Waterfront Toronto

The Simcoe wavedeck in Toronto's waterfront

Waterfront Toronto (sometimes styled as WATERFRONToronto), is an organization administering revitalization projects along the Toronto waterfront in Canada. Formed as a partnership of three levels of Canadian government in 2001, the organization is administering several blocks of land redevelopment projects surrounding Toronto Harbour and various other initiatives to promote the revitalization of the area, including public transit, housing developments, brownfield rehabilitation, possible removal of the Gardiner Expressway in the area, the Martin Goodman Trail and lakeshore improvements and naturalization of the Don River. Actual development of the projects is done by other agencies, primarily private corporations. The projects include a series of wavedeck walkways and gathering places designed by West 8 and DTAH.

Organization

The 'Waterfront Revitalization Task Force', a task force of the City of Toronto, the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario was established in November 1999 to study the future of the Toronto waterfront.^[1] The task force, headed by financier Robert Fung, reported in March 2000. It estimated the total cost of revitalization at $5 billion in public investment and a further $7 billion in private sector investment.^[2] It proposed the following general recommendations for the Toronto waterfront:

• Make the water's edge an accessible, public amenity from Etobicoke through the Central Waterfront to Scarborough;
• Remove the elevated Gardiner Expressway in the Central Waterfront and provide a new road and transportation network to better serve Toronto's downtown and revitalized waterfront;
• Create in the core of the City major new neighbourhoods for working, living and recreation, resulting in a substantial increase in the City's stock of affordable and market housing;
• Create a "convergence community" that crosses all disciplines of creativity to take advantage of Toronto's unique position in New Media, communications, music, biotechnology, software and high technology.
• Provide a clean environment by improving water quality, cleaning up contaminated soils, eliminating the risk of flooding and naturalizing appropriate areas.
• establishment of a corporation separate from government to oversee the revitalization.

Source: Our Toronto Waterfront: Gateway to the New Canada (PDF). City of Toronto. 2000. p. 4. 

The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation was formed in 2001 to oversee and lead waterfront renewal. It has subsequently been renamed "Waterfront Toronto."^[3] The agency is jointly funded by the three levels of government. The agency is overseen at the federal level by the Department of Finance, at the provincial level by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and at the municipal level by the Waterfront Project Secretariat.^[4]

The organization is directed to support the following policy objectives of the three levels of government:

• Reducing urban sprawl
• Developing sustainable communities particularly in the area of energy efficiency
• Redeveloping brownfields & cleaning up contaminated land
• Building more affordable housing
• Increasing economic competitiveness
• Creating more parks and public spaces

Source: "Projects". Waterfront Toronto. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 

Governance

The CEO is John W. Campbell, formerly a chief executive at Brookfield Properties.

The organization is governed by a board of directors:

• Mark Wilson (chair) - is an executive with IBM.
• William Charnetski - is an executive with AstraZeneca Canada Inc.
• Jack Cockwell - is an executive with Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
• Sue Dabarno - is an executive with Richardson Partners Financial.
• Kevin Garland - is an executive with the National Ballet of Canada
• Janet Graham - is an independent businesswoman, operating IQ Alliance Incorporated.
• David Johnson - former member of Ontario Parliament, former provincial cabinet minister.
• Ross McGregor - former executive of Toronto Region Research Alliance.
• David Miller - former Mayor of Toronto.
• John Sandusky - retired chartered accountant and former executive of Sandusky Properties.

Source: "Board of Directors' Bios". WATERFRONToronto. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 

Projects

Corus Quay, originally named First Waterfront Place, is an 8 storey commercial office tower located on a 2.5-acre (10,000 m²) Toronto waterfront site. Corus Quay will be Corus Entertainment's new Toronto headquarters, consolidating its 10 locations and 1,200 employees into one site.^[5]

The building is a collaboration between the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation and the Toronto Economic Development Corporation. The East Bayfront Precinct, where the building is located, is intended to be an important public destination as well as provide a range of housing and commercial opportunities.

Underpass Park, inaugurated on August 2, 2012, is the 18th public space built or revitalized by Waterfront Toronto since 2005.^[6]

Sustainable Design

The development achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold status for the project's environmental sustainability. The LEED rating system recognizes leading-edge buildings that incorporate design, construction and operational practices that combine healthy, high-quality and high-performance advantages with reduced environmental impacts.^[7]

In addition, Corus Quay will boast several green roof areas, a massive five-storey green living wall, 100 bicycle parking spaces, and public art installations created by award-winning U.K. artists, Troika.^[5]

See also

• Waterfront Trail
• Portlands
• East Bayfront
• The Don River
• West Don Lands
• Gardiner Expressway
• Transit City

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toronto Waterfront.

• WATERFRONToronto Official web site
• "Toronto Waterfront - The Waterfront Trail" (Google Maps). 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13.