May 2012

Queens Quay Construction Set to Begin

The revitalization of Queens Quay in the central waterfront is set to begin this spring. Construction will launch shortly with utility upgrades that are being co-ordinated as part of the overall transformation of the street. When construction is complete in late 2014, Queens Quay will be transformed above and below ground. The street will be both beautiful and functional. The project includes:
•    Upgrades to all utilities and fully rebuilt TTC streetcar tracks with expanded platforms and amenities.
•    Brand-new sidewalks and traffic lanes on the north side of the TTC tracks with expanded turning lanes and improved signal timing.
•    A new pedestrian promenade and continuous Martin Goodman Trail connecting east and west on the south side.

The waterfront, including all businesses and attractions, will be fully open and operational during construction. Road access to all homes and businesses will be maintained at all times.

Waterfront Toronto is holding two public meetings to share details of the construction schedule. A central waterfront project update meeting is being held on June 6, from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Brigantine Room at Harbourfront Centre. The meeting will have a strong focus on Queens Quay construction and will include a question and answer session. On June 9, from 10 am to 2 pm at Waterpark Place, 20 Bay Street, Waterfront Toronto is holding a Queens Quay open house. Members of the public can drop in and review detailed Queens Quay construction plans and timelines, as well as ask questions about specific access and construction issues.

Central Waterfront Public Meeting

Overview presentation of all central waterfront projects underway with a focus on Queens Quay construction. Question and answer session to follow.

Date: Wednesday, June 6
Time: 7 pm - 9 pm
Location: Harbourfront Centre, Brigantine Room, 235 Queens Quay West

Queens Quay Open House

Drop-in and review detailed Queens Quay construction plans and timelines.

Date: Saturday, June 9
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Location: Waterpark Place, Ground Floor Atrium, 20 Bay Street

 

Monde Wins Best Building Design Award

Great Gulf’s Monde condominium development has received a 2012 Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) Award in the Best Building Design - High Rise category. In its 32nd annual year, the prestigious BILD Awards recognize the very best of the GTA's new home construction industry. BILD received more than 1200 submissions in 49 categories, making this year’s awards event the biggest yet.

Great Gulf assembled an award winning team behind Monde, including world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, architectural firm Quandrangle Architects, interior design firm Cecconi Simone, and landscape architect Janet Rosenberg + Associates, to create the first residential building in the vibrant up-and-coming East Bayfront neighbourhood.

Monde’s spacious suites feature a contemporary design finished with a serene, minimalist palette inspired by nature. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer expansive views of the lake and city, and generous balconies offer two storeys of open space. A soaring 3-storey lobby features a living green wall that not only creates a calming effect for residents, but improves air quality and reduces noise pollution.

Sales are underway for Monde at the project’s presentation centre located at 291 Lake Shore Blvd East. The centre is open Monday to Thursday from 12 pm to 6 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm to 5 pm. Visit www.mondegreatgulf.com to learn more.

Monde Summer Party

To celebrate the opening of the model suite for Monde Condominiums, Great Gulf is throwing a summer pop-up party on June 2. The event will feature gourmet food trucks, music in an outdoor lounge and access to Monde’s newly unveiled model suite designed by award-winning designers Cecconi Simone. Waterfront Toronto will be offering guided walking tours of the East Bayfront community between 12 pm and 3 pm

Date: Saturday, June 2
Location: Monde Presentation Centre, 291 Lake Shore Blvd East
Time: 11 am – 4 pm

Royal Visit Includes West Don Lands

As part of the two-day visit to Toronto, the Prince of Wales visited the Foundry Building in West Don Lands on May 22 to learn how the former industrial area is being transformed into a new sustainable community that will be home to the Athletes’ Village during the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

The tour was led by Premier Dalton McGuinty, with presentations by Waterfront Toronto’s President and CEO John Campbell, and Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Charles Sousa also responsible for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. The Prince was given a brief overview of the history of the West Don Lands and provided with demonstrations of some of the environmentally sustainable features being built into the new community.

Image credit: © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2012

West Don Lands Canary District Sales Launch

On May 15, Dundee Kilmer Developments officially launched the Canary District Condominiums development that it is building in the West Don Lands as part of the Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes’ Village project. Sales for the first 369-unit building launch in June. Designed by KPMB Architects with interiors by Munge Leung, the building is being constructed to achieve LEED® Gold certification. The one and two bedroom (some with dens) suites start in the low $200,000’s. There will also be townhomes and lofts.

In addition to the Canary District Condominiums the Athletes’ Village portion of the West Don Lands will feature a new YMCA recreational facility, George Brown’s first ever student residence, and two affordable housing residential buildings.

Visit www.canarydistrict.com to learn more or to register.

Splash Pads Open for Summer

The splash pads at Sherbourne Common and Canada’s Sugar Beach are now open and park goers can cool off in a fun way as they explore the waterfront in East Bayfront. The water jets at Canada’s Sugar Beach were switched on for the season on May 25, while the Sherbourne Common splash pad opened during the May long weekend. The water is also flowing in Sherbourne Common’s 240-metre long water channel and from its three dramatic art sculptures. The parks and their water features are operated by the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department.
 

Sherbourne Common Wins Top Infrastructure Award

Sherbourne Common’s stormwater management system has been recognized as the best and most innovative consulting engineering project of 2011. The Consulting Engineers of Ontario gave The Municipal Infrastructure Group Ltd. its top prize, the Willis Chapman Award, for its work on the park’s integrated stormwater management system.

Sherbourne Common is the first park in Canada to incorporate a neighbourhood-wide stormwater treatment system. The award-winning stormwater management system treats collected storm and lake water through an innovative ultraviolet disinfection system.  The treated water is then released from three dramatic art features into a 240-metre long water channel and back out to Lake Ontario.

Fifty-six engineering firms submitted entries for the 2011 awards. Of the 56 entries, three were shortlisted to compete for the Willis Chapman Award. The Willis Chapman Award honours the project that best demonstrates the important contribution of consulting engineering to the economic, social and environmental quality of life in Ontario.

York Quay Revitalization Update

The transformation of York Quay at Harbourfront Centre from a surface parking lot into a dynamic new public space for waterfront visitors continues to progress. The new underground parking garage is nearly complete and will open in June. The underground garage was an important first step in the revitalization of the site. Building the garage unlocked the area and is enabling the creation of two new generous public spaces.

Funding is now in place and the project’s designer Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates presented a concept design for the surface of the site to the Waterfront Design Review Panel in May. The design includes three components: Canada Square which looks out towards Lake Ontario, an urban square which faces a revitalized Queens Quay, and an interim programming area for Harbourfront Centre’s future cultural village.

Work on both plazas and interim cultural village will begin this summer with an expected opening in spring 2013. Waterfront Toronto’s central waterfront public update meeting on June 6 will include a presentation on the project.
 

Tommy Thompson Park Construction Update

Over the winter and spring months, Waterfront Toronto and Toronto and Region Conservation have been working steadily on the upgrades and improvements to Tommy Thompson Park.

Improvements to the first phase of the parking lot and entrance are now complete. The interior and exterior components for the staff booth, environmental shelter and ecological research station are also complete. The interpretive signage plan for the lookout has also been developed along with the natural area enhancement plan report. Improvements will be complete this summer.

On May 12, International Migratory Bird Day, Tommy Thompson Park hosted its annual Spring Bird Festival. The Park is one of Toronto's largest green spaces and provides a critical stopover habitat for migrating birds.  The park is opened weekends from 9 am to 6 pm.
 

East Bayfront External Sanitary Sewer Construction Update

The installation of a new East Bayfront sanitary sewer is approximately 75 percent complete. At the northern end of the project area, crews completed work on The Esplanade east to Market Street in mid-May and began excavating between Market Street and Jarvis Street in order to install the new sanitary sewer in that area. At the southern end, in East Bayfront, crews continued working east along Queens Quay and are installing the new sanitary sewer in the area between Richardson Street and Lower Sherbourne.

Work in this area is expected to be complete in mid-June. As well, crews will complete the final section of sewer on Jarvis Street between The Esplanade and Wilton. Traffic on Jarvis Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction during this work which is expected to be complete in mid-June.
 

River City Construction Update

Construction of the two buildings in phase one of the River City development in the West Don Lands continues on schedule. Over the past few weeks, the concrete structure of the 7-storey building on River Street was topped off and the floor slab was poured. Construction of the exterior walls of the building is underway, with the aluminum panel installation to begin in the next few months. Window frames installation began shortly after the steel studs were installed in early May and mechanical and electrical work on the interior of the building is ongoing. Construction of the 16-storey building on King Street is also progressing well. The two buildings will be connected through a pedestrian bridge which is also under construction.

Developed by Urban Capital, River City will include more than 900 loft-styled condominium and townhouse units as well as boutiques, stores and restaurants, which will be built out in four phases. Phase one occupancy is planned for February 2013 and phase two sales are now underway. Visit www.rivercitytoronto.com to learn more.