“FCM’s Green Municipal Fund offers a range of resources and services that specifically address the sustainable community development needs of municipal governments,” said Anderson. “The financing and knowledge provided by the Fund supports the development of communities that are more environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.”

“The Government of Canada is assisting municipalities across the country in achieving their goal of a cleaner and healthier environment for Canadians through the Green Municipal Fund,” said MP Carmichael. “Today’s announcement is another example of how our government — in partnership with FCM — is helping Waterfront Toronto build a greener future for our citizens.”

“The Green Municipal Fund grant has helped Waterfront Toronto demonstrate that there is a sustainable and economically viable method for dealing with impacted soil,” said John Campbell, President and CEO, Waterfront Toronto. “The benefits of soil recycling are significant. Recycling frees up landfill capacity, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, traffic related accidents and injuries, wear and tear on our roads, and reduces the need for new aggregate.  It also provides a source of clean material that can be used in waterfront projects.  It’s really a win-win-win approach.”

The revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront is one of the largest urban brownfield remediation projects in the world. Waterfront renewal depends on the ability to deal with soil that has been impacted by decades of industrial uses, and by infilling long ago when environmental standards were not as stringent as today.

Remediation efforts currently underway across the waterfront are expected to generate significant volumes of impacted soil and rather than simply ‘digging and dumping’ contaminated soils Waterfront Toronto is working to recycle soil. The goal is to clean and treat soil to an appropriate quality so that it can be used for redevelopment activity instead of importing new soil.
As a first step in its soil recycling plan, Waterfront Toronto established a pilot soil recycling facility in the Port Lands in 2010 to assess the economic and technological viability of recycling contaminated soil. The pilot confirmed the effectiveness and economic feasibility of recycling soil and allowed Waterfront Toronto to seek a private sector operator to finance and operate a long-term soil recycling facility in the Port Lands.

Waterfront Toronto chose Green Soils, an industry leader with over 20 years of experience managing contaminated soil, as the soil recycling facility operator in the Port Lands. Once operational, Green Soils will encourage other communities to make use of the facility and the soil recycling technologies available.

As part of the pilot project, Waterfront Toronto commissioned a study to understand and quantify the environmental, social and health benefits of soil recycling versus conventional disposal. The findings were striking.

The study demonstrated that Waterfront Toronto’s pilot project reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 36kg/tonne of soil moved, for a an estimated savings of $18.50 per tonne, which is a projected savings of $65M over the life of the long-term facility. The study also projected that a full-scale soil recycling facility would have significant environmental and economic benefits: associated truck travel would be reduced by about 80%, resulting in reduced road maintenance, fewer traffic accidents and reduced traffic noise; associated greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by about 75%, resulting in reduced societal, environmental and health costs; and recycling soil would reduce the need for landfill capacity and new aggregate.

Waterfront Toronto is the public advocate and steward of waterfront revitalization. Created by the Governments of Canada and Ontario and the City of Toronto, Waterfront Toronto is mandated to deliver a revitalized waterfront. Formally created in 2001, Waterfront Toronto has a 25-year mandate to transform 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of brownfield lands on the waterfront into beautiful, sustainable mixed-use communities and dynamic public spaces.

The Government of Canada endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) with $550 million to establish the Green Municipal Fund™. The Fund supports partnerships and leveraging of both public and private-sector funding to reach higher standards of air, water and soil quality, and climate protection.

FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901. It fosters the development of sustainable communities to improve quality of life by promoting strong, effective, and accountable municipal government.

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Port Lands Soil Recycling Facility Fact Sheet
GMF 11005 Waterfront Toronto French News Release

For information:
Waterfront Toronto
Tari Stork
Manager, Project Communications
Waterfront Toronto
Tel.:   416-214-1344
Cell :  416-414-1577
E-mail: tstork@waterfrontoronto.ca
www.waterfrontoronto.ca

FCM’s Green Municipal Fund
Maurice Gingues
Media Relations Officer
Green Municipal Fund
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Tel.: 613-907-6399
Fax: 613-244-1515

Natural Resources Canada
Patricia Best
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada
Tel.: 613-996-2007
Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Tel.: 613-992-4447

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

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

Waterfront Toronto is partnering with the pioneering telecommunications firm Beanfield Metroconnect to create Canada’s first open-access ultra-high speed broadband community network. Following a competitive selection process, Waterfront Toronto chose the Toronto-based firm to build and operate an advanced fibre-optic broadband network throughout the new waterfront communities.
The open-access ultra-broadband infrastructure will transform the neighbourhoods into intelligent communities that revolutionize how residents receive telecommunications services, promote economic growth and development, and enable innovation.

“Broadband has become essential public infrastructure for 21st century communities, and the need for faster connections delivered over more robust networks has been intensifying since the dawn of the Internet age,” said John Campbell, President and CEO of Waterfront Toronto. “This state-of-the-art network will help us establish a new hub of innovation and stimulate enduring economic growth to help Toronto remain competitive with other world-leading cities, such as Seoul, Stockholm, and Tokyo where similar broadband infrastructures exist or are now being built.”

Every home and business in the new communities will be wired with fibre and provided with affordable and unlimited access to internet speeds up to 500 times faster than typical North American residential networks. The network will also provide full community-wide Wi-Fi service. The ultra-high speed network will deliver internet connections starting at 100 megabits per second for residential customers and up to 10 gigabits per second for commercial customers – all at an extraordinarily competitive cost.  At present, broadband of this calibre is not available for residential users in Toronto, and commercial access is significantly less affordable in Toronto than in other leading world cities.

“We are a Toronto company, and we are excited to be working with Waterfront Toronto to build on our waterfront what will be one of the world’s leading community networks,” said Dan Armstrong, Founding Partner, President and CEO of Beanfield Metroconnect. “As the Internet continues to develop and revolutionize the way people live, work, play and learn, the tremendous capacity of the network will ensure that everyone on the waterfront is equipped to both use and potentially create the web-based technologies and applications of the future.”

Waterfront residents and businesses will have the highest performance internet services in Canada and guaranteed “among the best in the world” network services for more than a decade. Beanfield Metroconnect is required to ensure that the network is on par with that of the seven top global intelligent communities for 10 years beyond when the last building is built.
“The network is being built without taxpayer dollars,” said Campbell. “Waterfront Toronto has facilitated an arrangement where our private sector development partners will initially provide the upfront capital and Beanfield Metroconnect will also invest in building the network.”

As part of their monthly condo fees, residents will pay $60 for unlimited 100 megabit per second internet service, neighbourhood-wide Wi-Fi, and access to a unique community portal service, which will be developed to reflect local needs and interests.

The network will be “open-access” and residents and businesses will also be able to choose from a wide variety of content and service providers for internet, high-definition and internet protocol television, telephone, safety and security systems and more.

“This open, robust community-wide infrastructure will make the waterfront a living laboratory that encourages and supports innovation,” said Campbell. “The network we are building will enable the development of smart buildings, smart healthcare and smart education. Plus it can support new applications that promote better public safety and traffic management.”

Beanfield Metroconnect brings significant local knowledge and expertise to the project.  The pioneering company has built and operates a large fibre-optic network in downtown Toronto that provides service to more than 200 commercial buildings. It was also instrumental in helping to build the thriving technology and media hub in Toronto’s Liberty Village.

Waterfront Toronto has made major strides in revitalizing Toronto’s waterfront. In addition to building and improving 17 parks and public spaces, it 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 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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For more information, please contact Michelle Noble, Director of Communications, Waterfront Toronto 647-288-8048 or 416-294-7762, mnoble@waterfrontoronto.ca

MEDIA KIT:

NEWS RELEASE
BEANFIELD BACKGROUNDER
ULTRA-BROADBAND BACKGROUNDER
ULTRA-BROADBAND SERVICES FACT SHEET
“WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING” BACKGROUNDER

]]> http://news.waterfrontoronto.ca/2011/06/toronto%e2%80%99s-new-waterfront-neighbourhoods-will-feature-cutting-edge-ultra-high-speed-broadband-network/feed/ 0 http://news.waterfrontoronto.ca/2011/06/media-advisory-learn-how-toronto%e2%80%99s-new-waterfront-communities-will-be-among-the-most-intelligent-in-the-world/ http://news.waterfrontoronto.ca/2011/06/media-advisory-learn-how-toronto%e2%80%99s-new-waterfront-communities-will-be-among-the-most-intelligent-in-the-world/#comments Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:49:12 +0000 Eddie http://news.waterfrontoronto.ca/?p=2079 Members of the media are invited to an announcement about the development of a cutting-edge ultra-high-speed broadband network on Toronto’s waterfront.

On June 7, Waterfront Toronto and its new telecommunications partner will share their plans to wire Toronto’s new waterfront communities with the latest in smart technology infrastructure and make them among the most connected in the world. The briefing will provide an overview of the project, and its significance for Toronto’s waterfront revitalization and economic development in Toronto and Ontario.

WHO:

John Campbell, President and CEO, Waterfront Toronto
Dan Armstrong, President and CEO, Beanfield Metroconnects
Evan Kelly, Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
John Jung, Chair and Co-founder, Intelligent Community Forum, and CEO, Canada Technology Triangle
Michael Thompson, Toronto City Councillor, and Chair, City of Toronto Economic Development Committee (to be confirmed)

WHAT: Media Briefing

WHEN: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 11a.m.

WHERE: Corus Entertainment, 8^th Floor Lounge

Corus Quay
25 Dockside Drive
Toronto, Ontario

For more information:
Michelle Noble, Communications & Marketing Director, Waterfront Toronto, 416-214-1344 ext.263

Underpass Park is the most extensive park to ever be built under an overpass in Canada, and the first of its kind in Toronto. The unique urban park is transforming the derelict space beneath the Eastern Avenue, Richmond and Adelaide overpasses into a bright and welcoming neighbourhood amenity and a key public space in the West Don Lands community.

“Underpass Park embodies the kind of infrastructure project the federal government stands four-square behind,” said Minister Flaherty.  “Transforming once derelict lands into inviting parks and open spaces is a direct investment in healthier and greener communities where businesses flourish and families thrive.”

“The transformation of the West Don Lands into a vibrant, flourishing community where people will live, work, play and learn is the kind of public infrastructure project that really excites us,” said Minister Murray. “Underpass Park is a welcome addition to a renewed waterfront where businesses want to invest, families choose to live and communities continue to thrive.”

“What makes Underpass Park so unique is the inspiration came from the overpass structure,” said Councillor Norm Kelly, Chair of Parks & Environment for the City of Toronto. “I am looking forward to the completion of the park so everyone in our city can take advantage of what will be a beautiful, open public space,” Kelly added.

The imposing concrete structures of the overpasses currently act as a barrier between the north and south parts of the community. Underpass Park innovatively re-engineers the area under the overpasses to create an inviting public space that connects the two parts of the West Don Lands, contributing to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood and the success of the development projects underway in the area.

“Underpass Park embodies design excellence and creativity,” said Mark Wilson. “Its design and adaptive reuse of derelict urban land raises the bar for urban space in the city and beyond.”

Designed by landscape architectural firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg with The Planning Partnership, Underpass Park maximizes the unique site conditions imposed by the massive concrete overpasses to convert a neighbourhood liability into a welcoming and distinct public space.

The park is being built in two phases, with the portion east of St. Lawrence Street adjacent to both the River City private sector development and the new affordable housing complex by Toronto Community Housing, being constructed first.  The first phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.  The second phase of the park, on the western side of St. Lawrence Street, will be built next.

Construction of Underpass Park is another sign of the momentum and progress being made in the West Don Lands, which will be home to the Athletes’ Village during the 2015 Pan Am Games.  Work is well underway throughout the West Don Lands, both in the area that will be home to the Athletes’ Village and the areas surrounding it.

Waterfront Toronto

Since 2005, Waterfront Toronto has opened more than 17 new or improved parks or public spaces including wavedecks, sports fields, revitalized trails and new waterfront parks.  Last year the organization opened Canada’s Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common South in the new East Bayfront neighbourhood, and started construction of Don River Park in the West Don Lands. Waterfront Toronto has also finalized development agreements with Great Gulf Homes, 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 Medical Arts Building on Queens Quay.

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 Contact:

Tari Stork, Manager, Project Communications, Waterfront Toronto

T: 416-214-1344 x 279 / C: 416-414-1577 / tstork@waterfrontoronto.ca

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

Waterfront Toronto will begin construction on the East Bayfront sanitary sewer infrastructure project on May 2.

Waterfront Toronto is replacing the sanitary sewer along Jarvis Street and Queens Quay Boulevard and twinning the existing sewer along the Esplanade to enable the development of the East Bayfront community. The expanded sanitary sewer infrastructure is needed to meet the capacity required by the new mixed-use community. Construction is schedule for regular hours, Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm and two way vehicle access will be maintained on all streets.

The project will be constructed in three phases:

• Queens Quay: May 2011 – October 2011

• Jarvis Street: July 2011 – December 2011

• The Esplanade: August 2011 – March 2012

If you have questions or feedback about construction, contact Waterfront Toronto at (416) 214-1344 or info@waterfrontoronto.ca.

Waterfront Toronto held a public information session to share the plans and answer questions about the new sanitary sewers. The presentation can be viewed in the Related Documents section on the East Bayfront page.

The prestigious awards are considered the Canadian industry standard for recognizing excellence in leadership and innovation in brownfield redevelopment and commitment to the remediation of brownfield projects. Waterfront Toronto’s pilot soil recycling facility won in the Remediation Technologies and Technological Innovation category.

“We are very proud and honoured that the Canadian Urban Institute acknowledged our pilot soil recycling facility with a Brownie,” said Waterfront Toronto President and CEO John Campbell.  “Soil recycling is an opportunity to turn contaminated soil into a resource instead of a liability.  Our pilot facility has the potential to change the way impacted soil is managed in Ontario.”

Waterfront Toronto established the Port Lands Pilot Soil Recycling facility in July 2010 as part of its soil management strategy and overall commitment to sustainability.  The objective of the pilot is to determine the viability of treating and reusing impacted soil as an alternative to the traditional dig-and-dump disposal of brownfield soil.

The revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront is one of the largest urban brownfield remediation projects in the world. Revitalization of the waterfront area depends on the ability to deal with soil that has been impacted by decades of industrial uses, and by infilling long ago when environmental standards were not as stringent as today.

Waterfront Toronto anticipates that it will need to manage approximately 2,000,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil over the next 10 to 20 years.  By recycling waterfront soil, Waterfront Toronto would be treating soil near its source, diverting soil from landfill, and providing a source of treated soil that can be used in waterfront revitalization projects.

The pilot enables Waterfront Toronto to fully assess the environmental, economic and operational viability of treating and reusing soil before committing to a full-scale recycling facility.  The goals of the pilot are to identify the range of treatment options and costs of remediating soil; confirm that impacted soil can be treated to an environmental condition that allows it to be reused in revitalization projects for residential, parkland and commercial projects; and showcase treatment technologies that will benefit brownfield remediation.

The pilot’s operators, DEC and Tetra Tech /Stuyvesant, began processing soil in early September. Testing is expected to be complete by early November, and then the operators will prepare reports for Waterfront Toronto’s review and assessment.

During the pilot approximately 20,000 cubic metres of soil are being processed employing the newest and best technologies available to treat contaminated soils.  The pilot’s operator teams are using soil washing, complemented by field trials of a number of other cutting-edge technologies. Both teams operate similar facilities in Europe and the United States.

Waterfront Toronto’s sustainable development approach is guided by a comprehensive Sustainability Framework, which serves as a roadmap to ensure that sustainability principles are woven into every facet of operations and decision making.  By employing global best practices and made-in-Toronto solutions, Waterfront Toronto is developing new waterfront communities that protect and enhance our natural environment, and that will ultimately be recognized as global models for sustainability.

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 Contact:
Tari Stork, Project Communications Manager, 416-214-1344 x 279