Successful re-positioning of a large real estate asset
Intermarket was retained by Downsview Park, a federal government agency responsible for the development of a 640-acre military base in Toronto to produce a viable plan for 600,000 sf of vacant airplane hangar space on the Downsview Park site. A bankrupt soccer league had just vacated the premises and a new plan for the asset was required.
Intermarket created a development plan that was based on the Chelsea Piers project in New York City and would transform the vacant hangars into a Sports Complex . The vison included providing training facilities for the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and comprehensive community sports facilities.
The proposal was approved by the Downsview Park Board of Directors, and as a starting point, on January 24, 2004, Volleyball Canada approved the Sports Complex at Downsview Park as a new training site for Canada ‘s Olympic athletes
The Sports Complex at Downsview Park has been extremely successful and it now houses training facilities for Olympic athletes; as well as large scale sporting venues and fields for the entire community.
Large Scale Events
World Youth Day & Rolling Stones SARS Concert
Intermarket provided project management services to Downsview Park for both the World Youth Day Papal visit and the Rolling Stones SARS benefit concert.
Intermarket negotiated comprehensive land use contracts, as well as prepared a business plan, budget and critical path schedule for the use of the Downsview Park lands for both the World Youth Day and Rolling Stones events. Intermarket also managed a team of staff and consultants responsible for the Downsview assets during each event.
The scheduling for Rolling Stones concert was very tight as the event was “fast-tracked” to accommodate a six week period between the announcement of the concert, and the concert itself.
Intermarket managed all land use negotiations; as well as a team of staff and consultants to meet all the challenging timelines.
Both events were very successful, as the World Youth Day events were presided over by Pope John Paul II and included over 1,000,000 attendees.
The Rolling Stones event was also extremely well received – as over 420,000 people attended and the concert generated positive media attention throughout Canada and around the world.