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Released today, the first details of Canada's 2016 Census map out the City of Toronto's changing population. Unsurprisingly, development continues to intensify much of the city, with Greenbelt legislation and Provincial Growth Policy continuing to reverse the 20th century's urban sprawl. In fact, some 8 per cent of all Canadians now live in Toronto proper, even as populations in some of the City's least affordable—and from a development standpoint, least changing, urban neighbourhoods, including parts of the Annex and Rosedale—are falling. But how does the growth manifest itself? Like putting a face to a name, UrbanToronto's annual Growth to Watch For series offers an exhaustive overview of the individual developments shaping the city's population.
Seven entries have been published so far in what promises to be UrbanToronto's largest and most comprehensive GtWF series to date. With most of Toronto's west end now covered, we take stock of the neighbourhoods and projects of the 2017 vintage to date. Beginning with the 57 proposed, under construction, and recently completed, projects in the Entertainment District, this year's series travels through a wide variety of urban contexts to deliver a comprehensive overview of the city's evolving built form.
While the development nodes covered vary from the Entertainment District's compact—but incredibly active—1 km² to the comparatively sprawling 96 km² North Etobicoke & Weston area, each entry provides a thorough overview of future development. Entries are organized geographically, taking readers on a tour through Toronto's most active—and well-known—corridors, anticipating the future within a familiar urban context.
So far, a total of 287 projects have been featured in this year's series. Ranging in size from stacked townhouse blocks to mid-rises and multi-tower communities, the developments shaping the city come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes—though point towers continue to make up much of the city's construction. Here's what we've seen so far on our 155.1-kilometre west end tour:
Kicking off this year's series in one of the most rapidly developing parts of the city, the Entertainment District is dominated by upcoming and under-construction towers. Set to join the plethora of point towers, RioCan, Diamond Corp., Allied REIT, and Tridel's multi-tower The Well is now seeing preliminary site activity at Spadina and Front. Meanwhile, urban enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the long-awaited launch of Mirvish + Gehry, a one-of-a-kind king West project that by this point needs little introduction.
King West, Queen West, Liberty Village, Parkdale
Moving west, there's plenty of activity along King and Queen, while another locus of development is located slightly further afield in Liberty Village. A 16.3-kilometre route through the 11 km² area takes in 37 ongoing, upcoming, and proposed projects. On King West, for example, the three King HighLine towers are now rising, with a new bridge—connecting to the West Toronto Railpath for which the towers are named—coming as part of the project.
Past the pre-amalgamation City limits, a new skyline is taking shape in South Etobicoke. While the 49-storey Lago at the Waterfront (below) is now completing, the 49 and 66-storey Eau du Soleil towers are just beginning to make their mark above grade. The 66-storey condo is set to become Toronto's tallest tower outside of the Downtown core.
Etobicoke Centre and Bloor West
Heading north before turning back east towards Downtown, the fourth instalment of our series takes on Central Etobicoke and Bloor West. In this part of the west end, high-rise communities and more modestly scaled urban infill developments are contributing residential density. Some of the area's biggest projects are concentrated near the Line 2 subway terminus at Kipling, where the first phase of the five-tower Kip District is now under construction. Immediately west on Dundas, meanwhile, an additional eight towers are planned by Pinnacle International, with the 25-storey first phase now moving through the planning process.
Dupont, Junction, St. Clair West, Eglinton West
After arriving back at Bathurst and Bloor, this instalment winds through a collection of established urban neighbourhoods. Throughout the Junction, St. Clair, and Eglinton West, mid-rise infill projects are gradually intensifying their communities, while a more dramatic change is coming to the intersection of Dupont and Dufferin. Here, the Galleria Mall could make way for a mixed-use 12-building redevelopment, featuring a potential height peak of up to 42 storeys.
Returning to Etobicoke, this instalment is both the largest and smallest in the series so far. Covering a massive 96 km² area, our 35-kilometre route picks up on 22 ongoing and upcoming projects in Toronto's comparatively quiet northwest end. In this part of the city, you'll still see new cul de sacs and townhouse communities, as well as much larger developments. The largest of the proposals is located on the formerly City-owned land along Eglinton West between 401 and the Humber Valley. Once meant to become an extension of Highway 403, these lands are now the sites of projects like Lanterra's 4000 Eglinton West; a proposal that calls for five high-rise towers. The site is currently occupied by Plant World.
York to Yorkdale to York Mills
On February 6th, our latest Growth to Watch For took on three of Toronto's many 'Yorks' (excluding Yorkville and York University). North of our Dupont, Junction, St. Clair and Eglinton West coverage, the central, 34 km² stretch south of the 401 includes 36 projects. At 3450 Dufferin opposite Yorkdale Mall, for example, a Gupta Group proposal calls for three-towers with 1,044 units and 255 hotel rooms.
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Later this week, our west end coverage will conclude when we cross the 401 to look at Downsview and the York University area. In the coming weeks, we'll be covering the entire 416, concluding with a look at Downtown's most active development hubs. Want to share your thoughts about the city's continuing development? Leave a comment in the space below this page, or join one of the many ongoing conversations in our Forum. For the projects covered in these instalments, there are 287 threads to choose from!
