Waterfront Toronto Selects Five Developers to Bid on West Don Lands Development

TORONTO, September 26, 2007 - Waterfront Toronto today announced that five development teams have been selected to bid on the construction of 850 units of housing in the West Don Lands, the first new neighbourhood to be developed as part of waterfront revitalization.

Waterfront Toronto short-listed the five teams through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that was issued in June and to which 18 developers responded. The five short-listed teams are:

• Monarch Corporation and Fram Building Group with Graziani and Corazza Architects and Cobalt Engineering LEED
• Onni Development Capital Corp. with Gomberoff Bell Lyon Architects and Pottinger Gaherty LEED
• Tridel with Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden Architects + Urbanistes and Deltera LEED
• Urban Capital Property Group and Redquartz Developments with Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Enermodal Engineering LEED
• Urbancorp with Foster and Partners Architects and Buro Happold LEED

"Waterfront Toronto was impressed by both the high level of interest in the RFQ as well as the quality of responses that we received," said Meg Davis, Waterfront Toronto’s Vice President Development. "We feel confident that we’ll be able to pick a team that can meet the high expectations we all have for waterfront revitalization."

Sustainable development and design excellence are critical to the success of waterfront revitalization. The five short-listed teams demonstrated considerable expertise and experience in these areas.

A steering committee made up of members from Waterfront Toronto as well as external sustainability, development and design experts, evaluated the RFQ submissions. The Honourable Justice Coulter A. Osbourne provided oversight of the process from a fairness and transparency point of view.

In October, Waterfront Toronto will issue a full Request for Proposals to the five short-listed teams. The corporation anticipates making the final selection in early-2008. The selected developer will be required to build according to the standards set out in the West Don Lands Precinct Plan and Urban Design Guidelines as well as meet mandatory green building requirements.

The first phase of West Don Lands development will be located in the area that runs from King Street in the north to the new Don River Park in the south and from St. Lawrence Street in the west to Bayview Avenue in the east.

In addition to the 850 housing units the five short-listed teams are bidding on, phase one development also includes a mixed-income development at King and St. Lawrence that is being carried out by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. This development will have approximately 130 units of affordable rental housing and approximately 100 units of market housing. Construction is expected to start here in spring 2008.

Work currently underway in the West Don Lands includes the construction of a six-hectare low-lying berm that will provide flood protection for the West Don Lands and the downtown core. Once the berm is complete in 2008, Don River Park will be built on top of it.

The Government of Canada, Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto established Waterfront Toronto in 2002 to lead and oversee the revitalization of Toronto’s central waterfront.

-30-

Media contact:

Kristin Jenkins, Waterfront Toronto
or Tanya Bevington, Waterfront Toronto