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A PR IL 2016 | 57 Toronto Raptors BioSteel Centre PHOTOGRAPHY BY MELISSA WILLIS/COURTESY GUERNSEY ARCHITECTS Toronto Raptors BioSteel Centre by ROBIN BRUNET T he 68,000-square-foot Toronto Raptors BioSteel Centre training facility has surmounted numerous development and construction hurdles, and is a testament to how a state-of- the-art complex intended to attract current and future generations of NBA basketball talent can be built within strict deadline parameters. Described as a "new high- performance basketball development and training centre," the BioSteel Centre is essentially a major upgrade of the team's present headquarters at Air Canada Centre. The two-storey building adds a second court and streamlines the Raptors' day-to- day operations, with training and treatment facilities, coaching staff space, a players locker room and lounge, video viewing room and dining area. Bob Hunter, chief project development officer for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), admits that his organization was ambitious in its goal of promising that the BioSteel Centre would be ready for the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend event in February. "We committed to the date and then I proceeded to lose sleep every night, convinced that despite everyone's best efforts it would be a stretch to pull through on time," he says. Fortunately, MLSE had retained a formidable design and construction team, including Oklahoma-based Guernsey and EllisDon Corporation. "We got the best people for the job," says Hunter. Retaining Guernsey as lead architect for the project in 2013 was a no-brainer for MLSE, whose executives had studied sport facilities across North America and admired Guernsey's design for the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder Practice Facility, which features basketball courts, hydrotherapy, strength training and other services along with stormwater management, high- efficiency condensing boilers for heating, and high-end finishes. Hunter elaborates, "We appreciated that Guernsey designed the Thunder offices to overlook the practice courts, and we loved their use of bright colours and skill in space planning overall – which is partly due to their extensive experience in designing university facilities." Guernsey was the solution to a familiar call from Raptors' coaches for individual offices and a much larger conference room; elements that would make it easier for them to communicate among themselves and with their players. However, MLSE urged the architects to partner with an Ontario firm, and Baldwin & Franklin Architects Inc. proved to be invaluable in presiding over the inspection of the design as well as securing certifications. To say the schedule for the creation of BioSteel Centre was tight would be an understatement. It wasn't until August of 2014 that Toronto's city council and executive committee approved the project, which would be built on a parcel of land at the west end of the Exhibition Place grounds, next to the Medieval Times arena. As part of the agreement with the City, the Raptors would make the majority of day and evening court time available to the public and would pay about $4.4 million over a 20-year term in rent, along with about $400,000 annually in property taxes. But the lengthy negotiations were necessary, as locating the BioSteel Centre at this particular site would distinguish it from many of its counterparts across the league. Because it is essentially in the heart of the city, the building would be easy to access and overlook both Lake Ontario and Toronto's skyline. The team's players could live nearby and still engage with the city's downtown; they could also run charity and educational events during off-days. Also, as part of the agreement, MLSE assumed the liability of all environmental issues, and when the site proved to contain landfill from 40-year- old construction work, the company wound up paying over $1 million in remediation costs. "We had done an assessment, but the extent of the landfill wasn't truly understood until EllisDon broke ground at the site," says Hunter. MLSE's financial obligations extended to the existing parking lot beyond their property line, which had to be renovated and also contained contaminated soil. "Maybe taking on the parking lot was a bad decision," says Hunter. "However, the new lot looks good and complements our facility." Because the BioSteel Centre sits amidst a 100-year-old fairground steeped in history, Guernsey chose brick as an exterior visual element for the facility. This, along with bird- friendly (partly reflective) glass, gave the building a unique old world/21st- century appearance and "satisfied the concerns of city planners about a big box looking out of place in its surroundings," according to Hunter. "We also paid special attention to orienting the BioSteel Centre to help it blend with the fairground components." According to Toronto building standards, the architects also developed the BioSteel Centre to have a series of green roofs, one of which provides spectacular lakefront views and will be maintained and manicured. Although in some ways the construction of the facility was straightforward, close attention had to be paid to many details, such as MCW Consultants Ltd. ensuring that the HVAC system was fully operational prior to the basketball court being installed; that's because the wood required for the court surface needed to sit for a week after delivery and acclimatize to its surroundings (sensors at floor level monitored humidity levels precisely). Even though the winter of 2014 was the coldest on record in Toronto, EllisDon stayed on schedule. "This is the first time MLSE has worked with EllisDon, and they and the other team members managed to beat our delivery schedule by a few weeks. Everyone did an outstanding job, and the Raptors are ecstatic with their new home," says Hunter. A LOCATION 170 Princess Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) PROJECT MANAGER ICON Venue Group ARCHITECT Guernsey / Baldwin & Franklin Architects Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR EllisDon Corporation STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Entuitive MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT MCW Consultants Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT NAK Design Strategies CONNECTIVITY CONSULTANT Mulvey & Banani International Inc. CODE & LIFE SAFETY CONSULTANT LRI Engineering Inc. TOTAL SIZE 68,000 square feet TOTAL COST $35 million 11:37 AM

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