With only 28 months remaining until the highly anticipated 2015 Toronto Pan-Am Games, development in and around the West Don Lands, home during the games of the Athletes' Village facilities, is reaching a fever pitch. The massive government investment in ongoing infrastructure and housing upgrades throughout the area has proven to be a much-needed catalyst for the private development necessary in making the West Don Lands a successful mixed-income neighbourhood. One such private project, Urban Capital’s River City Condos, has received lots of attention on UrbanToronto owing to both its eye-catching architecture and highly visible location at the convergence of King and Queen Streets, on the banks of the Don River.

Phase one of Urban Capital's River City Condos, image by Jack Landau

The near-complete first phase of the $300 million development features a 16-storey tower fronting King Street and a 6-storey building fronting onto River Street, both of which are connected to one another via a 3-storey enclosed bridge. The project’s bold architecture, designed by ZAS Architects and Saucier + Perrotte Architects, has received much acclaim, including a 2010 BILD Award for Best Design. In the photos visible below, we see recent construction progress with newly revealed details including black aluminum cladding and the initial balcony test railing (the clear glass will be replaced with smoked-grey glass).

Phase one of Urban Capital's River City Condos, viewed from Eastern/Richmond overpass, image by Jack Landau

River City's three-storey bridge connecting both buildings, image by Jack Landau

Black aluminum cladding on the 6-storey River St building, image by FNTS

Newly installed test-balcony railing on the 6-storey River St building, image by FNTS

Though the neighbourhood to the south is in its infancy, residents of the burgeoning community will still have two newly created parks at their doorstep, the spacious 17-acre Don River Park as well as the cutting-edge Underpass Park, located beneath the Eastern Avenue and Richmond Street overpasses. The surrounding well established neighbourhoods, revitalized with new community amenities and dining options, will serve as an anchor to the developing West Don Lands area as the district continues to grow.

River City (left) blending in with Toronto's cityscape, image by Jack Landau

As construction work on the 350-unit, LEED Gold Certified Phase 1 pushes towards completion, the second phase of River City Condos—three connected 12-storey “mini towers” containing 248 units—is now under construction too.  Phases 3, the tower seen below left, is tentatively due for sales in the near future. An eventual Phase 4 will complete the development.

Rendering of River City Condos, with phase 1 on the right, image courtesy of Urban Capital

Looking for more information? A comprehensive collection of floorplans, renderings and additional facts regarding River City Condos can be found on the project’s dataBase page, linked below. To get involved in the discussion, please visit the related forum thread, here, or voice your opinion in the comments section below.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Bluescape Construction Management, Dream Unlimited, EllisDon, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, Milborne Group, Quest Window Systems