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Special Venues

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada

Ripley’s Entertainment built a 150,000 ft2 aquarium attraction hosting over 20,000 aquatic animals at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto’s Entertainment District. BA Group was retained as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing urban transportation consulting services relating to the development of the aquarium site, including developing effective visitor transportation strategies relating to charter bus activity (e.g. pick-up/drop-off), and considering transit accessibility, cyclist and pedestrian access and vehicular parking.  Our work also involved the development of loading facilities which meet specific requirements for the specialized service and delivery of marine life.

Photo of Ripley's Aquarium of CanadaImage courtesy of B+H Architects for Ripley Entertainment via Urban Toronto

Distillery District

BA Group has provided transportation advisory services in the historic Distillery District for over 25 years, supporting a number of mixed-use developments and special event management. Our initial work included a transportation study for the master plan and municipal approvals for the entire site as originally conceived back in the early 1990’s. Since that time, we have been engaged in follow-up, sensitive transportation planning for mixed-use developments within the Distillery District comprising a mix of retail, entertainment, office and residential uses within heritage and new structures.

Projects have included traffic and parking studies, site design, participation in settlement discussions and representation for hearings before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), review of area-wide City-led transportation initiatives, review of adjacent development proposals, and general transportation advisory services. BA Group has also assisted the Distillery District with special event planning for the Toronto Christmas Market, developing and implementing a traffic and parking management plan to address the needs of area residents and over 650,000 event visitors and vendors.

Photo of the Distillery DistrictImage courtesy of Unsplash

Toronto Pan Am Athletes’ Village

A development group was secured by Infrastructure Ontario for Phase 2 Plan of Sub-Division West Don lands, with provision for the Athletes’ Village, including all of its related facilities. A “test-fit” analysis was undertaken considering, from a number of perspectives, the way in which the various facets of the Village would be accommodated, including consideration of key Village transportation facilities, such as the transit motor coach mall, could be configured and operate. 

an image of the Toronto Pan Am Sports CentreImage courtesy of UrbanToronto

Studio Centre Digital Film Hub

StudioCentre involves a mix of retail, office, and hotel uses within the revitalization area of one of the City’s prominent film studios, creating a unique digital film hub. Our work involved developing a comprehensive multi-modal transportation strategy that adds value to the urban fabric and surrounding neighbourhood, through the construction of new routes and a publicly accessible multi-use trail connecting Eastern Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard; providing a new link for the community.

Photo of Studio Centre Digital Film HubImage courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects for SmartCentres