Sherbourne Common’s splash pad is one of the striking features of the multi-purpose park. The 920-square metre splash pad, located in front of the park’s zinc-clad pavilion, is made of sandblasted concrete embedded with cooling tubes.  Forty-four water jets made of stainless steel are included within the concrete slab – which doubles as a skating rink in the winter – along  with linear diffusers that shoot water upward.

At Canada’s Sugar Beach, located a few meters west of Sherbourne Common,  twenty-seven dynamic water jets are embedded in a large, granite maple leaf beside the beach. The water jets are designed and programmed to give a cascading water effect at different heights. At night, the water jets display a variety of bright colours projected by dozens of LED lights.

Sherbourne Common and Canada’s Sugar Beach — popular new additions to the waterfront — have been widely recognized for their design excellence. The parks and their water features are operated by the City of Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation Department and will be open through Labour Day.

AZ Awards are issued to designers and architects that have demonstrated exceptional creativity in achieving best concept and product designs.

From Wednesday, April 11, members of the public will be able to vote for their favourites designs. Deadline to cast your vote is Friday, May 4, by midnight EST.  The People’s Choice award winner will be announced during the AZ AWARDS gala presentation, which will take place in Toronto on June 7.

Canada’s Sugar Beach was built as part of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization. Located at the foot of lower Jarvis Street, south of Queens Quay, Canada’s Sugar Beach transformed a former industrial area into a fun, dynamic space.

Designed by Claude Cormier + Associés, the park’s features include a number of  Muskoka chairs, signature pink umbrellas, soft sand and an interactive water feature embedded in a granite maple leaf, which makes cooling off fun for adults and children.

How do I vote for Canada’s Sugar Beach? Click here to register and cast your vote.

Toronto –

Since 2002, The GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence have recognized leading Canadian companies for outstanding achievement in environmental stewardship. Canada’s most high profile annual national environmental accolades, the GLOBE Awards are judged by a panel of recognized experts. The Award for Excellence in Urban Sustainability honours a local government, private sector company or consortium that has developed and applied outstanding urban sustainability principles.

“We are honoured that our efforts have been recognized by the Globe Foundation for leadership in promoting and encouraging urban sustainability principles,” said John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto. ”Ensuring that sustainability principles are integrated into all facets of waterfront revitalization has been a core principle for Waterfront Toronto since our inception.  The Minimum Green Building Requirements were developed as a strategic tool for achieving our goals and to encourage innovation and market transformation.”

Waterfront Toronto’s revitalization process is designed to make Toronto a world leader in sustainable development with buildings and neighbourhoods that are among the greenest in the world. Its Minimum Green Building Requirements were developed to help achieve that objective and drive market transformation.

The requirements support Waterfront Toronto’s integration of sustainability into every facet of planning, design and development on the waterfront. They define Waterfront Toronto’s vision for green building design and construction, and the requirements mandate high performance buildings, which represent superior conditions for occupant health, comfort, conservation and cost savings.

The Minimum Green Building Requirements also support Waterfront Toronto’s achievement of LEED ND Gold for the planning stage, which focuses on sustainability at a neighbourhood-wide scale, taking green development beyond the threshold of energy-efficient buildings.

With funding support from the Ontario Power Authority, the Minimum Green Building Requirements were updated in 2011 to ensure that they were leading the market in best practices for the building industry, incorporating the newest building methods and technologies available.

Waterfront Toronto’s recently developed Carbon Tool provides the corporation and its building partners an objective tool for understanding and influencing sustainability choices at the design stage. Developed in collaboration with the C40-Clinton Climate Initiative, the Carbon Tool has the ability to analyze carbon reduction strategies to effectively understand and plan energy needs and carbon outputs, supporting the Minimum Green Building Requirements and outstanding urban sustainability principles.

The GLOBE Foundation

The GLOBE Foundation is a Vancouver-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding practical business-oriented solutions to the world’s environmental problems. Formed in 1993, the foundation has helped companies and individuals realize the value of economically viable environmental business opportunities. The foundation is a leader in championing green initiatives and leveraging sustainable ventures into mutually rewarding opportunities for enterprise and the environment. From urban sustainability to climate change, we’re helping change the world by degrees.

Waterfront Toronto

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

Media Contacts:

Tari Stork, Manager, Project Communications, Waterfront Toronto

416-214-1344 x 279 / tstork@waterfrontoronto.ca

The annual awards recognize architectural design excellence and are given to architects and architectural graduates for buildings in the design stage. Canadian Architect jurors consider response to program, site, geographical and social context, and evaluate physical organization, structure, materials and environmental features when assessing submitted projects.

Designed by gh3 Architects and Landscape Architects/ R.V. Anderson Associates Limited, the 300-square-metre treatment facility will be  built as part of the stormwater treatment system to serve West Don Lands and the future North Keating Channel community.  The building will house the system’s main treatment plant and is intended to be a landmark structure for the West Don Lands.  Construction of the facility, located at northeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard and Cherry Street, will begin in 2012 and be completed in 2013.

The design team had to address site challenges, the facility’s use and the project’s modest budget, while still meeting Waterfront Toronto’s requirements for design excellence. Their approach was to design a simple, elegant building that brings a modern interpretation to the ancient story of water. The design of the facility enclosure comes from the idea of a stone well, inverted to be displayed as a sculptural form above ground. The building will be embellished by etchings on its surface that act as a system of rain channels running from roof to wall, to ground plane and shaft that represent the broader system of urban hydrology in which the structure is rooted.

The faceted, limestone–clad building will be surrounded by the same limestone material, creating a composition that will be a striking counterpoint to the infrastructural complexity around it. Strategically placed glazed openings will be set within the facade to reveal glimpses of the building’s inner workings and become glowing highlights at night, while interior and exterior LED lighting will abstractly register information about the building’s performance to transparently and compellingly convey the workings of civil infrastructure sustaining a city for its inhabitants.

The Canadian Architect jury described the project as “a strong design in the tradition of elevating the architectural role of infrastructural work.”

The blog surveyed international green spaces for the best in emerging standards for design in the public sphere. Sherbourne Common shares the list with eight other spaces from countries across the globe.

Sherbourne Common is a unique park that seamlessly blends art and innovation. Located in the heart of the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, Sherbourne Common is far more than the area’s main park. It is the first park in Canada to incorporate a neighbourhood-wide stormwater treatment facility. Public art is integrated with the water infrastructure to create a public space that is as beautiful as it is functional. The park also features a splash pad that’s a skating rink in the winter months, a playground, an open green space and a pavilion.

The Atlantic Cities explores innovative ideas and issues facing today’s global cities and neighborhoods. Last month, the blog also ranked Underpass Park at the top of its list of Nine Cool Projects Under Freeway Overpasses.

The City of Toronto’s Urban Design Awards recognize and acknowledge the significant contribution that architects, landscape architects, urban designers, artists, design students, and city builders make to the look and livability of Toronto. This year’s competition drew a record 129 entries in nine categories.

The Large Places or Neighbourhood Designs category honours major areas of innovation that also provide evidence of community involvement and acceptance for large parks, area plans, subdivisions, industrial parks, campus plans and streetscapes. Canada’s Sugar Beach, designed by Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes in association with the Planning Partnership, transformed a parking lot and a neglected part of the waterfront to a park that has attracted thousands of people to the area since it opened in August 2010. The park features three distinct components: an urban beach; a plaza space; and a tree-lined promenade running diagonally through the park. The jury stated, “in every way, Canada’s Sugar Beach represents a superb addition to the city’s public realm, creating an intimate but spacious vantage point from which to enjoy the harbor.”
The Elements category recognizes a stand-alone object, landscape element or small-scale piece of a building which contributes significantly to the quality of the public realm.  The central park of the Easy Bayfront community, Sherbourne Common was completed in two phases that opened in September 2010 and July 2011. Teeple Architects designed the Sherbourne Common Pavilion, a building that provides vital functions for the park while being a stunning structure that enlivens the space with its blue-grey exterior and architecture features, that as the jury noted, “create a striking new gateway to the waterfront while providing useful public space functions. The angular, low-slung design, which references Frank Gehry, ensures that the structure serves as a strong visual counterpoint to the diverse landscape that surrounds it.”

Since 2005, Waterfront Toronto has received nine Toronto Urban Design Awards.  Design excellence is a core priority for Waterfront Toronto. The organization’s goal is that everything built on Toronto’s waterfront — from buildings to streets to parks and public art — will set new standards for architecture and public space.

To help achieve and uphold its standards for design excellence, Waterfront Toronto hosts international design competitions, works with some of world’s top architects and landscape designers and incorporates urban design as an important component in its environmental assessment process. The Waterfront Design Review Panel, an independent body comprised of some of Canada’s most prestigious architects and planners also guides and informs the organization’s projects.

(Left to right). Toronto Councillor Norm Kelly, Waterfront Toronto Chair Mark Wilson, Ontario Minister of Research and Infrastructure, Glen Murray, and Federal Minister of the Environment, Peter Kent, officially open Sherbourne Common.

Waterfront Toronto and its government partners officially opened the completed Sherbourne Common, a unique park that seamlessly blends art and innovation.

Located in the heart of the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, Sherbourne Common is far more than the area’s main park. It is the first park in Canada to incorporate a neighbourhood-wide stormwater treatment facility. Public art is integrated with the water infrastructure to create a public space that is as beautiful as it is functional.

The park, which lies on both sides of Queens Quay Boulevard east of Lower Sherbourne Street, was completed in two phases. The portion south of Queens Quay was completed and opened in September 2010, and the portion on the north side was completed in July 2011.

A water treatment facility, housed in the basement of the park’s pavilion on the southern side, cleans collected storm and lake water with ultraviolet light.  The treated water is then sent underground to the north side of the park where it is released through three dramatic nine-metre-high art sculpture towers. The water flows from the tops of the towers, down metal mesh veils and into a 240-metre long water channel, or urban river, where it then flows out to Lake Ontario.

“Our government is pleased to have invested in the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront by providing more than $27 million in helping transform this part of Toronto’s industrial past into a beautiful public space,” said Minister Flaherty, MP (Whitby–Oshawa) and Canada’s Finance Minister.  “Investing in infrastructure strengthens and binds this country and builds a healthier environment for all Canadians.”

“To have Sherbourne Common completed is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Minister Kent, MP (Thornhill) and Canada’s Environment Minister. “The Sherbourne Common development is an integral part of the incredible transformation already underway across Toronto’s Waterfront. It will form the anchor for a thriving community of families, schools and businesses.”

“Sherbourne Common is going to be a wonderful asset for our community,” said Glen Murray, MPP (Toronto Centre) and Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation. “Our government is proud to support this project, which will give residents another way to enjoy the waterfront, bring neighbours and families together and make our community move lively and more livable for decades to come.”

“Sherbourne Common is a great example of how a park can be more than just a fantastic public space, with the addition of public infrastructure and public art,” said Councillor Norm Kelly, Chair of Parks & Environment for the City of Toronto. “This park will be a great asset to the developing East Bayfront community and all the people of Toronto,” Kelly added.

“Sherbourne Common is a catalyst for the development of the East Bayfront neighbourhood,” said Waterfront Toronto Board Chair Mark Wilson. “The park has already helped us attract private and public sector partners who are working with us to transform this former industrial area into a dynamic new community.”

George Brown College is currently constructing a new waterfront campus on the western edge of the park south of Queens Quay that will open fall 2012. Great Gulf will be building its mixed-use development on the eastern flank of the north portion of the park. Sales of units will launch later this year with occupancy expected by 2015.  The $800 million Bayside development by Hines will be constructed on the east side of Sherbourne Common south of Queens Quay. The project will feature 1,700 residential units, plus retail, cultural and commercial spaces in multiple buildings. Units will go on sale in 2012 and the first occupancy is expected by 2015.

Sherbourne Common was designed by Vancouver-based landscape architectural firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg in association with The Planning Partnership. The art sculpture towers, entitled “Light Showers”, were designed by Jill Anholt. Chosen through an online public naming contest, the name ‘Sherbourne Common’ reflects the idea that parks and public spaces should belong to the people.

The spectacular waterfront park is designed to be both a city-wide destination and neighbourhood amenity for daylong and year-round use. Along with the art features, the newly completed north portion features a children’s playground, a grove of trees, plus seating and benches. The water towers are lit at night and as people move over the bridge of the water channel, motion sensors trigger shifting light patterns in the water falling from the sculptures. The mesh veils of art sculptures are designed to capture water in the winter to form unique ice patterns.

The south portion of the park features a large greenspace overlooking the lake that can be used for festivals and special events, a splash pad that becomes a skating rink in the winter months, and a weather-protected pavilion with washrooms and space for a future café.

The total budget for Sherbourne Common was $28.7 million plus an additional $1.9 million for the public art. The federal government provided $27 million, the provincial government provided $1 million and the City of Toronto contributed $2.6 million. The cost for the art feature will be recovered through development fees as part of the Waterfront Toronto public art strategy.

Waterfront Toronto has made major strides in revitalizing Toronto’s waterfront. In addition to building and improving 17 parks and public spaces, Waterfront Toronto has finalized development agreements with Great Gulf Group of Companies, Urban Capital and Hines for private sector projects on the waterfront, as well as with George Brown College for the development of their new state-of-the-art Health Sciences campus.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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MEDIA KIT:

Sherbourne Common Fact Sheet
East Bayfront Backgrounder

Media Contacts:

Bruce Sudds, Waterfront Toronto 416-214-1344 x290 or 416-271-1316, bsudds@waterfrontoronto.ca

Martin Goodman Trail at Marilyn Bell Park

The CSLA Professional Awards recognize and promote excellence in all aspects of landscape design. This year’s competition included 53 project entries in seven categories. Canada’s Sugar Beach received a CSLA Regional Honour Award and the Martin Goodman Trail improvements at Marilyn Bell Park earned a Regional Merit Award. Both awards were in the design category, which recognizes newly constructed or renovated works of landscape architectural design.

“It is an incredible honour to have two of our projects recognized by the CSLA this year,” said John Campbell, Waterfront Toronto President and CEO. “With all of our projects we set out to achieve design excellence.  Canada’s Sugar Beach and the improvements to Marilyn Bell Park raised the bar by setting a new standard of creativity and delivered public spaces that were transformative, as well as beautiful and functional.”

Canada's Sugar Beach

Opened in August 2010, Canada’s Sugar Beach was the first new public space to open in East Bayfront, one of two new waterfront neighbourhoods currently under construction as part of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization. Designed by landscape architecture firm Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes Inc. with The Planning Partnership, Canada’s Sugar Beach transformed a lakefront parking lot and underused industrial area into an iconic waterfront attraction. The 8,500m2 (2 acre) park is Toronto’s second urban beach and it features bright pink umbrellas, white Muskoka-style chairs, sugar-like sand and iconic candy-striped rock outcroppings.

Designed by Victor Ford and Associates Inc. Landscape Architects, the Martin Goodman Trail improvements at Marilyn Bell Park just west of Exhibition Place transformed a neglected and inaccessible section of the Martin Goodman Trail into a vibrant multi-use waterfront promenade, creating a scenic destination that supports major pedestrian and cycling needs on Toronto’s western beaches. The improvements at Marilyn Bell Park were completed in 2007, and include the new waterfront promenade, boardwalk and cantilever deck.

The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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Media Contact:

Tari Stork, Manager, Project Communications, Waterfront Toronto, 416-214-1344 x279 www.waterfrontoronto.ca

Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell, Chair of Waterfront Toronto Mark Wilson and Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray officially open Sherbourne Common.

Located in the heart of the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, the south side of Sherbourne Common, which opened today, stretches more than a hectare from Lake Ontario to Queens Quay. When the north side of the park opens later this fall, the 1.5 hectare park will cover two city blocks from the water’s edge to Lake Shore Boulevard.

With development growing all around it, including George Brown College on its western edge, the newly approved Hines Bayside development to its east and flanked by Great Gulf’s Parkside development to the north, Sherbourne Common will become the heart of this new community and a major civic destination.

More than just a beautiful public space, Sherbourne Common is also the first park in Canada to integrate an ultraviolet (UV) treatment facility for neighbourhood-wide stormwater treatment into its design. Collected stormwater is treated in a UV Facility located in the basement of the park’s Pavilion and released from three dramatic art features into a 240-metre long water channel — or urban river — and back out to Lake Ontario.

“Today’s opening demonstrates the importance of Federal government participation in the revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront,” said Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. “The federal government’s $27 million contribution to this beautiful and innovative park supports a unique venue that will become a landmark not only for Torontonians but all Canadians.”

“The Government of Ontario is proud to be a partner in this vibrant, and sustainable public space that makes Toronto, and Ontario, a great place to work, live, play and visit,” said Glen Murray, Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation and Member of Provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre. “This project supports the Open Ontario initiative by creating jobs and enhancing the quality of life for Ontarians.”

“Building a new waterfront means leading with public spaces first, and Sherbourne Common is one of Toronto’s most imaginative parks in decades — utilizing many water features from Lake Shore Boulevard to the water’s edge,” said Mayor David Miller.

Sherbourne Common offers something for everyone and will bring people to this formerly industrial part of the waterfront all year-round. Designed by renowned Canadian landscape architect Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg to be both a city-wide destination and neighbourhood amenity, Sherbourne Common features wide open greenspace on the south side of the park providing ample space for festivals, concerts and other city-wide events overlooking Lake Ontario.

“Today we are opening another must-see park on Toronto’s waterfront,” said Mark Wilson, Chair, Waterfront Toronto. “By combining required municipal infrastructure with excellence in design, architecture and public art, Sherbourne Common offers a new model for city-builders nationwide and a fabulous year-round destination.”

In addition to the urban river that runs the length of the park, a 920m2 pond will be frozen for a winter skating rink and act as a splash pad for summer waterplay. Surrounding the pond, a zinc-clad, architecturally award-winning Pavilion offers restrooms and will house a café as the neighbourhood develops.  Teeple Architects Inc. designed the Pavilion, Jill Anholt is the public artist and The Municipal Infrastructure Group engineered the park’s UV Facility. The local consultant is The Planning Partnership.

Chosen after an online public naming contest, the name ‘Sherbourne Common’ reflects the idea that parks and public spaces should belong to the people. Launched earlier this year, the month-and-a-half long public naming contest received more than 500 submissions and thousands of votes from people across Canada.

The budget for Sherbourne Common — both the north and south sides of the park — including site preparation costs (demolition and soil remediation) and design and construction costs for the park, water channel and UV Facility is $28.7 million plus an additional $1.9 million for the public art features.

Revitalization efforts are well underway across the waterfront.

•    In East Bayfront Canada’s Sugar Beach, the first phase of water’s edge promenade and the new headquarters for Corus Entertainment are now open. Construction continues on the George Brown College Waterfront Campus which will welcome students in September 2012 and in August, Toronto City Council overwhelmingly approved Waterfront Toronto’s development agreement with Hines for Bayside — an $800 million private sector investment on the waterfront.
•    In the West Don Lands, Toronto Community Housing has begun construction on the area’s first affordable housing complex, and construction is underway on Don River Park.

Plans for the Lower Don Lands were endorsed by Toronto City Council this summer and In the Central Waterfront, the first phase of construction to revitalize Queens Quay will begin next year.

Waterfront Toronto
The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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Media Contacts:
•    Samantha Gileno, Waterfront Toronto 416-214-1344 x264 or 416-271-1316
•    Annette Robertson, Press Secretary, Department of Finance Canada, Minister’s Office 613-996-7861
•    Stuart Green, Deputy Director of Communications, Office of the Mayor 416-338-7119

Media Kit:
NEWS RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE – French
SHERBOURNE COMMON FACT SHEET
EAST BAYFRONT BACKGROUNDER

For more information, visit the Sherbourne Common project page.

Image Gallery:
High-resolution renderings are available for download below.

A south looking view of Sherbourne Common and the park's Pavilion.

Sherbourne Common's Water Channel with Biofiltration Bed

Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell, Chair of Waterfront Toronto Mark Wilson, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray and Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty officially cut the ribbon at the opening of Sherbourne Common.

Park visitors enjoy the new water channel at the official opening of Sherbourne Common.

Aerial view of Don River Park. Artists rendering.

The 7.3-hectare (18 acre) park will connect the long neglected area southeast of downtown to the rest of the city.  Designed by renowned design firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park will become a vibrant and inviting feature of the new neighbourhood as well as a destination for the entire city.

Stretching from King Street south to the rail corridor in the land west of the Don River and GO/CN railroad lines, Don River Park is the first park in the West Don Lands to begin construction.  The park, which is expected to open in late 2011/early 2012, will transform what was an abandoned post-industrial site into a dynamic, year-round, re-naturalized public park, animated by a wide variety of programming and a beautiful multi-functional pavilion.

“The federal government is proud to be a partner in the revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront,” said Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. “Our $17.4-million investment will help construct what will be another great new park for residents of Toronto and the people of Canada.”

“Today’s Don River Park groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new future for the West Don Lands,” said Bob Chiarelli, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure.  “The McGuinty government is proud to be a partner in the revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront.  This park will become an integral part of the community where Ontario families can come to relax, play and enjoy this natural setting.”

“Don River Park is yet another of our ambitious undertakings in the ongoing renewal of the Toronto Waterfront,” said Mayor David Miller. “This park will not only be a significant greenspace for people to enjoy, it will stand as a testament to all that we have accomplished together and as a future reminder of why waterfront revitalization was so important to this City.”

The construction of Don River Park represents the next stage of development in the mostly provincial owned West Don Lands. The 32 hectare (80 acre) West Don Lands is a challenging brownfield site in the flood plain of the Don River and development of the area is contingent on it first being remediated and flood proofed.  Construction of the area’s flood protection landform, which is designed to protect a 99 hectare (245 acre) area that includes not only the West Don Lands but also Toronto’s financial district, is nearing completion. Don River Park is being built on top of the flood protection landform.

Don River Park central lawn

“Don River Park is another example of our approach to innovative city building,” said Waterfront Toronto Chair Mark Wilson. “By locating and designing the park to take full advantage of the flood protection landform we are leveraging essential public infrastructure to deliver what will be a truly stunning park.”

The park was designed to maximize the exceptional topography provided by the flood protection landform.  Park features are integrated into the contours and elevation provided by the landform and it capitalizes on the unique landscape to open sightlines to the Toronto skyline, the Don River and Lake Ontario.

The topography organizes the park both physically and programmatically. The river side of the park will be an extensive 3.2 hectare (7.9 acre) urban prairie to address regulations that restrict active recreation and the planting of woody vegetation on the eastern slope of the flood protection landform. The urban prairie will include an upland meadow on the upper parts of the slope, while a lowland wet meadow at the base of the landform will add ecological and experiential diversity. The wet meadow will also be a crucial part of a park-wide ecological stormwater management system. Meandering walking trails, multi-use bike paths, and a boardwalk will also allow visitors to explore the unique urban landscape.

The 3.6 hectare (8.9 acre) western city side of the flood protection landform is defined by a dynamic, unfolding topography that creates varied, flexible spaces for a diverse range of passive and active pursuits. Its features include: a hilltop playground that will offer diverse play experiences for children of all ages; a striking solar powered pavilion that houses the park’s washrooms; a youth athletic field that can be used for a variety of organized sports; and a series of open lawns will provide ample space for both informal and organized sports and activities.

Waterfront Toronto
Since 2005, Waterfront Toronto has opened more than 16 new or improved parks or public spaces including wavedecks, sports fields, revitalized trails and new waterfront parks.  Earlier this summer the organization opened Canada’s Sugar Beach in the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, and will open Sherbourne Common later this month. Waterfront Toronto has also finalized development agreements with Great Gulf Homes, Urban Capital and Hines for private sector developments on the waterfront.

The Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead the renewal of Toronto’s waterfront. Public accessibility, design excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.

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Media Kit:

NEWS RELEASE
WEST DON LANDS BACKGROUNDER
DON RIVER PARK FACT SHEET
NEWS RELEASE – French

Media Contacts:

• Tari Stork, Manager, Project Communications, Waterfront Toronto 416-214-1344 x 279 / tstork@waterfrontoronto.ca
• Annette Robertson, Press Secretary, Department of Finance Canada, Minister’s Office 613-996-7861
• Anne Smith, Media Relations Co-ordinator, Ministry of Infrastructure, 416-327-7226
• Stuart Green, Director of Communications (A), City of Toronto, 416-338-7119

For more information, see the Don River Park project page.

Watch a short YouTube video from the official groundbreaking event for Don River Park.

Image Gallery:

High-resolution renderings are available for download below.  Please note that any use of the renderings should credit Waterfront Toronto.

Don River Park: After

Don River Park: Before

Don River Park lowland wet meadow

Don River Park central lawn

Rendered plan of Don River Park