Frequently asked questions

It is difficult to think of a future beyond COVID-19, but long before the pandemic hit, U of T was focused on providing real solutions to climate change, one of the greatest environmental challenges faced by today’s society. The Landmark Project will make a significant contribution in reducing U of T’s GHG emissions by 37 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030 and make great strides towards our vision of a more sustainable future.

Please know the University will continue to actively monitor conditions in relation to COVID-19, as always, and follow the advice of government and public health officials. If it’s advisable to halt construction activities, we will do so.

This change will make the heart of our St. George campus, set in the middle of downtown Toronto, greener, more accessible, sustainable and walkable. It’s a step many other major urban universities have taken and it will make this space more usable and more beautiful for everyone.

We anticipate that Landmark will take several years to complete and we are currently taking advantage of little to no foot traffic on our campus to accelerate our construction.

The major areas impacted by the Landmark Project are King's College Circle including Con Hall Plaza, Hart House, the Medical Sciences courtyard, Sir Dan Wilson Quad and Tower Road. You can pinpoint these locations on our campus map. It’s important to stress that this project will be phased to minimize impact.

As with any major project, there will be noise and disruption. We will work with our community to keep them informed about when that will happen and we will work to limit disruptions where possible. All noise and vibration control will meet the city’s requirements.

We know that some research is especially susceptible to vibration and we are working with researchers to address those concerns. For specific cases, such as at the Medical Sciences Building, additional testing and monitoring will be provided to ensure that the construction does not exceed the acceptable value of delicate equipment. 

As with all major construction projects you can expect some heavy truck traffic, especially during the excavation period. We will do all we can to limit the disruption to our community and to keep them informed about when this activity will be happening so that they can plan accordingly. We ask that our community to understand that this project will cause some inconvenience for a limited period and to know that the result will be something that will be enjoyed for generations.

We plan to phase this project to minimize disruption. We won’t remove surface parking until the garage is completed. We may need to limit parking in the area during construction.

This plan is the result of extensive consultations with our community. We know that members of our community come to our campus from across the GTA and they rely on many forms of transportation to get to our St. George campus. Public transit is not always an option. We also want to be good neighbours by providing a parking option on our campus to increase parking availability downtown. The garage will include charging stations for electric cars and we can increase that number to respond to demand.

Part of the Landmark Project will include new indoor bike parking for our community. We know many members of our community are bike commuters. During construction, we will work to keep the area accessible to cyclists where possible. Bikes will be allowed on the revitalized area when the work is completed. 

We recognize that this transformation will involve significant and ongoing disruptions to peoples’ normal patterns; increased noise, vibrations and dust; and visual amenity impacts. We also recognize that input from various stakeholders is essential in identifying potential areas of concern as well as alternative solutions. To this end, we have struck a committee with representation from impacted areas. If you have a question about Landmark, please contact your area’s representative:

Jacquanline Liu – Project Manager

Robert Adams – Knox College

Larry Alford – UofT Libraries

Patrick Brennan – Property Management Group, Facilities & Services

Mary Byrne – Property Management Group, Facilities & Services

Dev Chopra – Faculty of Medicine

Elizabeth Cragg – Operations & Real Estate Partnerships

Sheree Drummond – Governing Council

Anna Macdonald – Ancillary Services

Yvonne MacNeil – University College

John Monahan – Hart House

James Robertson/Diamando Draganiodis – Division of University Advancement

Silvia Rosatone – Office of Convocation

Mark Simpson – Building Services, Grounds & Trades, Facilities & Services

Ken Withers – Visitors’ Centre

Don’t forget to sign up for regular construction updates at landmarkupdates@utoronto.ca. If you drop us a line, we can also direct your question to the appropriate contact in our Landmark Committee.

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