The goal of the initiative is to deliver a high-level road map for accelerating development and maximizing the value of the Port Lands as a unique city legacy. The undertaking is the result of Toronto City Council’s September 21 unanimous decision for Waterfront Toronto in conjunction with the City of Toronto to lead a review of the Port Lands and to ensure the process is informed by extensive public consultation.

An initial public meeting is being held from 6:30pm to 9:00pm on Monday December 12 at the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street. The meeting will include a summary of the work to date, the goals for the Port Lands initiative and an overview of acceleration opportunities and challenges for development.  The meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions and discuss their goals and ideas for the Port Lands.

“The work being undertaken is an opportunity to seize the full potential of these lands and to deliver development of enduring value and legacy to the people of Toronto,” said Councillor Peter Milczyn, chair of the City’s Planning and Growth Committee. “It is a first step in realizing our joint objective of creating one of the world’s great waterfronts.”

The work is a highly collaborative process. Waterfront Toronto and the City are working closely with Toronto and Region Conservation and seeking input from other agencies such as The Toronto Port Lands Company and the Toronto Port Authority.  Stakeholders such as land owners, tenants, port users and sector specific groups are being engaged throughout the process.

Work on the Port Lands acceleration initiative is well underway. A series of technical working groups are examining key issues including land use and design, infrastructure and constructability, and real estate development and financing.  Waterfront Toronto has also issued or will be issuing a number of Requests for Proposals to competitively procure the required technical expertise.

“Our intent is to take a fresh and wide-ranging look at the challenges and opportunities of developing the Port Lands, including examining phasing options, higher-value interim uses, and the feasibility of modifying or removing existing constraints,” said Waterfront Toronto President and CEO John Campbell.

The comprehensive undertaking builds on the large body of work delivered to date on the Port Lands and Lower Don Lands and explores new ideas and creative solutions. The project includes:

• Further examining the options for the Don Mouth Naturalization and Port Lands Flood Protection Environmental Assessment (EA) within the EA’s terms of reference, by reviewing costing and exploring options for value enhancements through such things as alternative construction approaches and project phasing, and by increasing the development potential of surrounding lands;
• Identifying financial and policy tools, incentives, and delivery mechanisms that enable development and offset or reduce the initial public sector investment needed to provide required infrastructure such as roads, services, utilities and flood protection;
• Exploring opportunities to increase private sector investment involvement; and
• Ensuring that the plan delivers a great waterfront for people to live, work and play.

Public consultation will play a central role in the creation of the go forward plan for the Port Lands and will include traditional in-person public meetings and interactive social media and/or web enabled consultations. The on-line consultation initiative is expected to launch early in 2012. In addition to the December 12 meeting, two rounds of public consultation are planned to be held throughout the city in 2012.

The final report on the results of the Port Lands review is expected to be completed for the June 2012 City Council meeting. On January 24, 2012 the City and Waterfront Toronto will provide City Council’s Executive Committee with a report on required funding for the review.

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.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.7 million people. Toronto’s government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence, creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost of government and building a transportation city. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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Media contacts:

Michelle Noble, Waterfront Toronto, 647-288-8048

Wynna Brown, City of Toronto, 416-392-8937

Located in the Corus Entertainment building right next to Canada’s Sugar Beach, this new gastro pub features a delicious menu, beautiful décor, large waterside patio and stunning views of Toronto’s habour.

Against the Grain is the first of many new restaurants, shop and cafés planned for the area as the new vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood gets built out.

By combining beautiful parks and animated spaces with successful commercial and residential development, East Bayfront will be a destination for residents and visitors alike.

Open seven days a week, check out Against the Grain for lunch, dinner or weekend brunch.

Against the Grain Urban Tavern
25 Dockside Drive, Corus Quay

For more information about Against the Grain, visit their website at www.atgurbantavern.ca.  Learn more about East Bayfront revitalization by visiting Waterfront Toronto’s website.

The successful non-profit housing corporation(s) will purchase approximately 400 units that will become affordable rental homes following the Games. The units will be located across several buildings and will include a range of suite mixes, including fully accessible units, to support low to moderate income individuals and families.

The vision for the Toronto 2015 Games includes a newly-constructed, self-contained Athletes’ Village on a 9.6-acre provincially owned site in the West Don Lands. After the Games, the Village area will become a mixed-use, inclusive, pedestrian-friendly riverside community that meets the diverse needs of its residents, as outlined in Waterfront Toronto’s Precinct Plan for the West Don Lands. The master planned community will include a range of housing types and unit sizes to accommodate a variety of family sizes, income levels and age groups. Approximately 20 per cent of the housing units will be affordable rental housing, five per cent affordable ownership, and the remainder market value condominiums.

The process to select the consortium that will design, build and finance the construction of the Athletes’ Village is currently in an open request for proposals phase. The successful proponent will be selected and announced in summer 2011, at which point construction will commence. The Athletes’ Village project is proceeding under Infrastructure Ontario’s Alternative Financing and Procurement model, whereby risks associated with designing, constructing, and financing the facilities are transferred to the private sector.

The new West Don Lands neighbourhood will be built based on Waterfront Toronto’s vision for a green, modern and vibrant community as outlined in the Precinct Plan for the West Don Lands. The buildings within the Athletes’ Village aim to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification for new construction. LEED® standards focus on healthy indoor environments, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and efficient use of energy, water and other resources.

The RFQ, available at www.merx.com, is the first step in the process to select non-profit housing corporations for the affordable rental housing component of the Athletes’ Village project. RFQ submissions will be reviewed to qualify non-profits with the management experience and capacity as well as the financial resources to own and operate one or more of the affordable housing buildings. Short-listed non-profit housing corporations will be invited to respond to a request for proposals in summer 2011. It is encouraged that the non-profit corporations will partner with other organizations to deliver diverse housing and address service needs.

Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to delivering some of the province’s larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects – ensuring they are built on time and on budget – as well as providing the public sector and not-for-profit organizations with long-term financing to renew their infrastructure.

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.

Quotes:

Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure
“The Athletes’ Village in the West Don Lands will be a showcase community where design excellence, sustainability and technology come together. The project will deliver the legacy of a new community and infrastructure for Toronto’s waterfront.”

Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
“These hundreds of new housing units will help many people in need have a safe and affordable place to call home. By supporting affordable housing projects, we are helping to build stronger communities, here in Toronto and across the province.”

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Contacts:

Mandy Downes
Infrastructure Ontario
416-327-5246

Tari Stork
Waterfront Toronto
416-214-1344

Renderings provided courtesy of Hines.

The Hines plan will transform the Bayside development site into an active and diverse mixed-use community connected by major parks and public spaces.   Complete with 1,700 homes, a bustling main street and office and employment space for 2,400 jobs, Bayside is the single largest parcel of land to be developed by Waterfront Toronto.

“Council’s approval is a huge milestone not only for waterfront revitalization but for the City of Toronto,” said John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto. “With Hines, we can now move forward with reconnecting the city to the waterfront by building a liveable, walkable, community defined by beautiful parks and public spaces.”

Backed by an $800 million private sector investment, the Bayside development will result in approximately $1.6 billion in total economic activity and $20 million in development charges for the City of Toronto.  To promote lasting economic development, Bayside is being targeted as an employment hub on the waterfront, particularly for knowledge-based industries such as information and communication technology companies and the creative sector.

The new neighbourhood, located on a 4 hectare (10 acre) site between Lower Sherbourne and Parliament Streets, is expected to be constructed in phases with first occupancy of buildings and completion of new public spaces as early as 2014.  The entire project is expected to be completed by 2021.

“We are delighted with City Council’s approval and to be working with Waterfront Toronto in creating a dynamic new live/work/play neighbourhood on the harbour,” said Avi Tesciuba, Hines vice president of Canadian operations.  “Bayside is an extremely important development for Hines, and we look forward to the excitement of bringing the vision to fruition.”

Renderings provided courtesy of Hines.

Hines assembled an internationally renowned design team led by luminary architects Cesar Pelli, Fred Clarke and Stanton Eckstut to develop its plans for Bayside. The plans will deliver a vibrant new neighbourhood built on a human scale, with mews and small streets that promote a sense of closeness and community all year round.  The neighbourhood’s main street — Bonnycastle Street — will draw visitors from across the city and will provide connections to neighbouring public spaces, including the soon-to-be-completed Sherbourne Common, Queens Quay linear park, and the Water’s Edge Promenade.

The Bayside development is an integral part of the remarkable transformation already well underway in the new East Bayfront precinct that Waterfront Toronto is developing. Employees have now moved into the area’s first commercial building, Corus Quay, the new headquarters of Corus Entertainment.   Construction is well underway on George Brown College’s new state-of-the-art Health Sciences Campus. Canada’s Sugar Beach and the first stretch of the Water’s Edge Promenade are now open and next month Waterfront Toronto will open Sherbourne Common, the area’s other major new park.

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
BAYSIDE BACKGROUNDER
EAST BAYFRONT BACKGROUNDER
BAYSIDE DEVELOPMENT SELECTION PROCESS BACKGROUNDER
HINES DESIGN TEAM BACKGROUNDER

For more information, please contact:

•    Samantha Gileno, Waterfront Toronto 416-214-1344 x264 or 416-271-1316, sgileno@waterfrontoronto.ca

•    George Lancaster, Hines 713-966-7676 or George.lancaster@hines.com

To learn more about the project, developer and design teams:

Waterfront Toronto
Hines
Pelli Clarke Pelli
Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
Adamson Associates

Bayside Image and Video Gallery:

High-resolution renderings and a project animation video are available for download below.  Please note that any use of the animation video and/or renderings should credit Hines.

Bayside Animation Video

Bayside Aitken Place. Renderings provided courtesy of Hines.

Following an extensive competitive selection process, Waterfront Toronto has chosen Hines, one of the world’s premier real estate firms, to develop Toronto’s next great waterfront neighbourhood.

Hines will help Waterfront Toronto transform the Bayside development site into a vibrant and diverse mixed-use neighbourhood, complete with 1,700 homes, a bustling retail, restaurant and entertainment corridor, and office and employment space for 2,400 jobs. Situated in a prime downtown location in the emerging East Bayfront waterfront district, the Bayside site consists of 4 hectares (10 acres) of underutilized city-owned land south of Queens Quay Boulevard between Lower Sherbourne and Parliament streets.

Having received unanimous approval from Toronto City Council’s Executive Committee on August 16, the development agreement for the Bayside project will be presented to City Council for final approval at the August 25/26 council meeting.  If approved, the new neighbourhood will be constructed in phases with first occupancy of buildings and completion of dynamic new public spaces as early as 2014.  The entire project is expected to be completed by 2021.

To develop its winning proposal, Hines assembled an internationally renowned design team led by luminary architect Cesar Pelli, who is responsible for such iconic buildings as the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Manhattan’s World Financial Center, and Stanton Eckstut, the visionary behind New York’s celebrated Battery Park City waterfront development.

The Bayside site will be the single largest parcel of land developed to date by Waterfront Toronto.  Backed by an $800 million private sector investment, the development will result in approximately $1.6 billion in total economic activity and $20 million in development charges for the City of Toronto.  To promote lasting economic development, Bayside is being targeted as an employment hub on the waterfront, particularly for knowledge-based industries such as information and communication technology companies and the creative sector.

“The Bayside development is another major step forward in the complete revitalization of our waterfront and it will be an integral part of East Bayfront, which is already taking shape into a showcase 21st century community,” said John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto. “We look forward to working in partnership with Hines, a company with an extraordinary track record for sustainable development, energy efficiency and innovative operational practices, to ensure that Bayside will be a model for green building across the city and around the globe.”

In addition to meeting or exceeding Waterfront Toronto’s Mandatory Green Building Requirements, Hines is planning a number of strategic green programs for Bayside, including the implementation of the Hines GREEN OFFICE Tenant Program, which enhances the sustainable features and operations of employer spaces in commercial buildings.  The firm has also proposed the creation of an ENERGY STAR® pilot program for commercial construction, which would see Hines partner with Natural Resources Canada to expand the Canadian Building Standard for single-family residential construction into commercial development.

“We are elated by the opportunity to be part of the remarkable transformation underway along Toronto’s waterfront, and especially with a project of this importance and magnitude”, said Gerald D. Hines, Chairman and Founder of Hines.  “With a presence in more than 100 cities around the globe, Hines has the breadth of experience, network of expertise and financial strength required to ensure the timely development of this large and complex waterfront site.”

Bayside Bonnycastle Street at night. Renderings provided courtesy of Hines.

Hines’ plans for Bayside will deliver a vibrant and dynamic neighbourhood that is full of life and activity all year round.  A significant retail and entertainment destination on Bonnycastle Street will draw visitors from across the city and will provide connections to neighbouring public spaces, including the soon-to-be-completed Sherbourne Common, Queens Quay linear park, and the Water’s Edge Promenade. To ensure the neighbourhood is just as vibrant during the colder months, the design team drew inspiration from successful winter environments like Québec City, Montréal and Stockholm.  These considerations are evident in the area’s non-linear street network, which creates a variety of intimate and weather protected spaces, and the planned construction of a winter garden.

“The people, who will eventually live, work and play here, were our first and foremost design consideration,” said architect Cesar Pelli.  “The neighbourhood will be built on a decidedly human scale, with mews and small streets that promote a sense of closeness and community.”

“Among other things, we are trying to create the most walkable neighbourhood in all of Toronto,“ added architect Stanton Eckstut. “The most walkable is also the most sustainable approach to city design.”

Rounding out the Bayside design team is award-winning Toronto-based Adamson Architects, with their local knowledge and years of collaborative experience on large-scale development projects, including London’s Canary Wharf.

Waterfront Toronto

Since 2005, Waterfront Toronto has opened 16 new or improved parks or public spaces including wavedecks, sports fields, revitalized trails and new waterfront parks.  Waterfront Toronto has also finalized development agreements with Great Gulf Homes and Urban Capital for the first 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
BAYSIDE BACKGROUNDER
EAST BAYFRONT BACKGROUNDER
BAYSIDE DEVELOPMENT SELECTION PROCESS BACKGROUNDER
BAYSIDE DEVELOPMENT MEDIA BRIEFING SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
HINES DESIGN TEAM BACKGROUNDER

For more information, please contact:

•    Samantha Gileno, Waterfront Toronto 416-214-1344 x264 or 416-271-1316, sgileno@waterfrontoronto.ca

•    George Lancaster, Hines 713-966-7676 or George.lancaster@hines.com

To learn more about the project, developer and design teams:

Waterfront Toronto
Hines
Pelli Clarke Pelli
Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
Adamson Associates

Bayside Image and Video Gallery:

High-resolution renderings and a project animation video are available for download below.  Please note that any use of the animation video and/or renderings should credit Hines.

Bayside Animation Video

In a keynote address at the Toronto Board of Trade, John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto, reviewed progress on waterfront revitalization and released the findings of a detailed economic impact analysis, which examined the results of investments made by Waterfront Toronto and its government partners since the organization’s inception in 2001 through March 31, 2009.

The study, conducted by urbanMetrics inc., found that the $642 million invested to date in waterfront renewal has generated $1.6 billion in gross output for the Canadian economy and approximately 8,400 full-time years of employment, 70 per cent of which were in the Toronto region.

The largest portion, approximately $219.5 million or 34 percent, was invested in waterfront construction projects including the Spadina, Simcoe and Rees wavedecks, Port Union and Mimico waterfront parks, the Cherry Beach Sports Fields, Marilyn Bell Park, York and John Quay Promenade, the flood protection landform in the West Don Lands, and the development of infrastructure in East Bayfront and the West Don Lands.

A second major share of expenditures was directed towards creative and knowledge-based industries, industries expected to be the primary drivers of future economic development. As part of its design and planning work, as well as other necessary preliminary work on various waterfront projects, Waterfront Toronto has invested approximately 30 percent of expenditures in the professional, scientific and technical services industries.

“Our investments to revitalize Toronto’s waterfront are delivering on the promise to support local, provincial and national economic development as well as to support the growth of key industry sectors,” said John Campbell. “While the economic returns already generated are solid, they will pale in comparison to the lasting benefits anticipated once the comprehensive vision for the waterfront is more fully realized.”

The study found that 95 per cent of all of Waterfront Toronto’s expenditures were made in Ontario, and nearly 90 per cent were made within Toronto.

All levels of government have also seen a return on their investments. As a result of waterfront renewal activity, new revenues worth approximately $180 million were generated for the Government of Canada, $124 million for the Government of Ontario and $20 million for the City of Toronto.

A second phase of analysis measuring the expected impacts of future investments and benefits once the waterfront plan is more fully realized (permanent jobs, property taxes and tourism spending), will be completed in the coming months.

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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For more information:

Michelle Noble, Waterfront Toronto Director of Communications, 416-214-1344 ext. 263

Media Kit

News Release (pdf)
EIA Executive Summary (pdf)
Remarks by John Campbell (pdf)
Presentation by John Campbell (pdf)

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman, and Toronto Mayor David Miller, joined Waterfront Toronto and George Brown College officials in making the announcement.

“George Brown College will join Waterfront Toronto’s revitalization efforts and its new campus will be a cornerstone of the East Bayfront community,” said Mark Wilson, Waterfront Toronto Chairman.

The new campus, slated to open in 2011, will house the college’s Centre for Health Sciences, its first student residences and a recreational complex. The waterfront campus will be located on a 0.83 hectare (two-acre) parcel of land located on the south side of Queens Quay Boulevard between Lower Jarvis and Lower Sherbourne Streets.

“George Brown officials had been looking for the right location to expand its Centre for Health Sciences and residence for several years, and situating the new campus along the waterfront and in the process helping Waterfront Toronto regenerate the area was an easy decision,” said George Brown College President Anne Sado. “This new campus is fundamental to helping us better support the career aspirations of students across the GTA and meet employers’ growing demand for workplace-ready graduates. To be able to achieve those goals in a green community built with high design standards that provides fantastic parks and surrounding infrastructure will help us create the kind of campus neighbourhood we want our students to experience,” added Sado.

“George Brown students will help create a vibrant lakeshore community. East Bayfront will come alive with the student population living, working and socializing during the day, and in the evenings all year round,” said Wilson. “A post secondary institution is a cornerstone of Waterfront Toronto’s East Bayfront master plan and we are pleased to welcome a progressive institution like George Brown College,” added Wilson.

“Visible progress on the waterfront is becoming a reality. Today’s announcement about George Brown College is just one of many exciting developments taking root as we revitalize the lakeshore,” said Wilson.

Construction is well underway on Toronto Economic Development Corporation’s First Waterfront Place, the future home of Corus Entertainment Inc. which is also located in East Bayfront. Next month, Waterfront Toronto cuts the ribbon on the new Spadina Head of Slip, and this fall infrastructure construction begins in East Bayfront. In 2009, construction begins on two showcase new parks, Sherbourne Park and Sugar Beach as well as on the new water’s edge promenade.

Waterfront Toronto 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.

Media Contact:

Waterfront Toronto – Marisa Piattelli 416-214-1476

Media Kit

News Release (pdf)
East Bayfront Backgrounder (pdf)
Images (pdf)
George Brown College’s news release
Province of Ontario’s news release