The site has long been isolated within the urban fabric by the processes of development – waterfront land reclamation and infrastructural corridors of rail and elevated highway. The concrete curtain of the elevated Gardiner Expressway, Bathurst St Bridge and no man’s land of the rail lines have brutalized the geographic context and marginalized the Fort. Recent residential development nearby presented an opportunity to make the Fort the focal point of these new neighbourhoods – both as urban amenity and cultural anchor. The new Visitor Centre is intended to re-establish the site as part of Toronto’s identity and as a cultural touchstone for Canada.