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Last week, UrbanToronto looked at the two high-rise towers comprising Block 1 in the massive Quayside project in Toronto's East Bayfront area. Today, we continue our coverage of the recent Zoning By-law Amendment resubmission for this masterplanned community being developed by Dream Unlimited, Great Gulf, and Waterfront Toronto, this time looking at the Timber House and the so-far-unnamed Building 2.
The Quayside development is set to span 4.9 hectares, south of Lake Shore Boulevard East from east of Sherbourne Street to east of Parliament Street. On the plan below, Timber House, designed by David Adjaye Associates with architects—Alliance as Architect of Record, is indicated as Bldg 1C (on Block 1). To the north of it, Building 2, designed by architects—Alliance, would rise on Block 2. (Buildings 1A and 1B were the ones discussed last week.)
This resubmission retains the same storey count for Timber House as before but increases its height from 44.5m to 49.20m. This change accommodates the structural design's requirement for higher floor-to-floor clearance, necessary to achieve a standard vertical clearance of 2.45m per floor. This would also add 4m of height to the urban farm planned on the lengthy building's rooftop.
Timber House would be one of the country’s largest mass timber buildings (possibly the largest), initially divided into three segments — 1C1, 1C2, and 1C3 — spreading from west to east along Queens Quay. In all, the three segments would house 463 units, with 158 as affordable rental housing. There are nine elevators planned for Timber House, three per section, resulting in approximately one elevator for every 51 units, indicating very short wait times and a favourable elevator-to-unit ratio. There would be 566m² and 606m² of indoor and outdoor amenities respectively. The site would also accommodate 1,381m² of dedicated green roof space for urban agriculture.
The Timber House resubmission brings a notable enhancement in retail offerings, with an approximate 19% increase in Gross Floor Area (GFA) dedicated to retail spaces over the initial plan. This expansion results in nearly 79% of the frontage along Queens Quay being retail, primarily through interior modifications to the ground floor of Timber House. Key architectural changes include the narrowing of the west portal and the transformation of the east portal into a retail space with public access, alongside a reduction in the eastern cantilever.
Building 2 remains at 55 storeys and height of 188m, positioned on the west side of Small Street, at the southwest corner with Lake Shore Boulevard East. With a total of 638 units, of which 155 are designated as affordable rental housing. Building 2 would have five elevators, resulting in roughly one elevator for every 128 units, indicating significantly longer wait times. It is set to have a GFA of 41,678m², including 740m² of indoor and 322m² of outdoor amenities.
The northeast corner of Building 2 has been moved back 2 more metres from the lot line to expand the public realm at the corner, facilitating smoother pedestrian flow and access to community-focused spaces such as the Community Forest.
Directly south of Timber House are similar height buildings including the T3 Bayside commercial sites, with one 10-storey structure already completed and another planned, complemented by residential towers such as Aqualina and Aquavista each at 13 storeys, and Aquabella at 14 storeys. Southwest, George Brown College's Limberlost Place, also mostly built with mass timber, is a 10-storey building currently nearing the end of construction.
To the east of Building 2, Quayside's Block 3 plans for 12 and 56-storey towers. Further east, the proposals at 307 and 351 Lake Shore East aim to introduce 49-storey buildings, the latter also from Great Gulf and Dream. Additionally, at the easternmost end of the Quayside lands, Block 4 is set to feature 12 and 72-storey towers.
North of the Gardiner Expressway and close by, the 33-storey Goode Condos and 41-storey No. 31 Condos are under construction, while a 49-storey tower is proposed beside them at 31R Parliament Street.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, 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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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.
| Related Companies: | Arcadis, architects—Alliance, Dream Unlimited, Great Gulf, Grounded Engineering Inc., RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering, Urban Strategies Inc., VIP Condos Toronto |
