The Globe and Mail

Nathan Phillips Square, the city's "great play space," is a step closer to a long-awaited makeover. Yesterday, the city named four teams -- three of them Toronto-based -- as the finalists in an international design competition to revitalize a public space that's described as "frayed around the edges." The city has already earmarked $16-million toward the restoration of the square, which is budgeted at $40-million. The plan is to raise the other $24-million from citizens and the private sector.