It began a few years ago using SketchUp to visualize the Trump Hotel in Google Earth and quickly extended to the waterfront and the entire downtown core. Cale Vanderveen, then a high school student, developed a 3D model of Toronto that includes almost every proposed building, colour coded by stage; that is, proposed (red), approved (orange), and under construction (blue). Cale now maintains the model while he studies planning at Ryerson, tracking recent developments on forums like UrbanToronto and using the City of Toronto’s Development Project database.

Cale Vanderveen on Yonge Street at College in Toronto

Cale was offered an internship at RealNet after receiving some media attention from Canadian Business and the Toronto Star, allowing him to work on the model exclusively for three months. The model currently includes land bounded by the Kitchener Rail corridor to the west, the Don River to the east, the waterfront to the south, and St. Clair to the north with a few expansions: he includes the lakeshore to the Humber River and the Yonge corridor to Steeles.

Cale’s model fosters a unique view of the city; the city of the near future. It answers questions like what will neighbourhoods look and feel like once proposed buildings are constructed, or where is development clustering, and where is it challenged? It’s clear that the Entertainment District, Fort York, the waterfront, Queen East, and portions of Dundas are saturated with development.

Looking south at development in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Base by Google Earth, Models by Cale Vanderveen.

“Jarvis around Dundas has expanded from two to six buildings. You can see when an area is about to explode – it will be a high growth area in the coming years.”

Looking south towards development along Dundas Street between Jarvis Street on the left, and Victoria Street on the right.

Yonge and Bloor, and Yonge and Eglinton are also key transit-oriented development nodes that, “in terms of sheer growth over the existing conditions, are notable,” explains Cale. 

Looking south at development in the Yonge-Eglinton area of Toronto. Base by Google Earth, Models by Cale Vanderveen.

We’d be remiss not to include significant downtown employment development like 21 Don Roadway and 45 Bay, which will drastically change the feel of Lake Shore Boulevard.

Cale also suggests we should also “be paying more attention to the east side of town. There are going to be a lot of changes coming to that area soon.” Streetcar Developments alone is undertaking the rehabilitation of the Broadview Hotel (to the New Broadview Hotel) and developing Riverside Square, both at Queen and Broadview. Areas many of us might not realize are changing dramatically because we live and work mostly near downtown also come into perspective. To take an example, there are eleven active applications along Dundas from The East Mall to Islington, transforming an area marked by single family homes and strip malls into a much more high-density area.

The model isn’t perfectly up to date—it’s currently missing a host of developments (29) occurring along Kingston Road from Woodbine to Centennial Road (though not all are within the boundaries of the model)—but given the model isn’t public, it is not a huge problem. Certain buildings are also quite challenging to model. “One Bloor Street East, features a complex setup of balconies which are difficult to model in the SketchUp software,” explains Cale. I can’t imagine the Mirvish/Gehry towers are simple either.

Looking west towards development surrounding the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets, centred on One Bloor East.

The model resonates for those who see it in part because we don’t have a clear sense of what Toronto is going to look like in five or ten years. It is obvious that the downtown core, as well as key Avenues like Dundas and Kingston Road, are saturated with development proposals, but it’s hard to imagine what the city will look and feel like. Visualizing not to mention accepting change is hard, especially at the rate it is occurring in Toronto. We’ve been made very aware that Toronto hosts more cranes than any other North American city. 

Cale has considered expanding the model’s reach beyond the downtown core to include Scarborough and  Mississauga, but has not put much thought into how it might otherwise evolve. “I built this in high-school. It’s really just a hobby. I don’t want to expand it majorly,” he says quite candidly. I can’t help but think about how it could be used strategically and by whom, though."

The extent of Cale's Google Earth 3D Toronto development model

Resident groups, BIAs and developers could use the model to advocate for or against development. There was considerable pushback against development on Ossington Avenue a few years ago or Roncesvalles today, largely due to height, yet as buildings are constructed on Ossington it’s clear they are not much higher than the treetops and fit nicely into their context. How could the model have helped the public understand change happening in what at the time was a stable neighbourhood? How can it be used currently by those pursuing development along the Avenues? Could we use the model to assess how policy implementation occurs throughout the downtown?

Though visualizing change is incredibly valuable, comprehensive 3D modelling will become be ever more useful in the coming years to assist with planning issues.

What are your thoughts? How could a 3D model like Cale’s be used beyond visualizing Toronto’s near future?