Like any city, Toronto's had its
planning ups and downs. Unlike many others, though, it's done a pretty good job
of fixing some of its most egregious mistakes (see Regent Park). And then there's
the waterfront, which Torontonians think we've been screwing up since about a
generation after Simcoe ruled Upper Canada. But now Moshe Safdie along with Waterfront Toronto are stepping in
to take another shot at it.
On December 7, the city announced the
sale of a parcel of waterfront land known as Parkside (beside the-soon-to-be-inaugurated
Sherbourne Park), to the
Great Gulf Group of Companies, the folks behind the
condo at 18 Yorkville. Safdie refers to his mixed-use tower-and-podium
construction, slated for LEED Gold certification, as "gardens in the
sky." The tower will be 36 storeys, with about 10 storeys in the podium,
and will run from Queens Quay north to Lake Shore Boulevard.
The design team also includes
Quadrangle Architects, known for their Candy Factory and Toy Factory
warehouse-to-loft conversions (the Candy Factory on Queen west of Trinity
Bellwoods Park, remember, was the one that got the whole trend on its feet). They've
worked with Great Gulf before on condo projects called St James (adjacent to St
Lawrence Hall) and the Morgan (at 438 Richmond St. W.).
This will be Safdie's first
residential project in Toronto, and his first in Canada since his thesis became
Habitat '67 for Montreal's Expo. "Rejuvenation of the waterfront is a
noble task for Toronto," says Safdie, who also designed the National
Gallery in Ottawa, Vancouver's Library Square, and is the author of The City
After the Automobile. "And I trust that this building will set the standard
for an exciting new kind of urban living."
One that acknowledges Toronto is a
city on a lake, for instance. The city expects that ultimately the project will
inject about $200 million worth of private investment into the nascent
East Bayfront community and will be home to roughly 10,000 people.
Writer: Bert Archer