West of Toronto's Downtown core, another waterfront skyline is rising on Lake Ontario, with Etobicoke's Humber Bay Shores now in the midst of an aggressive development boom. Through its new glass and steel landscape, the area is quickly becoming one of Toronto's most active development hubs, while the Toronto Region Conservation Authority has led the way in creating new parkland along the lakefront.

Etobicoke's Humber Bay Shores, viewed from a distance in November, image by Craig White

While the area—which is still developing an urban street grid—has some way to go in fostering street-level activity, the Humber Bay Shores community is becoming a more vital part of the city. Residential density has quickly animated the waterfront's parks and nascent retail scene, while development is continuing to intensify the neighbourhood.

Another view of the skyline, image by UT Forum contributor Steveve

Adding another high-rise tower to Mattamy and Biddington's sizeable local portfolio, the 53-storey Vita on the Lake is the companies' latest project to join the area, following the planned 2017 completions of the nearby Lago at the Waterfront and Riva del Lago. Designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects, the Lake Shore Boulevard condominium will feature 489 units, with interiors by U31.

Vita on the Lake, image courtesy of Mattamy/Biddington

Ranging in size from 390 ft² to just under 2,000 ft², the studio, one, and two-bedroom suites offer a reasonably wide variety of living spaces. Seen below, the 525 ft² N2-1 unit provides a fairly typical representation of the project's smaller suites.

N2-1, image courtesy of Mattamy/Biddington

Meanwhile, the 1,170 ft² T5-2 suite offers a significantly larger space, with the two-bedroom corner unit accented by an L-shaped balcony.  

T5-2, image courtesy of Mattamy/Biddington

Taking advantage the tower's proximity to the waterfront, the suites feature fairly generous outdoor spaces, with the wrap-around balconies characterizing the tower's exterior. While balconies are often underused spaces in Toronto's increasingly compact condos, the hope is that the waterfront location will help make the outdoor living areas—which are deep enough to be functional seating spaces—valuable elements of Vita's suites.

A closer look at the tower levels, image courtesy of Mattamy/Biddington

Offering another impressively sized outdoor space, the two-bedroom + den C2-2 suite (below) is another of the project's larger homes. Like the above suites, the luxurious 1,211 ft² unit's balcony features privacy screens on either side, making for an enclosed outdoor space. 

C2-2, image courtesy of Mattamy/Biddington

In terms of communal amenities, the project will also include a party room/lounge, as well as a game room, swimming pool, saunas and a limited supply of guests suites. Reflecting the area's relatively car-oriented urban structure, the 489-unit development will also feature 700 parking spots. 

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We will keep you updated as Etobicoke's Humber Bay Shores area continues to develop. In the meantime, further information regarding above-mentioned projects can be found in our dataBase files, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment on this page, or join one of the ongoing conversations in our Forum.