New beach and lookout park planned for Toronto's waterfront (RENDERINGS)
![New beach and lookout park planned for Toronto's waterfront (RENDERINGS)](https://dpdajlq3ew794.cloudfront.net/20210127090326/LESLIE-SLIP_VIEW-4-Web-1024x6291.jpg?format=auto&width=1920)
It looks like a new park and beach are planned for Toronto’s waterfront.
According to CreateTO, The Leslie Slip Lookout Park will be a new destination in Toronto’s Port Lands located on the Martin Goodman Trail at the entrance to Tommy Thompson Park.
The park will include a public beach and forested dunes that will create a new multi-use community destination in Toronto’s east end.
The centrepiece of Leslie Slip Lookout Park will be a 1.9-acre open space at 12 Leslie Street that will connect the public to the waterfront with views of the entire length of the Ship Channel. The open space will also include a viewing platform that will provide the public with an elevated look at the Toronto skyline.
![](https://images.dailyhive.com/20210127090109/LESLIE-SLIP_VIEW-4-Web-1024x629.jpg)
Rendering from CreateTO.
“The park recycles an industrial landscape into a new recreational hub. The beach and grassy dunes topography provides opportunities for ecological restoration, reforestation, and naturalization,” the website reads.
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“This new destination will offer opportunities for year-round programming, including pop-up events, concerts and public art, as well as a unique lookout experience with a west-facing view of the downtown core, and a stunning 360-degree view of the Port Lands.”
![](https://images.dailyhive.com/20210127090132/LESLIE-SLIP_VIEW-7-Web-1024x842.jpg)
Rendering from CreateTO.
Claude Cormier + Associés (CC+A) has been awarded the contract to design and construct the park through a design competition. The firm is known to have designed public spaces in Toronto, including Sugar Beach and Berczy Park.
“The creation of Leslie Slip Lookout Park on Toronto’s eastern waterfront is something that residents and tourists from across the city and beyond will be able to enjoy for years to come,” said Mayor John Tory in a statement. “This new destination will offer year-round programs including pop-up events, concerts and public art, and will give people the opportunity to enjoy time outdoors while exploring an area of the city they might not have before.”
Conceptual designs of the park contemplate building on the natural and industrial heritage of the area, while honouring Indigenous place-making potential, linking Tommy Thompson Park to recent landscape improvements in the area Toronto-Danforth Councillor, Paula Fletcher, outlined.
![](https://images.dailyhive.com/20210127091457/vk4PFxsA.jpeg)
Rendering from CreateTO
“The Port Lands of Toronto hold a rich history and landscape,” said Fletcher. “Revitalizing this underutilized land will bring this site back into public use, beautify the landscape and complement the natural heritage system of the Port Lands, creating a stronger connection between the city and the natural areas south of Unwin Avenue and Tommy Thompson Park.”
Public consultations for the project will begin in February 2021.