October 2010

Sherbourne Common South Now Open

On September 24, hundreds of community members and stakeholders joined Waterfront Toronto and our government partners to officially open Sherbourne Common South. During the festivities, guests explored the park’s many features including the water channel, or urban river that runs the full length of the park; its award-winning zinc-clad Pavilion; and the dynamic 30 jet splash pad that is a skating rink in the winter.
 
Located in the heart of the new East Bayfront community, Sherbourne Common is more than a beautiful new park, it is also the first park in Canada to integrate a neighbourhood-wide stormwater treatment facility into its design. The park’s UV facility will treat collected stormwater and release it from one of three art features into the channel where it will travel back out to Lake Ontario.

After the official ribbon cutting, Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray and local Councillor Pam McConnell joined students and community members on a tour of the park’s innovative UV facility located in the Pavilion basement.

Finishing touches will continue on the park over the next few weeks. The park will remain open while work on the Pavilion and at the southern end of the water channel is completed.

L to R: Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell, Waterfront Toronto Chair Mark Wilson, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray and Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty at the opening of Sherbourne Common.

Tour the Park - Video Highlights
If you missed the official opening, watch a short video about Sherbourne Common on our YouTube channel.

What people are saying...

“After years of work and development, plans for the East Bayfront are finally coming to fruition…”  Blog TO

“…a new breed of hybrid urban projects that have the potential to lead us into the future.”  Toronto Star

“Waterfront Toronto has added another jewel to the increasingly bright crown of waterfront parks in Toronto.”  Urban Toronto

Sherbourne Common North Construction

Sherbourne Common North is on track to be completed by the end of the year. Crews have completed 80 per cent of the elaborate concrete formwork for the park’s water channel which takes the form of a large raised pool on the north side of the park. Water from the park’s three dramatic art features will be released into the raised pool and then travel along the water channel back to the lake.

Crews have begun the finish grading for the park’s landscape and have completed site services including electrical wiring to the art features.

West Don Lands Pan Am Athletes’ Village Design Team Announced

Planning work for the section of the West Don Lands that will be home to Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes' Village is moving forward with the selection of HOK/Montgomery Sisam/DTAH/Quadrangle Architects/Populous as the planning, design and compliance team for the project.  Infrastructure Ontario and Waterfront Toronto selected the team following a competitive Request for Proposals. The team will be responsible for developing output specifications and preliminary design documents for the West Don Lands Athletes’ Village project.  

The design for the Athletes’ Village will be based on Waterfront Toronto’s vision for a green, modern and vibrant new community as outlined in its West Don Lands Precinct Plan.  After the Games, the Village will become part of a new community of high-quality market and affordable housing planned for the West Don Lands.

The next step in the development process will be the issuing of a Request for Qualifications to select a short list of teams who will be asked to submit a response to a Request for Proposals to design, build and finance the West Don Lands Athletes’ Village.

What is each partner's role?

HOK: Team Leader, Design & Planning Strategy Team – Architecture/Landscape, and LEED Certification & Sustainable Energy Specialist

Montgomery Sisam: Design & Planning Strategy Team – Architecture

duToit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH): Design & Planning Strategy Team – Architecture/Landscape

Quadrangle Architects: Design & Planning Strategy Team – Architecture/Accessibility

Populous: Program Manager/Expert Advisor – Athletes’ Village

Official Opening of Corus Quay

On September 28, Corus Entertainment officially opened its new Canadian headquarters on the waterfront next to Canada’s Sugar Beach. Corus, a Canadian-based media and entertainment company, consolidated its Toronto-based operations from 11 different locations and moved more than 1,100 employees into its new waterfront home.

Called “North America’s most advanced broadcast facility,” Corus Quay is also an environmentally responsible building with many green features. The building has a significantly reduced power signature, a massive five-storey bio wall for air filtration, a green roof and energy efficient lighting. Corus Quay also uses low-flow water fixtures and re-used rainwater to reduce water consumption. During construction, more than 75 per cent of construction waste was diverted from landfills.

Corus Quay was developed by the Toronto Port Lands Company formerly known as Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO) and will be owned and managed by Build Toronto. Waterfront Toronto worked with TEDCO to enable the development of this important new waterfront building and contributed more than $12 million to ensure that the building would achieve LEED Gold, a key sustainability objective for all new waterfront developments.

Photo courtesy of Richard Johnson.

Video Highlights
Corus has posted a time lapse video of the construction of its new corporate headquarters.  Images of the interior and exterior of the finished building are also available.

 

East Bayfront Construction Update

Over the next month, permanent light poles will be installed along the Water’s Edge Promenade, and the streets in and around Corus Quay. The lights, which will replace the temporary ones installed earlier this summer, include a timber tampered pole with a cast metal base featuring an oak/maple bark pattern.

The light poles, which were designed by West 8 + DTAH for the downtown waterfront, will also be installed at Canada’s Sugar Beach. The lights will be adapted slightly for the park by extending the height of the poles from nine metres to 12 metres, and by including three special light fixtures at the top which can be positioned to prevent light glare during concerts and other events.

West Don Lands Construction Update

Progress continues on the construction of the pavilion at Don River Park.  Excavation is complete and formwork for the pavilion’s basement walls and footings is well underway.

The area’s flood protection landform is 90 per cent complete and removal of the surcharge material from the southern portion is nearly finished.  All of the surcharge material has been placed on the north section of the landform, and settlement monitoring is ongoing.

On Mill Street, district energy piping installation is approximately 90 per cent complete, and construction of the utility duct banks is well advanced.  Installation of the silva cells for the boulevard trees has also begun.

Sanitary and storm sewer installation on Bayview Avenue is ongoing. On River Street, underground utility construction is complete except for district energy piping. The district energy materials have been delivered to the site, and the contractor will begin installation soon.

Central Waterfront Community Update Meeting

Join Waterfront Toronto on Wednesday, November 17, for an update on current projects in the central waterfront and on our plans for revitalizing Queens Quay Boulevard with construction expected to begin next year.

During the meeting, you will hear a variety of short presentations and you will have an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback to the project teams.

Agenda:

• General update on waterfront revitalization
• Queens Quay revitalization schematic design presentation
• York Quay revitalization (Phase 2) update
• Portland water’s edge (Phase 1) update
• Question and answers

For additional information, call (416) 214-1344 or email info@waterfrontoronto.ca

Meeting Details
Date: Wednesday, November 17th
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Harbourfront Centre,
York Quay Centre - Lakeside Terrace
235 Queens Quay West, M5J 2G8

West Don Lands Community Meeting

On October 14, Waterfront Toronto hosted a West Don Lands Community meeting at St. Lawrence Hall to update the community and stakeholders on waterfront revitalization and progress in the West Don Lands.  The meeting included updates on parks and public realm, construction of the flood protection landform, and on the areas that will be used for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes’ Village.

Meeting Materials
View the presentations from the West Don Lands public update meeting.

Urban Capital’s Big Picture Speaker Series

Urban Capital, our private sector development partner on River City, has been running a three-part series of special events called River City: The Big Picture that offers an insider's perspective into the transformation of the West Don Lands.

The first event, held on September 23, focused on the legacy of the Pan American Games and featured former Ontario Premier and Pan Am Games Bid Chair David Peterson, and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village architect Stuart Lyon.  Mr. Peterson described an inspiring vision for the Games and what they mean for Toronto, and how citizens can participate in the cultural and sporting events leading up to and during the Games.  Mr. Lyon described planning, design and implementation of the Vancouver Olympics Athletes’ Village.
 
Held on October 13, the second event featured an overview of Underpass Park and the public art that will help beautify the unique public space.  Park designer Greg Smallenberg of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg engaged the audience with a presentation on the park and how it will contribute to the transformation of the area.  Artist Paul Raff unveiled “Mirage”, the public art installation he designed for the space.

Design Unlike Any Other
Join Urban Capital on November 18 for the third event which features the principals of Saucier + Perrotte, the Montreal -based architects behind River City and the winners of eight Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. Gilles Saucier and Andre Perrotte will discuss the architecture of River City, which was named the 2010 Best Hi-rise Building Design by BILD, the Toronto Home Builders Association.

Visit the River City website for details and to register.

Don River Park Groundbreaking Video

Learn more about Don River Park, Waterfront Toronto’s first park to be constructed in the West Don Lands.  Watch the video from the official groundbreaking for the massive park that will transform an abandoned post-industrial site into a dynamic, year-round, re-naturalized public amenity.