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As the calendars flip their final pages and a new year begins, people around the world reflect on the moments that defined the last 12 months, the triumphs, the challenges, the curveballs, and everything in between.
For all of us here at UrbanToronto, 2022 was a year full of action; we saw the development industry working hard to recover from the tolls of the pandemic, we saw the pressure of the housing crisis lead to a dramatic re-evaluation of municipal zoning, developers strove to build higher than ever, cutting edge sustainable building practices gained greater viability, and governments used both policy and funding to advance the role of transportation in the future of Toronto and its residents.
With so much to look back on, we have prepared Top 10 Lists for the most read News Stories, the most searched Database Files, and the Busiest Forum Threads from all of 2022 to offer a brief snapshot of what mattered most to the UT audience last year. Here is the topping off of 2022.
Our Top 10 Most Read News Stories of 2022
In the honourable mention spot of our Top 10 News Stories list, at number 16, we have a story about a proposal for a masterplanned community in the Humber Bay area of South Etobicoke. The project is one of several master-planned communities being developed within the borders of Toronto, a trend that is gaining prominence as an effective method for transit-oriented development and the creation of complete communities.
16. First Capital and Pemberton Submit First Phase Plans for Massive Humber Bay Shores Site
Looking at the 10 most read News Stories of the year, we see that three more master-planned communities amassed a notable amount of clicks, catching the attention of UT readers with intriguing elements like the promise of more than 20 different buildings on a single site, or the redevelopment of a shopping centre. The other trend we could see clearly was the fascination (albeit, with a hint of skepticism) with the Ontario Line, with three stories earning spots in the top 5.
10. Balcony Guards Begin to Show Cloud-Like Pattern on Menkes' Sugar Wharf Condos
9. Height Increase Could Make Pinnacle One Yonge The Tallest Building in Canada
8. Toronto Approves Major Applications Following Debate
7. 1970s Brutalist Building on University to be Replaced by 62-Storey Tower
6. Major 22-Building Redevelopment Proposed for Centerpoint Mall at Yonge and Steeles
5. The Ontario Line - Everything We Know, Part 1
4. The Ontario Line - A Big Step Forward for Toronto's Relief Line Successor
3. Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario Award $9B Contract for Ontario Line
2. RioCan Proposes 25-Tower Redevelopment of Vaughan's Colossus Centre
1. Ambitious Redevelopment of Yorkdale Shopping Centre Presented to Design Review Panel
Our Top 10 Most Searched Database Files of 2022
The summary of the Top 10 Most Searched Database Files of the year begins at number 13, with the Lower Don Lands Redevelopment. Spearheaded by Waterfront Toronto, the projects is putting a positive twist on terraforming, restoring a more natural flow of the Don River's mouth while simultaneously creating a lively urban ecological zone. The project is an indication of the growing movement to increase biodiversity in urban centres, a longterm trend we hope to see more of in 2023.
13. Lower Don Lands Redevelopment
Pouring over the results of the most searched Database Files list, we saw that projects 1 through 7 were, remarkably, the same as last year. Aside from some jockeying of positions, the city's high-profile projects held their ground as staples of interest for UT readers …but some intriguing new projects did manage to climb the ranks. Interestingly, 8 Elm was able to make a quick rise to the top ten, re-emerging in August with a fresh new design and a first-class amenity program, not to mention an "heroic" endorsement from Toronto's own Marvel movie star, Simu Liu.
9. Forma
8. 8 Elm
6. CIBC SQUARE
5. Sugar Wharf Condominiums (Phase 1)
3. The Well
1. The One
Our Top 10 Busiest Forum Threads of 2022
The transit buzz was a phenomenon that was particularly palpable in the UT Forum throughout 2022. Whether from positive updates or the reverse, transit projects were a big talking point for our Forum contributors, many of whom were hoping to see the opening of the Eglinton Line 5 Crosstown as once promised by Crosslinx and Metrolinx. Once word of the delays broke into the news cycle however, the traffic on the thread only got hotter, and with no clear timeline for completion yet, the conversation on the LRT remains active.
15. Crosstown LRT
Finally, as we go over our Top 10 Busiest Forum Threads of the year, we simply cannot overlook the remarkable tenure that The One has enjoyed in the top spot. Month in and month out, our Forum contributors monitor this project like no development we have seen before, setting an exemplary standard for the lively and active community that UT was built upon. With the first traces of exterior cladding now emerging on the supertall Mizrahi development, we look forward to seeing what we will learn in its thread and all the rest in 2023!
10. GO Transit: Service Thread
8. Lower Don Lands Redevelopment
7. Concord Sky
6. Sugar Wharf Condominiums (Phase 1)
3. The Well
2. CIBC SQUARE
1. The One
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
