The City of Toronto promised a decade ago to restore the former Guild Inn. City officials also promised the public would be welcomed back to the historic Guild Park with:

• a first-class restaurant,
• City-provided meeting space, and
• Appropriate facilities, such as art displays and permanent public washrooms, to serve the thousands of monthly visitors who come year-round to this popular destination.

Today, the original Guild Inn is beautifully restored, but the other promises have been broken:

• There's no public restaurant
• There's no meeting space provided by the City, and
• There’s no public access inside.

Guild Park visitors have been literally shut out of the restored Guild Inn.

Today, the public isn't allowed into this unique building. Park visitors can’t even view the public art displayed inside - paintings and works from the City's own art collection that came from the original owners of the Guild Inn!

To keep the public out of the restored Guild Inn, signs posted outside read “Private Property No Public Access.”

This is all wrong.

This is not what City of Toronto officials promised to the community and to all city residents. 

We call on municipal officials to take action and enforce the City’s relevant by-laws, regulations and agreements covering this project. It's time for the public to benefit from the multi-million-dollar improvements made at the Guild Inn.

This is an important destination for all Torontonians.

It's the original home of the historic Guild of All Arts. The building has a 50-year tradition as one of Toronto's most popular restaurants and hospitality sites. It has welcomed artists, tourists, celebrities and royalty.

City of Toronto decision-makers have the power to fix these broken promises and re-open the Guild Inn for everyone.

A strong display of public concern can get the process started. 

Signing this petition shows you agree that it’s time for:

• public restaurant services to resume at Guild Park
• long-promised public facilities to be available on-site, and
• the ongoing tax exemptions provided by the City to private operations in Guild Park provide benefits to Guild Park visitors and Toronto residents.

Background: Ten years ago, the City of Toronto began negotiating a 40-year agreement with a private company to revitalize the old Guild Inn. The building is located in the heart of Guild Park & Gardens, 201 Guildwood Pkwy., Toronto, above the Scarborough Bluffs

The agreement was complex. It required the company to invest about $15 million to restore and expand the badly dilapidated Guild Inn.

The company agreed to operate the facility as a private business called the Guild Inn Estate. It would provide meals, drinks and meeting space for weddings, corporate parties and other commercial events.

The City’s agreement also required that Guild Inn Estate provide community benefits by operating a public restaurant and letting people visit and use the building. 

In return, City officials exempted most of Guild Inn Estate from municipal taxes. This is a subsidy worth more than $200,000 a year to the private operator. This cost is paid for annually by all Toronto taxpayers. 

The restored Guild Inn Estate opened in 2017 and included a public restaurant, with customer access inside the building and outside on the adjacent patio. 

As business increased, the restaurant space was increasingly used for private rentals. Guild Inn Estate later decided to close the restaurant to the public, despite the City's requirement to operate an on-site restaurant. 

The public’s ability to use of the patio ended during Covid when Guild Inn Estate began renting that space for private customers.

Today, 100% of Guild Inn Estate and the adjacent area outside is reserved exclusively for commercial events. Only guests at private events are served full-course meals and beverages. 

The City’s tax exemptions continue to benefit the private operator, but there’s no restaurant or other facilities at Guild Inn Estate to benefit Toronto taxpayers and public park visitors. 

People who come to Guild Park today can't even buy a coffee on-site. 

A better and fair approach is for City officials to ensure that the value of the tax exemptions now benefiting Guild Inn Estate generate benefits of equal or greater value for Guild Park visitors and Toronto residents.

This would bring more than $200,000 a year in public services to the site.

This petition is about fixing all the broken promises at historic Guild Park.

Please sign this petition and add your comments below. Your support tells the City of Toronto that you want to enjoy this tax-subsidized facility at Guild Park, with the services promised by City officials.

For more details, visit the Friends of Guild Park Facebook page here: Link to posting "Dilemma at Guild Park"