Construction kicks off on Bay Street mega-development, set to include towers, bus terminal, park

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday for a major new development at the foot of Bay Street that will house the global headquarters for CIBC and incorporate a bus terminal and one-acre park built over the railway tracks.

The public-private development, previously called Bay Park Centre and now renamed CIBC Square, will see two office towers erected at 81 and 141 Bay Street, south of Front Street.

OntarioTransportation Minister Steven Del Duca described the inclusion of a bus terminal, called the Union Station Bus Terminal and linked to GO trains, TTCand Via Rail, as "fundamentally important" for Toronto.

Mayor John Tory was also on hand for the ceremony, saying: "I love the towers, I love the transit connections, I love the jobs but I'm particularly interested in the park."

Tory said that the one-acre park will prove the feasibility of the much-larger Rail Deck Park project, located to the west of CIBC Square.

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"This park is going to prove that technologically, we know it can be done, it's been done in many other cities," he said. "I'll be looking at it as a bit of a test bed but also as an example to people."

The first tower, at 81 Bay Street, will be completed in 2020. The second one, along with the park, is set to be completed by 2023.