UPDATE

EDITOR: The Daniels Corporation has contacted us about the following story to let us know that a number of the details below no longer reflect the current plans for the Daniels Waterfront site. While every detail below is based upon information contained on documents recently made public by the City of Toronto on its Planning Department Development web pages, the plan for the Daniels Waterfront site has been morphing in the time since the applications were made to the City in the Fall of 2014.

Daniels is still finalizing some of the details, so was not able to comment further at this time, but the company is working towards a launch of this site in the coming weeks. The article below, therefore, represents a now out-of-date iteration of the plan, and none of the details should be considered as set in stone.

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The Daniels Corporation is moving towards construction for the first phase of its Daniels Waterfront development, and new information and renderings have come to the forefront. The development has changed significantly since our early look at it, with it now consisting of 11 and 14 storey office buildings facing Queens Quay and 36 and 45 floor residential buildings to the north. Retail and restaurants will be features of the ground level of the complex.

The first phase will include two connected office buildings, which are set to begin construction soon. The buildings will focus on tenants in the media and arts sector, which appears to be an emerging focus of Toronto's East Bayfront area. Daniels will be moving their head offices to this building.

The conjoined office buildings, designed by RAW Design, feature a unique sound recording waveform on the upper storey glazing, with multi-coloured punched openings into the structure that feature large balconies. The lower levels feature multi-coloured vertical pillars that brighten the facade. Space is provided on the southern wall for a public art installation. The building is contoured at its southwest corner to provide for a planned public park, which will act as an extension of the existing Sugar Beach Park from the south side of Queens Quay.

The two office towers along Queens Quay, image by RAW Design for the Daniels Corporation

When we first saw plans, the second phase was to be a 65 floor tower, but Waterfront Toronto wants shorter buildings for this area, and the density has since been transferred to a second tower. Giannone Perticone Associates are the designers of Phase Two. The new proposal includes a 46-floor condominium and a 35-floor rental building, atop what will soon become George Brown College's media building. The north side of the Phase One structure and the south side of the Phase Two structure face onto what will be known as "The Yard", a pedestrian street with an undulating facade along the north side to create a unique urban environment that will be sure to be teeming with people upon completion. The Yard is set to be a pedestrian continuation of the future eastern extension of Harbour Street, which will be terminating at Jarvis.

Render of "The Yard", a pedestrian space between the two phases. Image by Giannone Petricone for the Daniels Corporation

Daniels is set to bring a unique set of buildings to the waterfront on the site of the recently closed Guvernment nightclub—now being demolished—and will continue the revitalization of Toronto's Waterfront. This development, along with other recent announcements such as Menkes' recently announced Waterfront Innovation Centre across Queens Quay to the south, are set to transform the way Torontoians interact with their waterfront. 

For more renderings and information, feel free to click on the dataBase links provided below. To add your thoughts, feel free to join in on the conversation in the associated thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.