Thanks to our booming housing market, a lot can change in Toronto in just a few short years. Among the many areas of the city to witness extensive redevelopment efforts in recent years, the buildout of the new Fort York neighbourhood and the adjacent CityPlace community has added thousands of new homes and residents to an area once dominated by railcards and related industries. Back in the summer of 2010, Lanterra Developments and Lifetime Developments' under-construction Neptune 2 was visible to the west when viewed from the upper level of the Harbourfront parking garage.

West view from the Harbourfront parking garage, August 19, 2010, image by Edward Skira

Fast forward a little over 5 years, and the 16-storey Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed Neptune 2 has been mostly eclipsed by The Yards at Fort York, a 28-storey, Wallman Architects-designed condo tower from developer The Onni Group. To the immediate right of The Yards, a small sliver of Onni's neighbouring Local at Fort York project can be seen. Further to the right, the CityPlace's Quartz is recognizeable for its white exterior and pitched roofline, while another Onni's midrise, Garrison at the Yards, is fills in the last gap on the right side. At the left centre of the image, the Maple Leaf Quay rental towers look far different than they did in the before picture, thanks to an ongoing revitalization project that has significantly altered their appearance with varying tones of white and gray paint.

West view from the Harbourfront parking garage, November 19, 2015, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!