In Canada, ‘A City Within a City’: Toronto’s Waterfront Redevelopment Takes a New Project

After removing toxic soil, rehabilitating the Don River and creating the city’s biggest park in a generation, Toronto is set to complete the groundwork for a residential and commercial development on an abandoned industrial site as it seeks to alleviate a housing crisis and make life in Canada’s largest city more sustainable.

Just a few weeks ago, it was joined by the provincial and federal governments in announcing a joint pledge to invest nearly CA$1 billion (€670 million) in the final phase of preparation for the construction of 14,000 homes on site, which is located on the Toronto waterfront east of the downtown area by Lake Ontario, .

Toronto also got the federal government to provide an additional CA$200 million (€134.5 million) to match previous investments made by the city and the province.

Overseen by Waterfront Toronto, the public development agency that has been leading the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront for the past 20 years, this latest investment will bring to completion the installation of basic infrastructure like utilities, sewers, streets, and bridges in two areas: Quayside, located on the waterfront proper, and Ookwemin Minising on a recently created island nearby. More specifically, eight buildings are to be erected at Quayside, while Ookwemin Minising will be home to at least 15 towers.

Covering nearly five hectares, Quayside had been the site where Sidewalk Labs, an urban planning subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, had temporarily considered for a miniature smart city. At 39.6 hectares, the much larger Ookwemin Minising, formerly known as Villiers Island, is actually a landfill, dating back to the city’s industrial past more than a century ago. It is already the site of the park, which has started to attract wildlife of every kind.

Quayside is further ahead in its development, having already attracted builders. The redevelopment of these two areas is expected to create an estimated 100,000 skilled trades jobs and add $13.3 billion to the economy. Construction is to begin in 2026, with first occupancy by 2031.

“We’re building a city within a city,” said Mayor Olivia Chow on the day of the announcement of the investment pledge. “It means housing, good jobs.”

Although Quayside and Ookwemin Minising are within walking distance to the city centre, the idea is to expand Toronto’s public transport system, having the future Waterfront East Light Rail Transit line serve up to 25,000 new residents who are expected to settle there.

The nearly CA$1-billion investment pledge comes two months after the completion of the rehabilitation of the Don River, which flows through the eastern part of the city into Lake Ontario.

Ever since its natural course was drastically altered in the late 1800s, it has always posed a high risk of flooding the waterfront. The river’s waters had also become heavily polluted as a result of the heavy industry located on the Toronto waterfront.

“It really is a rebirth,” Chow was quoted by the Toronto Star newspaper as telling the ceremony marking the completion of the rehabilitation initiative. “We now have new fish species coming back, wildlife, indigenous plants coming back.

The rehabilitation of the river and the redevelopment of Quayside and Ookwemin Minising are but the latest in a series of projects that Waterfront Toronto has been leading for decades. And revitalising abandoned urban areas, building more housing, and extending public transport are efforts that are being replicated by cities throughout the world to meet ambitious targets to become greener and more livable.

A good part of those efforts is focused on reducing the use of private vehicles. In Toronto, a city of more than three million people known for its urban and suburban sprawl, cars and trucks are the second-largest source of greenhouse gases, accounting for 33% of total emissions. With the aim of becoming net zero by 2040, the city wants to have 75% of trips under five kilometres to work or school be done by foot, bicycle, or public transport.

Another major project that reflects Toronto’s ambitions is the Ontario Line, a metro line that will run 15.6 kilometres through the heart of the city. An undertaking for which the Webuild Group is designing and building the rails for the tunnels, as well as providing the signalling, communications, and safety systems, it will allow for 227,500 people to be within a 10-minute walk to a station. By handling nearly 400,000 trips a day, the Toronto subway line is expected to take 28,000 cars off the streets every day.

As shown by the rehabilitation of the Don River, improving water quality is another objective of cities, whether it be by building water treatment plants or excavating storm sewers and tunnels to avoid raw sewage from entering lakes and rivers during heavy rainfall.

Cities like Cleveland and Washington, D.C. have had tunnels built by Webuild to store raw sewage until their respective sewage treatment plants have had the time to deal with stormwater that can often overwhelm them. Plans to do the same along the Don River are proceeding.