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It was announced this afternoon by Waterfront Toronto that Quayside Impact Limited Partnership, made up of Dream Unlimited and the Great Gulf Group, have been selected to develop the Quayside site in downtown Toronto. The announcement follows a competitive process where four teams qualified to vie for the opportunity to transform the 12-acre site into a community with considerable affordable rental housing component, extensive public spaces, and new jobs and business opportunities for its residents and Torontonians alike.
The development, which is at a preliminary stage of design (even if the renderings are elaborate) is proposed to include a total of five towers, plus one of Canada’s largest residential mass timber buildings.
"The proposal unanimously approved by the Waterfront Toronto Board today includes hundreds of affordable housing units, new public spaces across 40 per cent of the available land including an urban farm on top of one of Canada's largest mass timber buildings, and strong social and workforce benefits with 20 per cent of construction hours and 20 per cent of post-occupancy jobs going towards equity-deserving groups," said Toronto Mayor John Tory in a statement. "Quayside will be a landmark cultural destination that celebrates Indigenous culture and history. It will also be an exemplary low-carbon development — the first all-electric, zero-carbon community at this scale."
Quayside Impact's winning submission proposes to create visionary world-class architecture that will raise the bar on design across the entire neighbourhood and create a visually striking focal point on Toronto’s waterfront. Designers include top tier firms from London, UK — Alison Brooks Architects and David Adjaye Associates, and from Denmark — Henning Larsen Architects and SLA landscape architects.
The expansive development will include more than 800 affordable housing units (more than doubling the affordable housing Waterfront Toronto has brought to the waterfront), with many delivered in earliest stages to address an urgent need.
There will also be lush new public spaces, including a two-acre forested green space, plus a significant urban farm atop one of Canada’s largest residential mass timber buildings.
A landmark cultural destination and multi-use arts venue will be part of the development, and will bring together space for the performing arts, Indigenous-centred cultural celebrations and flexible education spaces.
Finally, the development will feature exemplary low-carbon development and innovations, making Quayside the first all-electric, zero-carbon community at this scale.
Following this announcement, Waterfront Toronto and Quayside Impact Limited Partnership will negotiate a project agreement. Negotiations are expected to be completed by Fall of 2022, at which time more information will be shared with the public as Waterfront Toronto and Dream and Great Gulf work to finalize the development plans, seek municipal approvals, including development approvals, and bring this remarkable community to life.
Jack Winberg, chair of Waterfront Toronto’s Investment and Real Estate Committee, said, “Today we take an important next step in unlocking the full potential of the city’s waterfront. Dream Unlimited and Great Gulf together with their team of architects and local partners have a strong proposal to make Quayside and Toronto’s waterfront among the best in the world. As we begin negotiations on a project agreement, we are more confident than ever in the transformative power of the Quayside project to the economic and social recovery of Toronto, Ontario, and Canada.”
More information on this development will come soon, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Dream Unlimited, Great Gulf, Grounded Engineering Inc., Urban Strategies Inc. |
