Taylor Gray, development director for Baltimore-based The Cordish Company, has given an update as to when the multi-million-dollar Woodbine Live! expansion project will

be breaking ground at Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale, Ont.

The Cordish Company is a partner with the Woodbine Entertainment Group in the endeavour, which is slated to get underway with construction this fall

According to a report by The Toronto Star, subdivision and site plan agreements with the City of Toronto are nearing completion. Amongst the complex agreements which are nearing completion are the approvals for a 450-room hotel, a 5,000-seat live performance venue, a big-box retail centre, a movie theatre, smaller upscale shops and bars and restaurants.

“Our team is working closely with the City on a daily basis to finalize the last remaining details of various agreements and we anticipate breaking ground later this year,” Gray told The Toronto Star.

“People are excited — it’s going to revitalize Rexdale,” the article quotes Toronto City Councillor Rob Ford as saying. The Woodbine Live! project falls within Ford's Ward 2. “Tourists will get off the plane and go to Rexdale.”

(With files from The Toronto Star)