Pan Ams: A look at the legacy projects

Athletes village

Touted as one of the shiniest jewels in the Pan Am crown, the housing site in West Don Lands is slowly being converted into Toronto’s newest prefabricated community. The first two condo buildings should be full of residents by August, with 1,200 units still to be built.

Velodrome

Proponents of the Milton facility have been adamant this isn’t the disastrous ’drome critics expected. Twothirds of it is dedicated to general recreation: running tracks and multiuse courts.

Scarborough Aquatic Centre

According to a report adopted by the executive committee this week, 30 sports organizations use the centre for daily training. It has hosted almost 200 community events, and more than 50,000 users took advantage of its Toronto city parks and recreation activities.

Tim Hortons

Field The 24,000-seat facility that replaced Ivor Wynne Stadium is the new home of the Hamilton TigerCats and is used for other sports and community events. Plagued by construction delays, it opened 10 months late and is the subject of legal action by the team and the city, naming the Pan Am organizing committee and Infrastructure Ontario. The city claims breach of contract and negligence when it came to procurement, construction and development, and is seeking $35 million in damages. A city spokesperson said notices of action were filed to preserve the city’s rights, but all parties are still negotiating a settlement.

HOT lanes

In the height of driver frustration over the extended network of HOV lanes created during the Games last summer, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes were in the works. A stretch of the QEW, from Trafalgar Rd. in Oakville to Guelph Line in Burlington, will be the first lanes to allow pay-for-use by lone drivers in a pilot launching this summer. Sarah-Joyce Battersby