While Toronto's eastern waterfront has been extremely active on the development and construction fronts, development activity in the West Don Lands has slowed significantly since a flurry of construction produced the Canary District for the 2015 Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games. Activity, however, is beginning to ramp up again with several projects making their way through the development pipeline that will eventually fill in the remaining empty lots within the district. Recently, a proposal has been submitted for Site Plan Approval from the City for Block 8, a long narrow property stretching along the south side of Mill Street.

Ariel view of Block 8, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

Headed by developers WDL 8 LP—a consortium of Dream, Kilmer Group, and Tricon—and designed by Danish firm COBE Architects alongside local firm architectsAlliance, the proposal would see three towers of 16, 16, and 26 storeys comprising a total of 756 rental units. The ground floors will be occupied by townhouses and amenity spaces, with two small retail spaces located in the two westernmost buildings.

Rendering looking east, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

Among the 756 rental units are 225 affordable units, mixed within each of the three towers with no segregation between the two. The unit breakdown would see just over half (54%) of dwellings as one-bedroom units, roughly one-third (34%) as two-bedroom units, and around 12% as three- and four-bedroom units.

Each of the towers sit atop 7-storey podiums that are defined by their brick materiality and heavy punched-out windows. The recessed windows are each accentuated by an angled brick wall, providing greater texture and light play to the facades. The choice of reddish-brown brick is a clear nod to the neighbouring Distillery District, seeking to continue the architectural language of the popular destination eastward into the Canary District.

Close-up elevation of the western tower, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

The westernmost tower fronts onto Cherry Street and will contain grade-level retail along its entire Cherry frontage. Located directly across from the Distillery District, the retail spaces will pull the atmosphere of the popular Distillery retail across the street. As well, both western towers feature a one-storey portion fronting onto the south property line with a generous 18-metre setback for the remainder of the podium, with the roof being occupied by outdoor amenities and a green roof. It is anticipated in the original West Don Lands master plan that Block 20 to the south of the property will eventually contain a school within the lower levels of whatever is built there.

Rendering looking east from the Distillery District, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

The tower elements are each distinct from their podiums in their articulation. The two western 16-storey towers feature concave precast panels, each with a single large punched-out window. The documents submitted to the City do not specify the exact material of what they refer to as a 'precast assembly', but the renderings hint at either a concrete or terracotta facade. Regardless, the concave shape will give a distinct flavour to these buildings that set them apart from surrounding structures.

Close-up of the westernmost tower, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

The eastern 26-storey tower differs in its articulation, and features a more typical glazed facade with a random pattern of vertical metal fins. The podium also differs in its design from the neighbouring western towers, featuring narrow vertical strips of windows within the brick cladding, rather than the repetitive rectangular cutouts. The eastern tower contains only residential units and their associated amenities.

Rendering looking east at the eastern tower, image courtesy of Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon.

It is unclear what the phasing of the three towers will be, but the fact that the project is already at the Site Plan Approval phase means that, if all goes well, it faces a shorter journey through City planning and may begin construction sooner rather than later. We will keep you posted of any updates as the City reviews the application, but in the meantime, you can see more mages in our database file for the project, linked below. Tell us what you think by checking out the associated Forum thread, or by leaving a comment in the space provided on this page.