Jaw-dropping development planned for abandoned Sidewalk Labs space

Feb 16 2022, 4:08 pm

A stretch of land along Toronto’s eastern waterfront previously abandoned by Sidewalk Labs is now gearing up for an entirely different development.

Waterfront Toronto announced on Tuesday that it had entered negotiations with new partners Dream Unlimited Corp. and Great Gulf Group to develop the 12-acre site in downtown Toronto.

sidewalk labs toronto development quayside

Waterfront Toronto

The project, dubbed Quayside, would bring over 800 affordable units to the waterfront, as well as a two-acre forested green space, an urban farm, a community care hub, and a multi-use art venue.

“Today, we take an important next step in unlocking the full potential of the city’s waterfront,” said Jack Winberg, chair of Waterfront Toronto’s Investment and Real Estate Committee. “Dream Unlimited and Great Gulf, together with their team of architects and local partners, have a strong proposal to make Quayside and Toronto’s waterfront among the best in the world. As we begin negotiations on a project agreement, we are more confident than ever in the transformative power of the Quayside project to the economic and social recovery of Toronto, Ontario, and Canada.”

sidewalk labs toronto development quayside

Waterfront Toronto

The urban farm will sit atop one of the new residential buildings, which is set to be one of Canada’s largest residential buildings constructed out of mass timber.

In addition to the timber building, there would also be five towers. Renderings reveal that these towers would stand out from the typical Toronto landscape by utilizing interesting building shapes and a pleasantly overwhelming amount of greenery.

Waterfront Toronto

Waterfront Toronto

The Wester Curve tower, as the name implies, is a curve-shaped building that has a sloping topline and contrasting green and beige colours. Another building, The Overstorey, is shown as having an asymmetric angular shape.

Waterfront Toronto

Waterfront Toronto

The project would need to be developed in phases, but according to Waterfront Toronto, affordable housing would be delivered during every phase, with an emphasis on family-sized units.

The community care hub that’s planned for the space will offer a wide range of programs and services to support aging-in-place, recreation, and wellness.

Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation organization, was originally supposed to redevelop the waterfront land but abandoned the project in May 2020 due to economic uncertainty.

“For the last two-and-a-half years, we have been passionate about making Quayside happen — indeed, we have invested time, people, and resources in Toronto, including opening a 30-person office on the waterfront,” Sidewalk Labs CEO Daniel L. Doctoroff wrote in Medium post at the time.

The new Quayside development will surround the upcoming revamped Parliament Slip that’ll have everything from a public swimming pool to a water amphitheatre to a boardwalk to a floating restaurant.

Negotiations for Quayside are expected to wrap up by the fall, at which point the development plans will be finalized, and municipal approvals will be sought out.

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