2015 Pan American Games Athletes' Village

Last updated

The Welcome Centre of the Pan-Am Athlete's Village Village Welcome Centre.jpg
The Welcome Centre of the Pan-Am Athlete's Village

The Athlete's village for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games cost $735 million CAD and had the capacity to hold up to 7,200 athletes and officials. [1] After the games the village was converted to 746 market priced condos, 41 market-priced town homes, 250 affordable-rent apartments, 257 student dormitory units for George Brown College, office and retail units, and a YMCA recreation centre. The Athlete's Village was located in the West Don Lands along Front Street between Bayview Avenue and Cherry Street in Toronto. The development was certified LEED Gold. [2] Five satellite villages (all hotels and university residences) were also used to house athletes that were competing in venues far from the main village. [1]

Contents

Layout

Six buildings compose the Athletes Village, five are residential mid-rise buildings and the sixth is a training facility. After the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games, four residential towers became a Canary District housing development. The fifth became a dormitory for students of nearby George Brown College, and training facility became a YMCA, and serve as a men's hostel. [3] The village was completed in February 2015, and cost $709 million CAD. [4] As well, the village includes the Corktown Common park which was built a year before.

Like the Olympic Villages provided for other games, the Athletes' Village provided in Toronto for the 2015 Pan American Games was a new construction. [5] [3] However, learning a lesson from the Athletes' Village provided for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, developers decided the units would not be fully completed before athletes moved in. Since the athletes were going to eat in central cafeterias the room that would eventually become the units' kitchens could serve as an additional bedroom. Hardwood, tile and carpet flooring are to be installed after the games are over. Painted concrete floors was seen as more appropriate for housing for athletes, who could mar the surface of more expensive flooring, with spiked shoes or other athletic gear. [5]

2015 Pan Am Village Jan 2015 (cropped).jpg
The 2015 Pan American Games Athlete's Village in January 2015

The village is built on the site of former railway and industrial lands, including the William Davies Company, at one time the world's largest pork processing facility. After the meat industry moved out in the 1980s, the area was taken over by government to build a public housing project. The "Ataratiri" project failed in the 1990s, leaving the site mostly vacant for over ten years before the Waterfront Toronto agency was created to speed up the redevelopment of harbour lands in Toronto. The project was fast-tracked once Toronto was awarded the games, changing a twelve-year plan for redevelopment into a six-year plan.

Satellite villages

VillageLocationSports
Horseshoe Resort Oro-Medonte Cycling (mountain biking)
Pinestone Resort Haliburton Canoeing (slalom)
Nottawasaga Inn Resort Alliston Equestrian
Shooting
McMaster University student residences Hamilton Football
Brock University student residences St. Catharines Canoeing (sprint)
Rowing

Related Research Articles

Pan American Games Multi-sport event of the Americas

The Pan American Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games. The only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. In 2021, the Junior Pan American Games was held for the first time specifically for young athletes. The Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter.

Waterfront Trail Pedestrian and bicycle trail system in Ontario, Canada

Stretching over 3600 km from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Nations along the Canadian shores of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. A celebration of nature and culture, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is part of a strategy to protect and connect people to the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth. It is a legacy project of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, a charity, and its community partners. Through Toronto, the trail is called the Martin Goodman Trail. The Waterfront Trail is also used by commuters in parts of Southern Ontario.

West Don Lands Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjacent to the Gardiner Expressway. It is 80 hectares in size. A former industrial area, the area is being rebuilt as a mixed-use neighbourhood.

2015 Pan American Games 17th edition of the Pan American Games

The 2015 Pan American Games, officially the XVII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, as governed by Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The games were held from July 10 to 26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; preliminary rounds in certain events began on July 7, 2015. These were the third Pan American games hosted by Canada, and the first in the province of Ontario. The Games were held at venues in Toronto and seventeen other Golden Horseshoe communities. The Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games were organized by the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games (TO2015).

Back Campus Fields

The Back Campus Fields is a field hockey facility on the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The facility is the home to the school's Toronto Varsity Blues field hockey team. The facility was built for the 2015 Pan American Games and hosted the field hockey competition for the games. The facility also hosted 5 and 7-a-side football competitions during the 2015 Parapan American Games. The facility was referred to as the Pan Am/Parapan Am Fields during the games.

Venues of the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games

The 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games venues were mostly located in the host city of Toronto, Ontario, though some events required facilities located elsewhere. Besides Toronto, fourteen other municipalities in Southern Ontario hosted competitions: Ajax, Hamilton, Innisfil, Markham, Milton, Minden, Mississauga, Mono, Oro-Medonte, Oshawa, Palgrave, St. Catharines, Welland and Whitby.

2015 Parapan American Games 5th edition of the Parapan American Games

The 2015 Parapan American Games, officially the V Parapan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 ParaPan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Parapan American Games as governed by the Americas Paralympic Committee, held from August 7 to 15, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Marking the first Parapan American games hosted by Canada, and the second major Paralympic sports event hosted by Toronto since the 1976 Summer Paralympics, the Games were held at venues in Toronto and four other Golden Horseshoe communities. Both the Parapan American and Pan American Games were organized by the Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee (TO2015).

Mattamy National Cycling Centre

The Mattamy National Cycling Centre is a track cycling facility in Milton, Ontario, Canada built for the 2015 Pan American Games. During the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games the venue was known as the Cisco Milton Pan Am / Parapan Am Velodrome.

Cherry Street (Toronto) Thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario

Cherry Street is a north-south roadway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Cherry Street is carried over the waterways of the Port Lands by Toronto's only two lift bridges. A smaller one where it crosses the Keating Channel and a larger one where it crosses the channel to the turning basin. Its northern terminus is at Eastern Avenue. A co-linear street, named Sumach St., continues north. It crosses Front St., Mill St., Lake Shore Boulevard, Commissioners Street and Unwin Ave. After crossing Unwin, it continues another 200 metres south to Cherry Beach, where it ends in a roundabout.

Markham Pan Am Centre

The Markham Pan Am Centre is a multi-purpose community and aquatics centre located in the new downtown area of Markham, Ontario, Canada.

The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre is a sports complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Co-owned by the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto Scarborough, it is operated by TPASC Inc., with programming offered by both the university and Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation. It is located at the northern grounds of the university's Scarborough campus near the intersection of Highway 401 and Morningside Avenue in the suburb of Scarborough

Cherry Street Hotel

The Cherry Street Hotel is an 1859 heritage building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeast corner of Front Street and Cherry Street, in the West Don Lands neighbourhood. The structure was originally the Palace Street School, which closed in 1887. The building was converted into a hotel, and later became an industrial building housing small industry. In the 1960s, the Canary Restaurant opened. The building became a type of incubator, renting small spaces for artists and small businesses. The restaurant closed after the area around the building was demolished for the new West Don Lands community. The building has been integrated into the new community and its facade retained and restored. Its next use has not been announced.

CN Railway Police building, Toronto

The Canadian National Railway Police Building, also known as the Canadian National Railways Office Building is a 1923 heritage building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the corner of Front Street and Cherry Street in the West Don Lands neighbourhood. The building served as the Toronto headquarters for the Canadian National Railways (CNR) police. It is one of two preserved buildings on Cherry Street that weren't demolished to make way for a new housing development, the other being the Cherry Street Hotel, across the street on the southeast corner. On April 14, 2005, the City of Toronto Council approved the listing of the property on the City of Toronto Heritage Property Inventory.

The Pan Am Path is a multi-use path that connects trails in the Greater Toronto Area as part of the legacy of the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games. The path is over 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length, connecting Toronto neighbourhoods. An archival community map of the pan am path can be found here.

Bermuda at the 2015 Pan American Games Sporting event delegation

Bermuda competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from July 10 to 26, 2015. In April 2015, Carlos Lee was named as the chef de mission for the team.

Modern pentathlon competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto was held on July 18 and 19 at the CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House, where a temporary show jumping ring, pistol shooting range and cross-country course was constructed to host the final round of fencing, jumping and combined events. A total of two events was contested.

Canary District

The Canary District is a housing development in Toronto's West Don Lands mixed-use development. Six initial buildings initially served as the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes' Village for the 2015 Pan American Games. Those buildings were then finished and converted to private residences. Dozens of further buildings will be constructed for private residences, with Front Street lined with boutiques and restaurants.

Table tennis competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto were held from July 19 to 25 at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Markham. Due to naming rights, the arena was known as the latter for the duration of the games. A total of four table tennis events were held: two each for men and women.

Athletics competitions at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto were held from July 19 to 26 at the newly built CIBC Pan Am and Parapan Am Athletics Stadium, located on the campus of York University. The racewalking and marathon events were held on the temporary circuits around the Ontario Place West Channel. The sport of athletics is split into distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking events.

Ontario Place West Channel

The Ontario Place West Channel, also known as the Toronto Western Beaches Watercourse is a 'flat water' training and competition centre for rowing, paddling and water sports located on the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 Lysyk, Bonnie (June 1, 2016). "2015 Pan Am/ Parapan Am Games Special Report June 2016" (PDF). www.auditor.on.ca. Ontario Ombudsman . Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  2. "Toronto 2015 Athletes' Village / West Don Lands / Explore Projects / Waterfront Toronto". Waterfrontoronto.ca. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Toronto 2015 Athletes' Village / West Don Lands / Explore Projects / Waterfront Toronto". Waterfront Toronto. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  4. "Pan Am Games athletes village complete: Premier Wynne and Toronto Mayor Tory make official handover announcement Friday". CBC News. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015. Almost five months before it opens its doors to the first athlete, the construction of the Pan Am Games village is complete.
  5. 1 2 Dakshana Bascaramurty (February 6, 2015). "The Canary District: Here comes Toronto's instant neighbourhood". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015. From the outside it appeared a polished complex of two mid-rise towers – but the interiors looked more slapdash, a dormitory of kitchenless suites and tiny bedrooms that will soon house bunkbeds.

See also