Item - 2025.EX28.7

The Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services and the Deputy City Manager, Community and Emergency Services recommend that:

1. City Council, as shareholder, direct the Toronto Port Lands Company Board of Directors to direct the Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO, to negotiate and execute an amendment to the Ground Lease between the City of Toronto Economic Development Corporation and Basin Media Studios GP Inc., as general partner for and on behalf of Basin Media Studios LP, dated August 29, 2022, as amended, substantially in line with the proposed changes outlined in Confidential Attachment 1 and in a form approved by the Chief Legal Counsel, CreateTO.

2. City Council direct that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 remain confidential in its entirety, as it contains information about a position, plan, or instruction to be applied to negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the Board of Directors of Toronto Port Lands Company.

The purpose of this report is to seek City Council's approval to change certain terms previously approved by Council to amend the Ground Lease between Toronto Port Lands Company (TPLC), legally the Toronto Economic Development Corporation, and Basin Media Studios GP Inc. (the "Tenant") related to the Basin Studios project at 29 and 75 Basin Street. This report has been prepared by staff from the City of Toronto and CreateTO.

The Basin Studios project is an approximately $300 million, purpose-built, state-of-the-art film, television, and digital media hub in Toronto’s Port Lands. The development encompasses over 485,000 square feet of new purpose-built studio and support space, including 12 new sound stages. The project site involves an approximately 8.9-acre property owned by Toronto Port Lands Company at 29 Basin Street (the "29 Basin Property") and 5-acre property owned by the Tenant at 75 Basin Street (the "75 Basin Property"). 

The proposed changes to the Ground Lease amending terms are summarized in Confidential Attachment 1. These changes are requested in response to current and ongoing challenges faced by the project since 2021, which have been exacerbated by a renewed protectionism of the US film industry since the arrival of the second Trump Administration, adding additional uncertainty to the investment environment for new film studio development in Toronto. 

CreateTO and City staff are satisfied that the proposed amendments will support the viability of the project in the future and do not introduce any new financial liabilities or risks to the City. The recommendations within this report support the commitments of key City of Toronto strategies that support economic and cultural development, notably the Action Plan for Toronto's Economy, the Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, and the Mayor's Action Plan in Response to US Tariffs.

The estimated financial impact of the adoption of the proposed Ground Lease amendments is provided in Confidential Attachment 1.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial implications as contained in Confidential Attachment 1.