Field of Dreams

I recently saw a picture of Steve Apostolopoulos, President of Pickering Developments, standing at the edge of a cornfield that is to be the site of Durham Live! I instantly flashed to the blockbuster movie Field of Dreams, and James Earl Jones’ famous line, “If you build it, they will come.” echoed through my mind. The only difference is that when Apostolopoulos steps out of this cornfield he won’t be standing on a baseball field; he’ll be standing in the middle of Durham Region’s 240-acre Entertainment District.
Durham Live! will be the home of a landmark office tower, convention centre, waterpark and waterpark hotel, five-star hotel and casino, amphitheatre, fitness centre and spa, outdoor recreation trails, cinema entertainment complex and much, much more. “Durham Region has nothing like this and whether it’s the theatre, the performing arts centre, the trampoline park or the indoor skydiving, these types of family fun amusements really upgrade the livability of a city,” says Apostolopoulos. “There is Niagara Falls, and there is Toronto and then there will be Durham Live!,” says Mayor Dave Ryan.
“We’ve done everything at this point that can be done,” says Ryan. All required zoning is in place by the municipality to accommodate all of the potential uses of Durham Live! The residents of Pickering approved the casino with 60 per cent in favour on the referendum held in the fall of 2014. “This is something the municipality and the residents of the municipality have endorsed very strongly,” says Ryan. “We’re excited to be in the community and we’re excited to roll up our sleeves and get working,” says Apostolopoulos.
Conservative estimates predict that more than 7,500 jobs will be created by Durham Live! “It has already created quite a bit of employment,” says Apostolopoulos. Local professional lawyers, accountants and engineers are already hard at work. “As we start moving dirt around, there will be construction jobs available,” says Apostolopoulos. Durham Live! will be a major employer of hospitality and tourism jobs once it is complete.
Construction will happen in stages to allow for infrastructure improvements. “It’s not as if we’re going to dump a whole bunch of traffic into the municipality, the region and say, ‘Well, we’ll figure it out,’” says Ryan. As for the construction site itself, there are no plans to close any public roads. “All the machines and cars will be parking on the site,” says Apostolopoulos.
Even though they’re still in the early stages, Pickering Developments is optimistic that the first shovel will hit the ground soon. “I’d love to break ground in late 2015 or early 2016,” says Apostolopoulos. “I would personally like to see the office building come forward as soon as possible because I think that would be a terrific anchor on the site,” says Ryan. Pickering Developments will be locating their head office at the Durham Live! site and will be the first tenants. “It’s exciting to be in a brand new LEED-certified (Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Design) facility that we will be building. And with the beautiful skyline that exists in Pickering, we’ll have a great view,” says Apostolopoulos. “We’ll be right on the goal line.”