A decade ago, Toronto’s West Don Lands area remained mostly walled off from the public, little more than disused industrial plots awaiting change. After years of plans to bring new housing to the derelict area, a 2009 announcement that the site would become the home of the 2015 Pan-Am Games athletes village jumpstarted investment in the area, including the first private condominium developments. Urban Capital's River City community has been the most significant private development in the community to date, with three existing buildings and a fourth now underway.

RC3 and Harris Square (fourth phase), image by Forum contributor skycandy

The most recent of these currently wrapping up construction is River City 3 (RC3), a 29-storey condo tower designed by Montreal-based Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Toronto's ZAS Architects. The project broke ground in the Fall of 2015, and topped out at a height of 100 metres at the end of 2017. During the tower's rise, RC3 generated plenty of excitement as its distinctive massing took shape, and now with the cladding installation virtually complete, the building's distinctive look dominates the Corktown area.

Looking up at River City 3, image by UT Forum contributor mcornett

RC3's avant-garde shifted-drawers massing is now enclosed with a mixture of opaque aluminum panels with contrasting black and white finishes, fritted and clear glazing, and board-formed concrete at street level. The latest photos of the project show its completed exterior envelope, which appears as a black shell partially surrounding a white core, while mirroring the massing of the tower’s projecting north elevation.

Aerial view of RC3, image by Forum contributor skycandy

A skyline view of the neighbourhood, captured via drone from above Corktown Common, shows how the crisp, contrasting finishes combine with the tower’s height to make it a focal point in the neighbourhood. This view also reveals progress on the community’s fourth and final phase, a 13-storey building known as Harris Square located in the photo via the crane just to the left of RC3. It is designed  and developed by the same team as the early phases.

Skyline view of RC3 and Harris Square, image by Forum contributor skycandy

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.

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