GROUNDBREAKING FOR AQUALINA – THE FIRST BUILDING AT THE BAYSIDE TORONTO DEVELOPMENT

GROUNDBREAKING FOR AQUALINA – THE FIRST BUILDING AT THE BAYSIDE TORONTO DEVELOPMENT

TORONTO, May 22, 2015—Toronto Mayor John Tory, Deputy Mayor Pam McConnell, Waterfront Toronto’s Vice President, Development Meg Davis, Hines Managing Director Avi Tesciuba, Tridel President Leo DelZotto, and Artscape CEO Tim Jones gathered to break ground on the first of eight buildings in the 13-acre Bayside Toronto development, a mix of residential, employment, cultural and commercial space that will change the face of the waterfront.

Waterfront Toronto’s largest private-sector development project to date, the $910-million Bayside development will connect Toronto’s downtown to the water’s edge along Queens Quay East. When development is complete, there will be 1,800 units in six residential buildings, two new office buildings with 400,000 square feet of space for more than 3,000 jobs. Bayside will have access to Beanfield Metroconnect’s waterfront-wide ultra-high speed broadband network that provides one of Canada’s fastest network speeds at very competitive prices.

Aqualina is the first building in this mixed-use Bayside community. It will form a significant part of the East Bayfront neighbourhood, which has been master-planned by Waterfront Toronto. The start of construction is an important milestone for purchasers as well as the Hines/Tridel development team that recently launched Aquavista, the second residential project in Bayside. Aquavista will feature 80 affordable rental units to be operated by Toronto not-for-profit Artscape.

The larger Bayside development shows that developers can incorporate high-performance sustainability, design excellence and thoughtful planning of a mixed-use development as part of a detailed precinct plan, by:

• Setting sustainability benchmarks: Bayside aims to be Toronto’s first LEED-ND Gold neighborhood, and all buildings will target LEED Gold certification. Aqualina and Aquavista are targeting LEED Platinum certification.
• Meeting Waterfront Toronto’s design standards: The master plan for Bayside accommodates a mixture of uses and a range of urban built form, with buildings arranged to collectively give appropriate definition, identity and scale to revitalized public spaces along the water’s edge and within the community.
• Creating inclusiveness: Waterfront Toronto’s policy provides for at least 20 per cent of all residential units to meet City standards for affordable rental units, while at least 7.5 per cent will also be designated market rate rental units. So far, 80 affordable rental housing units are planned for Bayside, with those tenants paying subsidized rates for access to Beanfield Metroconnect’s ultra-high speed broadband network.
• Accommodating families: Bayside complies with Waterfront Toronto’s design details, which stipulate a minimum number of three-bedroom units. The development further includes targets for the provision of family residential units.
• Integrating with public spaces: Hines and Tridel have planned a development that responds to the design excellence of the public realm, including adjacent parks like Sherbourne Common, the Water’s Edge Promenade and the future Aitken Place Park

Aquavista at Bayside won BILD’s 2015 Places to Grow Community of the Year Award for. The P2G award honours builders for innovation in sustainable development, urban design and technology.

Located on the east side of Sherbourne Common, Aqualina is designed by renowned architects, Arquitectonica. It will be defined by a series of distinctive cubes made of glass and steel with angled windows and balconies to maximize views of the skyline and lake. Ranging from one-bedroom to family-friendly three-bedroom residences, its 362 condominium suites will be ready for occupancy in July of 2017, with final completion scheduled for September of 2017. The 13-storey condominium is targeting LEED® Platinum certification. Landscape design for Bayside, including Aqualina, is being led by West 8 + DTAH, the award-winning team responsible for East Bayfront’s water’s edge promenade and the design for the revitalization of Queens Quay. 

Waterfront Toronto, Hines and Tridel are proud to have created a partnership that will deliver a complete community that builds on the existing design excellence of the public realm, adjacent parks like Sherbourne Common and the Water’s Edge Promenade.