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UrbanToronto is celebrating 20 YEARS throughout October with stories and images looking back over the last two decades. Today we begin with a look back at UrbanToronto itself and its evolution over the the period, the first of many in-depth articles to come this month.
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In continuing our series celebrating 20 years of UrbanToronto, and some of the notable changes and occurrences in our city since 2003, one of the landmarks has been development itself. How we build, what we build, and where we build has transformed dramatically in the last two decades.
Going are empty windswept driveways and surface parking lots at the base of residential buildings, landscaped with only cold concrete floral planters, in favour of development that is warmer, welcoming, and pedestrian focused, more attuned to the realities of today’s lifestyles.
In new buildings where suites are getting ever smaller, amenities are getting ever grander, as parcel rooms overseen by concierges now complement mailboxes, as gyms are becoming better equipped fitness centres, as the functions of party rooms are being split over lounges and catering kitchens and dining spaces and games rooms… the list just goes on.
In older parts of the city where redevelopment was taking place, the 2005 strengthening of the Ontario Heritage Act better protected heritage buildings, and now several streetscapes now boast restored heritage streetfronts while accommodating new housing or offices in the glass and steel towers that rise behind them, like at 7 St Thomas, above.
“Of course, the vast majority of condos sell no matter what their architectural qualities are, as that’s a byproduct of a market with too high a demand for the supply,” said Craig White, Managing Editor at UrbanToronto. “Some developers care more about the heritage aspects of their projects than others, some putting them to more use while others only save as little as necessary to fulfill requirements. Creative reuse of heritage costs money.”
‘Facadism’ has been a growing trend in the last two decades, retaining at least the front historical face of an existing building and incorporating it into a new tower built above. TD Terrace at 160 Front Street West, below, is a current example.
“More often than not, notable facades that are saved will provide character for years to come on sites that otherwise would have lost that character,” says White. “Modern architectural can certainly be eye-catching, but it generally lacks the idiosyncrasies that gave the older buildings their charm, so on the whole, it is better to incorporate the historical façade because of the wins that are occasionally achieved.”
The City of Toronto’s Net Zero Emissions building strategy by 2040 was only enacted in 2021, so moving forward, White explains this will impact more changes in how we build.
“The size of windows is decreasing as it costs less to insulate with solid walls,” observes White, "and we are seeing more masonry on exterior again." An example of that is Rush Condos, below. "Another move to cut heat transmission into the air is that fewer residential buildings will have balconies, and those that do will need to create them in ways that limits the thermal bridging. They way most buildings are built here now effectively turns them into radiators.”
It has been said the pandemic accelerated just about everything in our day-to-day lives, but perhaps no more so in the reality of working from home. It was originally thought it was simply a passing trend during the pandemic, but it is proving to have staying power as the productivity of workers has not suffered. As a result, developers are bringing new thinking to what should be included in residential development and how those spaces should or can be used.
Many new buildings now come with a co-working space. Sometimes in the design that space is folded into the lobby or sometimes it’s a separate room that operates that way during daylight hours, but then transforms into a lounge or party room in the evenings or on weekends. Building size determines when these spaces double-up the uses or can have separate spaces. Another new reality is the creation of parcel lockers and parcel rooms to accommodate the explosion in home delivery over the past three years.
Development changes have also impacted how a building meets the street in the last two decades, which as density increases and sites get tighter, it is increasingly difficult to accommodate the city’s goal of retail or restaurants on the main floor to create a community feel at the base of a tower for neighbourhood engagement.
“It depends upon the type of street a building is located on,” says White. “On quieter streets there are now more townhouse units with direct street access built into building podiums, while on busier streets, the city wants retail. However, buildings on tight sites, typically downtown, have to provide lots of other spaces on the ground floor, such as a lobby, mailroom, elevator access, servicing and a workable garage entrance and exit, so it’s extremely rare to get as much retail back onto a tight site as there was before.”
One thing that hasn’t changed in the last two decades is the old bugaboo of ‘nimbyism’ or, ‘sure you can build it, just not near me’. However, White is noticing a subtle change in this as more and more Torontonians accept the fact we are living in one of the fastest growing cities in the western world.
“Nimbyism has always been around but at least there are now enough people recognizing that nimbyism restricts new housing opportunities enough that there’s a reasonably effective backlash against nimbyism… which has meant that restrictions on single-family-homes-only zoning are finally dropping,” he says. “Due to the realities of our growth and continued growth. it’s become tougher for nimbys to fight large or tall buildings, especially near major transit stations.”
Development in Toronto has changed dramatically since UrbanToronto first went online in 2003 and we may look back at these last two decades as transformational in how Toronto accommodates growth and thrives in the future.
UrbanToronto will return tomorrow with another story celebrating 20 YEARS. A second look back at transit over the period, this time on regional plans, will appear next week. In the meantime, check back often to our front page and Forum to keep an eye on all the current and emerging trends, and you can always leave your comments in the space below.
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Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate our 20 years in business.
