TORONTO - The request for proposals stage has closed for teams to submit their bids to design, build, finance and maintain the new Toronto courthouse located at 11 Centre Avenue, bordered by Chestnut and Armoury Streets.

Following a fair, open and transparent request for qualifications process, two teams - EllisDon Infrastructure and Plenary Justice - were prequalified and invited to respond to a request for proposals in October 2016. The two teams were chosen based on their design and construction capability, experience, facilities management capacity and financial ability to deliver a project of this size and complexity.

Over the next several months, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) will evaluate the proposals, and the preferred bidder is expected to be announced in early 2018. A fairness monitor will continue to oversee the entire process.

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2018 and the new courthouse will include:

  • Video conferencing to allow witnesses to appear from remote locations and in-custody individuals to appear from detention facilities
  • Closed-circuit television to enable children and other vulnerable witnesses to appear before the court from a private room
  • Courtroom video/audio systems to allow counsel to display video evidence recorded in various formats and for the simultaneous viewing of evidence
  • A single point of entry with magnetometers, baggage scanners, continuous video surveillance, and separate corridors to ensure the security of judges, members of the public and the accused
  • Barrier-free access, to allow visitors and occupants to travel throughout the building with ease, regardless of ability

The new courthouse will bring together many of Toronto's Ontario Court of Justice criminal courts operating across the city. Amalgamating several courts into one state-of-the-art facility will reduce costs, make operations more efficient and effective, provide for equal access to services, and will ensure the province's real estate portfolio is sustainable, accessible and efficient.

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province's history. To learn more about what's happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Quick Facts

  • IO and MAG are working together to build the new Toronto courthouse, which will be publicly owned and controlled.
  • The project is being delivered using IO's Alternative Financing and Procurement model, an innovative way of financing and procuring large, complex public infrastructure projects, with a track record of being 98 per cent on budget to date.
  • In 2015, IO led an archaeological excavation of the new Toronto courthouse site that recovered many artifacts, mainly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  
  • Recognizing the importance of the site's history, in 2016, IO and MAG convened a Heritage Interpretation Working Group to seek advice regarding appropriate public interpretation themes and approaches, which will inform the Heritage Interpretation Plan for the new Toronto courthouse.
  • As a first step for heritage interpretation, IO has installed artwork on construction fencing for the new Toronto courthouse to help commemorate the downtown site's rich cultural history.
  • The courthouse will be designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver standard with a focus on energy efficiency, healthy indoor environments and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Learn More

Infrastructure Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General

Media contacts:

Cary Mignault
Infrastructure Ontario
416-325-2888

Emilie Smith
Ministry of the Attorney General
416-326-2210

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