Mixing Public and Private Uses in the Same Building: Opportunities and Barriers

Abstract

This paper examines the opportunities and barriers to developing buildings that mix large-scale public, private and non-profit land uses within the same facility. Drawing on three case study projects from the City of Toronto, the paper shows how joint development buildings provide an opportunity to raise new money to deliver critical public use social infrastructure, are designed specifically to avoid conflicts between the partners, and involve partnerships structured to transfer construction and permitting risks between the partners. Despite the opportunities, the key barrier to the more widespread application of large-scale mixed-use buildings are the complex and lengthy planning and construction period for such projects, as well as the challenge finding ideal sites and partners with shared interests.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. The author attended NTCI and Ryerson University as a student, but was not involved in either of the projects being studied in this paper.

^2. Interviews on the TIFF Bell Lightbox project were conducted by and reported in the unpublished current issues paper of Shirin Barol, submitted as a requirement for completion of her Masters in Planning degree at the University of Toronto.

^3. According to Canada's Historic Places, Maple Leaf Gardens has a brick facade that rises 8 storeys above the street. The building is topped with a 6-storey rectangular domed roof that is set back from the building edge.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant Number: 110998].