Ontario Science Centre. Photo by Amanda Large
Hot on the heels of the abrupt closure of the Ontario Science on Friday, June 22, 2024 the government?s search for a temporary location for the Science Centre began.
The Monday after the closure, Infrastructure Ontario put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a 50,000 to 100,000 square foot commercial/retail space to house a temporary Science Centre until its planned new facility at Ontario Place is complete.
The temporary location, which would not be open until 2026, will put the Science Centre in a location that is significantly smaller?and likely much more remote?than its current site. It will be there for up to eight years until the new facility at Ontario Place is open?which the RFP anticipates will be in 2030-3034, not 2028 as Minister Kinga Surma asserts. Ironically, relocating to a temporary location will also be at least as expensive?and up to three times more costly?than making the $22-$40M in roof repairs which Infrastructure Ontario cited as the reason for the Centre?s abrupt closure.
The option that best serves Ontarians?and the one that may also prove the most economical?appears to be making repairs to the Science Centre, and reopening it.
Infrastructure Ontario’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for a temporary Ontario Science Centre location states that it is looking for a space whose lease starts “no later than January 1, 2026.” This acknowledges that the possibility that there would be no physical...