On Tuesday June 6th, Waterfront Toronto (WT) held a Town Hall meeting at the George Brown College Waterfront campus, to discuss current projects, their evolving mandate, and ultimately the future of the City's blue edge. Hosted by the President and CEO of WT, Will Fleissig, a couple hundred people came out to the meeting, eager to listen to what WT have been working on in the past year.
The many projects that WT has underway were mostly presented as brief touchpoints rather than in-depth discussions, though Fleissig shed more light on particular plans. One such item was the East Bayfront LRT, which is still years away. Other projects, such as the first phase of the Port Lands redevelopment—Villiers Island—will be starting with a seven-year transformation to create the new Don River mouth and new shoreline treatments. The work includes soil remediation, break walls along the western edge, and is tagged with an estimated cost of $1.25 billion.
Questions from the audience ranged from global warming concerns as connected to a higher lake level and Don River flood prevention, PATH extensions into the East Bayfront area, and the affordable housing mix in new residential zones. (Answers: it's being studied, yes the PATH will be extended, and WT's mandate requires that 20% of the housing in any new neighbourhood be affordable.)
Current design of the Waterfront Innovation Centre, image courtesy of Menkes
One question that dovetails with a significant interest on the UrbanToronto Forum, is the current design for the Waterfront Innovation Centre by Menkes Developments. When a member of the public asked how far along the plans are for this building, Meg Davis of Waterfront Toronto replied that Menkes is currently seeking out tech-based tenants, who would shape their space from the inside-out. In other words, the current design would likely change to suit tenants needs with innovative interior spaces driving the final exterior expression. David also mentioned that the current design has not yet been seen by WT's Design Review Panel. In fact, Waterfront For All, a citizen's group, had set up a booth at the event to get people to sign a petition demanding better design on the City's waterfront.
Quayside set to reinvent the Waterfront, image via Waterfront Toronto
One area that drew a lot of attention was the Quayside project, the next area to follow Bayside, which is currently under construction. Quayside is mostly north of Queens Quay east of Sherbourne Common, but also wraps around the east side of the Parliament Slip south of Queens Quay. (Great Gulf's Monde is currently rising in Quayside, but is a "one-off", with the east section of the neighbourhood being planned as one.)
Aimed to tap the potential of new technologies to create a precedent-setting mixed-use neighbourhood, the Quayside plan is built around four high-level objectives, including:
- complete (mixed-use/mixed-income) communities;
- sustainability, resiliency and urban innovation;
- economic development and prosperity; and finally
- partnership and investment.
In March 2017, WT issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on an international level to realize a new vision for Quayside, with the funding partner making significant contributions. While Google has recently announced plans to development a "tech community" on a waterfront site, WT neither confirmed nor denied that Google is in the running to develop Quayside. Following an expected Fall 2017 announcement of the winner of the RFP, the first step to create this area is a realignment of the Queens Quay and Parliament intersection, estimated at a total cost of $66 million. Completion of Quayside is anticipated near Spring, 2023.
Quayside and the eastern waterfront, image via Waterfront Toronto
Other ongoing projects through 2017 and 2018 were discussed during the evening. The Bentway is currently in its first phase of construction, and is expected to run until late Spring next year. At the foot of Bay Street, plans continue behind the scenes for the new Jack Laton Ferry Terminal. Currently, $2.81 million is being sought for an enlarged Phase 1A of the project which will improve access to the terminal from Queens Quay, while upgrading some elements of the adjacent park.
More information regarding the aforementioned projects can be found in their associated dataBases, linked below. Want to share your thoughts about the Town Hall? Feel free to leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or join in the ongoing conversation in our associated Forum threads.