Two developers picked to build Quayside neighbourhood on Toronto's waterfront

A plan to transform a 12-acre plot of land on Toronto’s waterfront into a multi-use space with affordable housing and state-of-the-art architecture is one step closer to becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, the city’s Waterfront Toronto group selected two developers, Dream Unlimited Corp. (Dream) and Great Gulf Group, to take the lead on the project and work under the banner of Quayside Impact Limited Partnership.

“This is an important step forward in the future of our waterfront and a crucial step in Toronto's economic recovery,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement. “I am so determined that Toronto's economy will come back stronger than ever in the wake of COVID-19 and this project will be an important part of that recovery.”

Highlights of the project include more than 800 affordable housing units in the first phase of development, a two-acre forested green space, a multi-use arts venue, and an urban farm that will be housed on top of one of Canada’s largest residential mass timber buildings.

The project will also be the first all-electric, zero-carbon community at this scale, Waterfront Toronto said in a news release.

By the end of the project, at least 30 per cent of the residential spaces housed at Quayside will be affordable units owned by the City of Toronto and operated by a non-profit partner, according to city councillor Joe Cressy -- who sits on Waterfront Toronto’s board and represents the Spadina-Fort York riding where the community will be housed.

“Quayside has the potential to help lead our post-pandemic recovery. To bring to life a new vision for how we can build inclusive, mixed-use, affordable, and sustainable neighbourhoods,” Cressy said in a statement.

Torontonians will remember that the space was previously sought after by Google affiliate, Sidewalk Labs. The company had hoped to convert the 12-acre site into a high-tech neighbourhood complete with public wi-fi, heated and illuminated sidewalks and so-called “raincoats” for buildings.

That $1.3 billion proposal had also drawn criticism from privacy experts over its potential use of data and from members of the Indigenous community who accused the company of not doing enough to include recommendations made by the group.

However, Sidewalk Labs bowed out of the development process in May of 2020 due to the “unprecedented economic uncertainty” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Waterfront Toronto and Quayside Impact Limited Partnership will begin negotiations on a project agreement, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2022.

In that capacity, Cressy said there will be continued engagement with waterfront communities, stakeholders, and the broader public to bring the project to life. 

Pending approval, shovels are expected to be in the ground by 2025 and the first occupancy at the site is targeted for 2030.

With files from CP24's Chris Fox