Transforming John Street

Bell Lightbox bringing Film Festival to District

 ‘City of Film’ Dedicated to Moving Image

It seems The Entertainment District is constantly transforming but perhaps no new addition is more eagerly anticipated than the completion of The Toronto International Film Festival Group’s Bell Lightbox. This stunning new building will provide TIFF with a permanent home for the first time in its history. The Toronto International Film Festival has helped put Toronto on the map for the world’s top film stars, creative minds and fans. With the completion of the Bell Lightbox, TIFF will become more than just an annual event in the Fall. Indeed, TIFF will draw film lovers to Toronto – and our neighbourhood – all year long for programs like Sprockets and Cinematheque Ontario.

The Toronto Entertainment District BIA is happy to report that the festival will attract 470,000 people to the district and generate an annual economic impact of $67 million CAD ($30 million for tourism).

Located at King and John – right across the street from the building’s designers, KPMB Architects – the Bell Lightbox commands an entire city block. Inside, cinemas, an exhibition gallery, a soaring central atrium and “spaces of movement” create a “city of film” for film professionals, educators and film lovers to meet, gather, and exchange ideas. It will also have two destination dining experiences: a dynamic, street-accessible café and a more upscale restaurant on the second floor serving global artisanal cuisine.

The Toronto Entertainment District BIA is proud to welcome the film festival, one of the city’s premier cultural events and destinations, to the neighbourhood.

Extreme Makeover: Entertainment District Edition

Master Plan identifies John Street as 'spine' of downtown Toronto

On Tuesday June 16th, The Toronto Entertainment District Business Improvement Area successfully launched its Master Plan – a vision for the future of the Entertainment District that will ensure the needs of existing and future businesses, residents, tourists and Torontonians are harmonized with the area’s ongoing transformation and revitalization.

Essential within the Master Plan is the identification of John Street as the central spine of Toronto's cultural body, akin to New York's Broadway or London's West End.

Entertainment District BIA executive director Janice Solomon said the completion of the Master Plan provides a shared vision that empowers council, developers and businesses to work together. “As the City of Toronto continues to grow, the Master Plan will help ensure that the Entertainment District continues to transform in a coordinated and desirable way.”

Something Good for Area Business

Rock of Ages coming to the Entertainment District

The Canadian Premiere!

In 1987, on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl meets a big city rocker and, in LA's most famous rock club, they fall in love to the greatest songs of the 80's. It's Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benetar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake, and many more.

Nominated for five Tony™ awards including Best Musical, Rock of Ages took Broadway by storm when it opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in April 2009.

"Absurdly enjoyable," raved New York Times Critic Charles Isherwood, "About as guilty as pleasure gets! The siren call of those screaming guitars and singalong choruses are impossible to resist!"

Spin Magazine declared the show "Pure Broadway Gold!" Entertainment Weekly gushed that Rock of Ages was "more fun than is has any right to be!"

The Canadian premiere or Rock of Ages will feature some of the country's hottest musical theatre talent when it begins performances at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on April 20, 2010.

For the official Rock of Ages website, please visit: www.rockofagesmusical.com

Rogers Centre at 20

Stadium celebrates 20 years, but built for 200

The stadium business has long been a competitive sport and Toronto’s Rogers Centre, twenty years old this summer, has proved to be a champion. At its opening in 1989, The Skydome (as it was known before Rogers Communications purchased the venue in 2005) set the standard for large scale sports venues, with its space-age retractable roof (the first of its kind), state-of-the-art facilities for multiple events, and its luxury hotel.

That it remains today one of the world's most respected entertainment facilities is a testament to the ingenuity of its creators. Architect Rod Robbie and engineer Michael Allen together headed the 5,000-person team charged with designing and constructing this magnificent arena. Building a 55,000 seat stadium with an as yet untested roof design was an ambitious and potentially risky venture. Nevertheless, when it was unveiled in the summer of 1989, critics and the public were in awe of the architectural marvel.

Since opening to the public, more than 60 million people have visited the Rogers Centre for sport events, concerts, family shows, trade shows and conventions. It is home to the Blue Jays Baseball Club™ and the Toronto Argonauts Football Team™ and is soon to play host for a series of Buffalo Bills (NFL) games.

A number of renovations and upgrades in recent years have kept the venue at a peak performing level and will ensure its place as the city's premier entertainment venue.

As architect Rod Robbie confidently asserts, “I’d like to see this stadium last 200 years... we designed it to last 100 years, but it will last much longer.”

Nightlife Experts’ Meet at Responsible Hospitality Conference

Discussion includes nightlife economy, hospitality and safety

Last month, nightlife experts from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco met in Toronto for a one-day conference to discuss how to best make a city thrive. The experts shared their success stories in the areas of management, policing and planning of a better nightlife for their own city and how some of those ideas could be implemented in Toronto.

Jim Peters, president of the Responsible Hospitality Institute, was a keynote speaker at the conference and spoke about trends driving nighttime economy, including successful elements of a hospitality zone, managing closing time crowds and noise levels – all initiatives the BIA is progressively addressing through its best practices approach to managing nightlife.

Chairman of the Entertainment District BIA Jack Robinson said about the conference: “We firmly believe that by implementing approaches used successfully by other cities, we can better ensure that Toronto’s Entertainment District will have a flourishing and well-balanced nightlife, and that the interests of our diverse membership will be progressively intertwined.”

Spotlight on Small Business: Kit Kat on King West

Development brings new wave of clientele to celebrity hotspot

Kit Kat on King Street West is one of the Entertainment District’s originals, and a favourite among theatregoers. In 1989, when customers first squeezed into the restaurant’s narrow entranceway, it was one of only a handful on the now mainstay restaurant row. 

The Rolling Stones, Shania Twain and Ron Howard have all eaten at the convenience-store-turned-charmingbar- and-grill – a celebrity list that will likely grow with the arrival of the Bell lightbox across the street.

 The ever-present din at Kit Kat is just as much about the southern Italian food, campy décor and owner Al Carbone, as it is about the development, density and visible change happening within the Entertainment District. As streetscapes, open areas, and livable pedestrian environments become the talk of Toronto, Kit Kat’s story is one that continues to unfold with the arrival of the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010, and the increasing number of condo-dwellers flocking to the area. As the weather warms up and tourists and Torontonians alike get set to see the city sites, dozens will no doubt discover the gem tucked in amongst the many crowded restaurants along King. 

John Street Roundhouse Project Opens

Revitalization mixes Railway Museum with shopping, public park

The revitalized John Street Roundhouse, featuring a 40,000 sq. ft. Leon’s Furniture store, the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre and adjacent Roundhouse Park, is now officially open.

 The Railway Museum will attract tourists and local residents interested in this important aspect of our history while Leon’s will serve the increasing number of condo residents moving into the neighbourhood.

 Executive Director, Janice Solomon: “The John Street Roundhouse generates increased interest in – and traffic to –a critical part of our district, paying tribute to our history while helping to pave the way for our future. We congratulate all of those who helped bring this exciting project and neighbourhood to life.’’

 Known as the site of the Steam Whistle Brewery, which has occupied part of the site since 1999, the newly preserved structure will include a loft style Leon’s furniture showroom and the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, a museum celebrating Toronto’s railway heritage.

 The fully restored 120-foot Roundhouse turntable will allow for rail equipment to be moved in and out of the Centre’s three bays. The turntable courtyard will also be adapted for future public gatherings and concerts. Mayor Miller calls the Roundhouse project, “a great example of what can be accomplished when respect for our heritage is combined with adaptive reuse of an iconic building.”