anxiously awaiting it.”

Jane Holmes, vice-president corporate affairs for Woodbine Entertainment, referred questions about the project to Cordish.

Cordish did not respond to questions about the delay, but issued a statement that said: “Woodbine Live! is in an excellent position to commence construction shortly with zoning, public incentives in the form of a TIEG, private financing, as well as both anchor and inline tenants committed. The Cordish Companies has an unparalleled record of developing first class casino/entertainment complexes, and Toronto, as one of the great cities in the world, lends itself to this kind of development.”




Construction on Union-Pearson air-rail link to start this spring 2012

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12...air-rail-link/

[AndrewJM3D]

Originally Posted by FISHTAILS

Hey Guys

Update...

From 2 different credible sources, this project is starting late fall (2011) or early winter

As to the official plans, they have been changed. I will try to get more details.

Since Rob is Mayor now, maybe he can get the ball rolling a little bit faster, since this was his Ward(2) when he was a councilor.

LOL, it's almost May 2012. Were the sources friends of the Fords?

[current]

It is official now - Toronto Star article:
Woodbine Live! Project in Rexdale is Dead
The U.S. partner has dropped out of a development hailed in 2008 as the salvation of Rexdale. Councillor Doug Ford says it can be resuscitated; others doubt it.
By: Daniel Dale City Hall Reporter, Published on Tue Feb 05 2013

Councillor Rob Ford said the massive Etobicoke shopping and entertainment complex would “make Rexdale the new Rosedale.” City council, with Mayor David Miller’s strong support, approved an unprecedented tax break worth $120 million. The developer behind the project forecast 9,000 new jobs. Now Woodbine Live! is dead, though Doug Ford insists it can be resuscitated. The partnership between Woodbine Entertainment Group and Baltimore-based developer The Cordish Companies has ended, Woodbine spokesperson Jane Holmes said Tuesday. She would not explain what happened.

Doug Ford, who took over from his brother as councillor for the low-income ward in 2010, said he is sure Woodbine can find another developer to step in: “One hundred per cent, it’s not dead.” Holmes said it is possible the project could survive in some form — but that a project like Woodbine Live! is “not our highest priority right now.” “We need a long-term solution for the sustainability of horse racing, and so we’re focused on that now,” Holmes said. Specifically, she said, Woodbine, which is facing the loss of its lucrative slot machines, is “really focused on trying to get a permanent casino.”...

...As a councillor, now-mayor Rob Ford spoke of the project in hyberbolic terms. “This is going to be a mini Walt Disney World in Rexdale,” Ford told CBC in 2008. As a mayoral candidate, Ford repeatedly cited the project as evidence of his business savvy — overstating his role in bring it to fruition, according to numerous others involved. “I know how to deal with CEOs of huge corporations — that’s how I landed the largest development in Toronto’s history,” Ford told the National Post in 2010. “Woodbine Live! — I did that.” The project had stalled even before Ford spoke. Cordish originally said it would break ground in 2008. In mid-2010, it said construction would begin that fall. The city’s general manager of economic development and culture, Mike Williams, said in 2011 that the delay was related to the struggles of the U.S. economy. Real estate experts suggested the development was having trouble attracting tenants....

...Doug Ford said he is still certain Woodbine can find another partner. “There’ll be a lineup,” he said. “The biggest parcel in Toronto waiting to be developed. People are going to be all over it.”

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hal...e_is_dead.html

[Taller, Better]

“make Rexdale the new Rosedale.”

Glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read that one. Would have gone right up through my nose. Well, Rob... it is true that they both start with "R", so full marks for trying.

[nfitz]

Originally Posted by FISHTAILS

Since Rob is Mayor now, maybe he can get the ball rolling a little bit faster, since this was his Ward(2) when he was a councilor.

LOL

[AndrewJM3D]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

“make Rexdale the new Rosedale.”

Glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read that one. Would have gone right up through my nose. Well, Rob... it is true that they both start with "R", so full marks for trying.

LOL, me to. I also love how Doug Ford says he'll find another developer 100%. Hopefully he has better luck trying to do that unlike all the developers he claimed were lining up to build our subways.