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The lease requires at least 1,600 parking spots for Therme and another 200 for Live Nation, which is expanding Budweiser Stage on the waterfront site. However, Infrastructure Ontario’s Michael Lindsay told reporters that the Ford government plans to build a total of 2,500 new spots so people can visit by car to also enjoy the Science Centre, new parkland and other attractions.

If the province fails to meet its parking obligations before the spa resort opens, or 2030, whichever comes first, the lease compels taxpayers to give Therme $5 per spot per day for a portion of the unbuilt spots, which Lindsay said could total $2.2 million per year.

He called the provision “reasonable” and noted that the province could use surface lots as “bridging measures” to meet the obligation, but “we’re hoping ... to land on a more permanent solution” such as a parking structure either at Ontario Place or city-owned Exhibition Place on the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard.

Lindsay rebuffed a reporter’s question about how much the province is budgeting for a structure that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars if it is built below ground — an option the Ford government appears to have ruled out as being too pricey.

The province is in talks with city officials on parking options at Exhibition Place. “Negotiations are ongoing as to the shape and location of the parking structure,” that could be built there, Shirven Rezvany, a spokesperson for Mayor Olivia Chow, told the Star in an email.

Benefits of the redevelopment plan, Infrastructure Ontario said in briefing documents, “include, at a minimum, nearly $2 billion in estimated revenue contributions from Therme Canada to the province over the duration of the lease and $700 million in upfront capital investments from Therme Canada.

“Of these upfront capital investments, $500 million will go to build the Therme Canada facility and $200 million will support approximately 16 acres of freely accessible public space,” around the spa building, according to the provincial agency.

“The province will maintain ownership of the lands and has not provided or committed to any operational subsidy or capital contributions to the Therme Canada facility,” it added. 

Therme’s facility at Ontario Place cannot, under lease terms, be a casino, shopping mall or condominium. The lease starts in 2025 and runs for 75 years with a 20-year extension clause.

The lease says the province has the right to early termination, with five years’ notice, after the tenth year of operation. That could, however, trigger provincial damages paid to the spa operator. If Therme fails to achieve key lease obligations, it could be on the hook for damages to the province.

Lindsay spoke as opponents of the redevelopment plan , felled to make way for new construction.

After Lindsay said the deforestation was timed to ensure birds and bats are not in nesting season, and that new plantings will replace more trees than were cut, a communications aide ordered reporters to ask no more questions about trees.

While emphasizing that the province won’t be paying Therme’s construction or operating costs, Lindsay acknowledged that provincial taxpayers have so far spent “hundreds of millions” of dollars on site servicing to get all of Ontario Place ready for redevelopment.

Ontario Place for All, an advocacy group fighting the plan, said in an email that the 95-year lease “attempts to lock Ontarians in for generations.

“The best result for Ontarians is for the government to come to its senses and stop this MegaSpa from being built,” the group said.

“Despite the loss of many trees today on West Island, it’s still a public space that should be preserved for the public for generations to come.”