Central Waterfront : Development News

Waterfront convened the first of several public planning and design meetings to let local residents and the general public in on what's in store for the area surrounding the foot of Yonge Street.

"The concept of the first meeting was to introduce people to the concept that we are doing an area plan for the area we are calling the Lower Yonge Precinct, which stretches from Yonge to Jarvis, and the Gardiner Expressway to Queens Quay," says Waterfront Toronto’s vice president of planning and design Christopher Glaisek.

"One Yonge is a public proposal so it's gotten some attention," Glaisek says, "but there’s also the LCBO lands with the warehouse and store, but it's mostly a big parking lot and that’s also a potential development site and it's actually bigger than the One Yonge site. Then there's a Loblaws site, which while they have no plans to develop it in the near term, will one day become a development site."

After discussing the extent of the area, which covers nine hectares, the convenors listened to public input on the subject of future development, which they will incorporate into two studies, Lower Yonge Precinct Area: Urban Design Guidelines and a transportation master plan environmental assessment

Glaisek was able to reveal one design principle immediately, however. "We’re trying not to build a wall of condos on the waterfront," he says.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Christopher Glaisek

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At a ceremony marking construction reaching the top floor, organizers announced that the city's newest YMCA would be formally known as the Cooper Koo YMCA in honour of Michael Cooper and Krystal Koo, who donated $2 million toward the $20 million Canary District project.

Cooper, the vice chair and CEO of Canary District developer Dundee REIT, and Koo, a marketing manager at the company, contributed the money needed to finish the project after the province kicked in $8 million and the YMCA the remaining $10 million.

The 82,000 square foot Y, which is being built by Ellis Don, will first be used as part of the Pan Am/Para Pan Games in 2015 before opening to the public as a community centre and athletic facility.

"We had been looking at different neigbourhoods and were very excited about the possibility of having this building built," says Judy McLeod, Greater Toronto’s chief development officer for the YMCA. "When the Pan Am games are over, it's an opportunity for us to help in the building of a community."

The last Y in the GTA was built in Markham in 2007.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Judy McLeod

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Just as Billy Bishop Airport is in the news again, with a proposal from Porter to expand the island airport’s repertoire to jets, the Toronto Port Authority has released a video highlighting the airport’s economic contributions to the city.

The video, which was released on Thursday, is based on an economic impact study done last October, and it’s the first new video the TPA, which runs the airport, has done in more than two years.

"The impact study really is about what the airport contributes to the city and how we want to work with the city in partnership," says TPA president Geoff Wilson. "It’s a very important theme: successful cities embrace their airport infrastructure and understand its role in stabilizing and growing, in our case, the downtown core and bring prosperity in the form of business, commerce and tourism."

He says this airport embrace is a form of natural civic evolution.

"Great cities embrace their ports, then their railroads, then build their highway systems, and the ones that did it well prospered and had strong economies." Airports, he says, are the next historical step.

According to the study, the airport creates 5,700 jobs, of which 1,700 are directly linked to airport operations, handling the 2 million passengers that came through in 2012, a figure that's expected to rise in 2013. The airport has also been calculated to add $640 million in gross domestic product, and $2 billion in total economic activity.

Though Wilson did not want to comment directly on Porter's proposal, the TPA has agreed to fund the first phase of a feasibility study. Wilson would go so far as to say that if Porter's projections of increased passenger traffic are correct, it would increase the airport’s overall economic contribution to the city.

Wilson says the timing of the video has nothing to do with Porter's proposal.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Geoff Wilson

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Three small buildings opened on Leslie Spit last week, giving an air of permanence and purpose to what’s been called an accidental urban wilderness.

According to James Roche, director of parks, design and construction at Waterfront Toronto, the spit was created as a breakwater for the outer harbour, part of a shipping plan for the Port of Toronto that was made obsolete before it was completed by the development of container ships.

Since the 1950s, it has been a dumping ground for building materials, and has grown into a multi-armed agglomeration that over the years has cultivated its own ecosystem.

"A lot of different species of animals live there now," Roche says, "and it’s a very important flyover stop for birds going to South America."

The three buildings -- a staff booth, an environmental shelter and a bird-banding hut -- are an attempt to make official the casual uses it's been put to. The staff booth will serve as a monitored entryway, enforcing the park's hours. The environmental hut will be a sort of interpretive centre, with information about the spit and its species, that also serves as a way to get out of the sun, rain or snow. The bird-banding hut will centralize the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s efforts in that area, just in time for the Tommy Thompson Spring Bird Festival on Saturday.

Work started on the project in the fall of 2010, and Roche says the entire project, including a spiffing up of several kilometres of walking and bike paths, cost $8 million.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: James Roche

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As of last week, there are eight cranes up and running at the future Canary District, the second major neighbourhood to be attempted south of Front Street in the last decade.

Unlike City Place, however, the Canary District is incorporating several layers into its planned community in the hopes of creating a sustainable neighbourhood. 

The cranes are stretched out over 35 acres, the simultaneous erections a reminder of a tight deadline. The district will be used at first as an athletes village for the Pan/Parapan American Games, to be staged across the GTA in the summer of 2015.

"We’re building out the entire athletes village," says Michelle Cain, project manager for developer Dundee Kilmer. "There are two cranes for the YMCA attached to the George Brown campus, two for the two buildings that will be affordable housing, and four cranes for the Canary District condos."

Ground was broken last May on the $514-million project designed by four architecture firms: KPMB, Architects Alliance, Daoust Lestage and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Michelle Cain

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Don River Park, the 7.3 hectre park in the heart of the West Don Lands that will be largely completed this month, is remarkable chiefly for its incorporation of what’s known as a flood protection landmass into its landscape.

It’s the latest example of a city that’s long been in the habit of blending infrastructure and design.

Like the old Hydro houses and the R.C. Harris water treatment plant, Infrastructure Ontario’s armoured mound near the mouth of the Don at River Street, meant to protect the downtown core from the sort of flooding that might result from a century hurricane, is one of the centrepieces of this new park, working water necessities into itself, much like Sherbourne Commons turned its water purification plant into a water feature.

"I think this is a good precedent for how we can design our spaces," says James Roach, Waterfront Toronto’s director of parks, design and construction.

The park has been in development since September 2010. When completed, it will run along the Don River while simultaneously providing "spectacular views of downtown and Lake Ontario," according to the park's website. It will include areas for lacrosse, soccer, bird watching, picnics, concerts, tobogganing, as well as meadows and hiking trails. 

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: James Roach

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This is the year Toronto makes green living a little more palatable.

The seventh edition of the Green Living Show was announced last week, along with its newest feature, the Ontario Culinary Adventure, done in conjunction with the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance.

"This is a collection of a dozen pavilions," says Green Living events VP Robert Orlovski. "Each pavilion represents a chef, a farmer a distiller, vintner or brewer and a destination marketing representative from a region, from Ottawa across the price to Windsor."

In addition to that, there’ll be an eco-parent show-within-a-show (there will, apparently, be mompreneurs), as well as Go Electric, a showcase for electric cars.

"We have been monitoring the marketplace and speaking a lot with car manufacturers," Orlovski says, and "this year, 2013, is a huge year for electric cars. We’ll be featuring tons of electric cars. Not only them, but also charging technologies. A whole section on what the electrification of transportation means in our city."

The Green Living Show, a showcase for marketing and branding firm Green Living whose clients include Loblaws, Samsung, Scotiabank and Tridel as well as the City of Toronto, will be held April 12-14 at the Direct Energy Centre’s halls B and C at the Ex. The  $16 admission can be waived with a drop-off of recyclable electronics at the door.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Robert Orlovski

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The huge Toronto Star parking lot at the base of One Yonge Street looked even bigger this week when sketches leaked showing an as-of-yet undiscussed 30-storey tower. The sketches show a major ground-level retail component across Queens Quay to form the bulk of the development land, for which the developer purportedly paid more than a quarter of a billion dolllars.

The sketches, by Hariri Pontarini for Pinnacle Interntional, show a crystal-shaped glass tower with what looks like three storeys of ground-level retail. Given the site's proximity to several major Waterfront Toronto developments, as well as a large Loblaws and one of the city's two biggest LCBO outlets, the addition of this much retail could significantly increase the amount of traffic, both pedestrian and automotive, to the currently quiet section of town.

According to a member of Councillor Pam McConnell’s office, who was not authorized to speak on the record, the sketches are very preliminary and can’t even be considered until the Lower Yonge Precinct Study is complete, which won’t be for at east six months.

The staff member expressed the hope that the new proposal would be informed by that study, which is expected to prioritize office space in any major development in the area, which abuts the Waterfront Toronto revitalization area to the east.

Sarah Henstock, a senior planner with the city, confirms that there has been no formal application from Pinnacle, and regarding the precinct study, she says "We would hope that it would inform their application. It’s really up to a property owner what they want to apply for and how they want to work through a process." But, she adds, "Some property owners do work with us, and some, not so much."

The sketches, which may turn into the official proposal, feature five towers, the highest of which is 98 storeys, which would make it the tallest residential or office building in the country, beating the current record-holder, First Canadian Place, by 26 storeys. Tom Yim, the spokesman for Pinnacle's Toronto office, says they'll probably be waiting for the study to be released before going ahead with their final plans and proposal.

The Toronto Star building itself is expected to remain the same.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Pam McConnell

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Our little Billy Bishop Airport generated almost $2 billion for the city last year.

That’s according to a study, commissioned by the Toronto Board of Trade and the Toronto Port Authority, that was released last week.

That money, roughly $1.9 billion, includes $640 million in gross domestic product, $290 million in wages for the 1,700 jobs directly associated with the airport and the 4,000 others that owe their existence to it indirectly. About $57 million is generated in taxes and payments in lieu of taxes.

"Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is more than a convenient transportation link into and out of the Toronto region," said president and CEO of the Board of Trade Carol Wilding in a prepared statement, "it is an economic driver vital to ensuring our economy remains globally competitive."

Though the airport first opened in 1939, it's only since 2006 when Porter began flying from it—hyping its convenience to a primarily business clientele and providing relatively high levels of service—that the airport became the economic and cultural force that it is.

Writer: Bert Archer

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Construction has started on the ambitious Fort York Visitors Centre that the city hopes will renew interest in the 17.4-hectare patch of mostly grass where Toronto was born.

The $18-million project has been designed by Vancouver firm Patkau Architects, who are working with Toronto's Kearns Mancini.

"I always tell people, Fort York represents the city's founding landscape," says Karen Black, manager of the city's Museum Services department, "and there aren't many cities that still have right at their core the founding landscape intact. But most people think Fort York consists of the little walled seven-acre site."

In addition to recreating the original shoreline just north of the Gardiner Expressway with its weathered steel facade, the new building will enable the site's administration to move out of the old officers' quarters and school, which in turn will be opened to the public.

Funding for the project has come from the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport ($5 million), the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund ($5 million) and there are hopes of raising $6 million privately. One million dollars has already been donated by the W. Garfield Weston Foundation, intended to be spent on the grounds at the north of the property known as Garrison Common, the site of a battlefield from the War of 1812.

Work is expected to take 18 months, with an opening scheduled for April, 2014.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Karen Black

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As of Monday, the eastbound lanes of Queens Quay from Spadina to Bay are closed till spring.

It's the first stage of the $110-million redesign of the central section of the waterfront, planned in part by Waterfront Toronto, that is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2015.

Traffic is being redirected at Lower Spadina Avenue north to Lake Shore Boulevard. The TTC is also being diverted, and the stop at Rees is temporarily suspended, though pedestrian access to shops and homes will not be affected.

The second stage of the project, which will involve the north side of the street handling westbound traffic, will begin next summer once work on the south side of the 1.7-kilometre length of street has been completed.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: David Kusturin

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Toronto has been named to a list of 21 "smart" communities by a Manhattan think tank devoted to social and economic development.

The Intelligent Community Forum, co-founded by Kitchener-Waterloo tech exec John Jung, put Toronto on their list for only the second time since they started the program in 2002. In 2005, the city made the top seven, which is the ICF’s shortlist.

This list of 21 communities is a sort of long list on the way to naming the world's smartest community in June 2013.

The application was made by Waterfront Toronto, under the guidance of Kristina Verner, Waterfront's director of intelligent communities, part of whose job description is to maintain relations with the ICF.

"There were over 400 communities that applied," Verner says, "so it's a great honour to get to this point. It's an opportunity to tell the story and promote the brand that is the waterfront revitalization as well as the city of Toronto."

Verner says the application highlighted the new George Brown campus at the waterfront, TIFF, ORION and the plan to cover the entire waterfront community with free wifi, as well as the city's kids@computers program, which was also a part of the application in 2005.

The top-seven list is announced in January; the winner is named in June.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Kristina Verner

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Excavation on the $137.5-million Union Station platform addition is now complete.

The project, which began in January of last year, will add another passenger platform on the south side of the rails to relieve the congestion on the current single platform. The TTC estimates that 250,000 people use the station each day, making it the sixth busiest station in the system.

In addition to the extra platform and expanded concourse, the project includes a new connection to the PATH system, access south to the waterfront and an elevator and ramp to link the station with Union’s rail station, which is also being overhauled.

The work is expected to be finished by 2014.

Workers are now occupied with demolition, pouring concrete and waterproofing .

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Samantha Gileno

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Waterfront Toronto gave its final public presentation on its plans to accelerate lakeshore development this past week, in advance of taking its plan to the executive committee and, ultimately, to council in October.

It was the fourth opportunity in six months the public had to see and contribute to the process.

Michelle Noble, Waterfront's director of communications and marketing, says one of the most significant aspects of the plan's evolution is that it is now going to be conducted in phases.

"Instead of having to come up with the full finding required for the full Port Lands, by having a phased approach it can be done incrementally," she says.

The whole project is also approaching the break-even point, she said.

As for the public reception to the plan, though she refuses to discuss any dissenting voices, Noble says "People seemed pretty receptive overall."

Before the plan is presented to city council's executive committee in September, people interested in having their thoughts heard can still contribute online at portlandsconsultation.ca.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Michelle Noble, Director of Communications and Marketing, Waterfront Toronto

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Construction of the tunnel to Billy Bishop Airport, announced with much fanfare at the beginning of the year, is continuing, but slowly.

According to the latest update, work this past week included excavation on the shaft located at the foot of Eireann Quay. "This excavation will involve the removal of soil and rock that will be trucked offsite for disposal" on the mainland side. On the island, in addition to continued utility work, "shaft walls are under construction. This work involves the excavation and filling (with steel and/or concrete) of a series of holes around the shaft’s perimeter."

The project, which proved so controversial in the lead-up to David Miller's first election as mayor, continues to draw fire.

"They have come through a very complex construction management plan," says councillor Adam Vaughan, in whose ward it's being built, “and to the disappointment of the community, they've already started violating the start-stop times."

The work, which can be noisy, is limited by the same restrictions placed on all non-emergency construction work in the city, starting no earlier than 7am, finishing no later than 7pm on weekdays. But Vaughan's office has received multiple noise complaints related to the site.

Vaughan says there are also plans to dump the excavated material into the inner harbour, both to dispose of it and to discourage boats from entering the airport's no-sail zone, But Vaughan says this plan would not so much dissuade boats from entering the area as run the ones that do aground.

The tunnel, originally budgeted at between $20 and $40 million, is currently estimated to cost $80 million, according to Vaughan, some of which is being paid for by new $20 passenger fees for Porter and Air Canada flights into and out of the island airport. The current estimated date of completion is summer 2014.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Councillor Adam Vaughan

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].