Our New Waterfront is Coming into View
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 10, 2024
In This Blog:
- To deliver on our vision for the waterfront as a connected, accessible and inclusive space, we’re advancing complete communities, transit and destinations to ensure the waterfront meets its full potential.
- Our 2023-2024 Integrated Annual Report shows how we’ve advanced our revitalization mandate – and what’s to come. Here are three ways the waterfront is meeting its potential:
- New homes, workplaces, school buildings and parks opened on the waterfront this past year complementing existing amenities to create complete communities, with developments planned for Quayside and what’s currently known as ‘Villiers Island” moving through various planning stages.
- Design for the Waterfront East LRT is advancing to 60% after securing $63.6 million in funding from the city to bring transit closer to realization.
- We advanced foundational work on River Park North and other surrounding green areas that will open in 2025, as well as advanced design to 30% for a destination PlayPark.
- As water and wildlife have returned to the renaturalized mouth of the Don River and the four new bridges in the Port Lands are now installed and opened to the public, our new waterfront is coming into view.
To deliver on our vision for the waterfront as a connected, accessible and inclusive space, we’re advancing housing, transit and high-quality parks and public spaces. Always with a high standard for environmental sustainability and design, we’re making progress on our goal of creating a destination for everyone at the water’s edge.
As revitalization moves east, we’re unlocking even more opportunities to solve today’s problems and plan for the future on our new waterfront. Our 2023-2024 Integrated Annual Report shows how we’ve advanced our revitalization mandate – and what’s to come. Here are three ways the waterfront is meeting its potential.
1. Complete Communities
Building a neighbourhood from scratch? That takes time. In a recent interview with TVO’s Steve Paikin, our Chief Planning and Design Offer was asked, “When will the waterfront be done?” In return, he asked, “When is any city ‘done?’” Cities continue to grow, and that’s just what’s happening in our emerging waterfront neighbourhoods.
This year, we advanced new homes, workplaces, school buildings and parks on the waterfront.
Aquabella (left) and Aqualuna (right) are contributing to a complete community in East Bayfront by housing a childcare centre and recreational facility in the buildings.
The fourth and final residential development by Hines/Tridel in East Bayfront, Aqualuna, progressed significantly this past year and is expected to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification [LINK]. Aqualuna will add 255 new homes on the waterfront and includes a new community recreational centre that will open in 2025. This will complement the nearby child care centre at a nearby residential building, Aquabella, which opened in September 2023.
These new amenities round out the neighbourhood, which is already home to George Brown College, Corus Entertainment, theScore, WPP, and a growing array of restaurants and cafes.
Learn more about development progress in East Bayfront on page 34.
As Quayside progresses, new housing and neighbourhoods are taking shape.
In 2023-2024, we advanced the design of streets and public places for this mixed-use community to 60% and started construction at Parliament Slip to realign Parliament Street.
Our development partners Quayside Impact Limited Partnership worked through development approvals with the City of Toronto. An updated zoning application allows them to build more than 2,800 new homes, including 458 affordable rental homes, in the first phase of development.
Learn more about Quayside on pages 33 and 49 of our 2023-2024 Integrated Annual Report.
We’re weaving parks and green spaces throughout new neighbourhoods and increasing access to the water’s edge. In 2023-24, we opened Love Park (see pages 56-57) and the Legacy Art Park honouring Terry Fox (see pages 66-67).
Final steps towards flood protection and unlocking the future ‘Villiers Island’ neighbourhood.
As Port Lands Flood Protection (PLFP) nears completion, we completed the last stages of excavation, planting and other works in preparation for the return of water to the Don River Valley. In a major milestone, we inundated the new river with water. We also opened the last of the four new bridges connecting the new island to the mainland along with New Cherry Street and portions of Commissioners Street.
In 2023-2024, we achieved a significant milestone in flood protection by completing the riverbed and filling the new river with water. Here, one of several access points waits for 2025, when the new river will be open to people.
Learn more on page 42-47 of our 2023-2024 Integrated Annual Report.
Flood protection work in the Port Lands will unlock up to 240 hectares (593 acres) of mostly post-industrial land for development, including the new island community, currently referred to as ‘Villiers Island’. Now that flood protection is nearly complete, the next phase of waterfront revitalization is ready to launch.
We’ve been planning and collaborating to make the most of this extraordinary opportunity. Over the past year, we worked with CreateTO and the City of Toronto to increase density on Villiers Island by 60%, without impacting land set aside for greenspace and parks. This increase was approved by Toronto’s City Council in June 2024, enabling the future ‘Villiers Island’ to bring over 9,000 homes to the eastern waterfront.
The streets on ‘Villiers Island’ will prioritize space for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users, with extra space reserved for landscaping that will manage stormwater, contributing to the neighbourhood’s resilience.
Learn more about how we’re working to advance plans for the future ‘Villiers Island’ on pages 38-39.
2. Transit
Rapid and reliable transit is critical to ensuring the success of the new neighbourhoods we’re delivering on the eastern waterfront. In 2023-2024, we received approval from Toronto City Council to advance design work for the above ground component of the Waterfront East LRT to 60% and secured $63.6 million in funding for the execution of this work.
The design for the Waterfront East LRT will create an inviting public realm along the right of way for pedestrians and the transitway, supporting public spaces, parks and retail along Queens Quay East.
3. Destinations
As we’ve seen from great waterfronts around the world, the best urban waterfronts contain a cluster of activities that attract people in every season.
As part of a complete waterfront vision, we’ve advanced design for a larger-than-life destination playground, called PlayPark. This free, accessible park would create opportunities for kids to challenge themselves at each stage of development, while encouraging kids and parents alike to get off their screens to enjoy nature. A similar attraction in Tulsa, Oklahoma, attracts over 1.5 million people per year.
Learn more about our vision for PlayPark on pages 68 and 78 of our Integrated Annual Report.
Located on what’s currently referred to as ‘Villiers Island’, PlayPark would attract around 750,000 visitors a year, which would increase tourism and support the economic growth of the waterfront.
The new Island will be a space of natural wonder and beauty, boasting 50 acres (20 hectares) dedicated for parkland and greenspace. In 2023-24, we advanced foundational work on River Park North and other surrounding green areas that will open in 2025.
The new Port Lands bridges that we’ve opened have already become destinations in themselves. To connect the central waterfront to thousands of new homes and green spaces on the Island, we held a design competition for The Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge. The winning design, Equinox Bridge, will add to the growing network of publicly accessible boardwalks and pathways along the water’s edge and will complement the family of striking new bridges on the Port Lands, which have already added a unique character to the area.
Learn more about the Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge on pages 60-61.
A view west from the future park on ‘Villiers Island’ as we work towards a 2025 opening.
With water now in the renaturalized Don River, our new waterfront is coming into view. We continue to work with our government partners to ensure that the possibilities for the next phase of waterfront revitalization to advance housing, transit and great public spaces and ensure the waterfront achieves its full potential.
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