An evolving plan to intensify an apartment complex in Toronto's Harbourfront area has been resubmitted to the City with a new design. Known as The Quay, Tower Three, the Quadrangle-designed project from owner Coal Harbour Properties and developer Pacific Reach Properties was initially proposed in its earliest form back in early 2016 as a 29-storey residential tower, to be built between the existing apartment towers on a section of the site currently housing a low-rise podium. A scaled-back 20-storey iteration was eventually approved in principle by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) in April, 2018, with the final order pending City approval of outstanding concerns.

Design evolution at The Quay, images via submission to City of Toronto

This revised plan was presented to the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel (WTDRP) late last year as part of the pre-application process. Due to time constraints, only some of the comments and concerns laid out in the WTDRP meeting were addressed by the time the proposal's Site Plan Approval (SPA) application was filed in December 2018. In the months since the SPA application, more of these issues have been addressed, resulting in a complete redesign of the building as well as more changes to units and other elements. These revisions were unanimously supported by the WTDRP at a subsequent meeting held this past March.

Looking southeast over The Quay, image via submission to City of Toronto

Now proposed at 21 storeys, the building was redesigned by dividing the massing into five distinct vertical components, changes to the exterior expression's materiality and colour palette, and integration of the rooftop mechanical penthouse into the overall design. All design changes have been carefully worked over to largely conform with the conditions previously approved by LPAT prior to the new design being conceived. 

Looking southwest to The Quay, image via submission to City of Toronto

Another revision introduced at the request of WTDRP and City Staff is a two-storey north-south pedestrian passageway at the west end of the building, linking Lake Shore Boulevard with the water's edge promenade. This new pedestrian connection requires the removal of residential units on the second floor and the conversion of ground floor retail space. A rough-in for a pedestrian walkway is also being included at the east end, linking the promenade to the future Rees Street Park. This eastern connection is still in the early stages, and won't be able to move forward until leases expire for existing spaces.

West pedestrian connection at The Quay, image via submission to City of Toronto

Revisions have also been made to elements including the ground floor layout, residential unit count and bedroom sizes. An initial count of 313 units was upped by 30 to 343 units in the December 2018 plan, and another 4 units have been added in the redesign for a total of 347. 

The Quay, image via submission to City of Toronto

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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