GTA Construction News staff writer
TORONTO — Work has officially started on enabling infrastructure and public realm improvements to support the future Quayside community on Toronto’s waterfront.
Eastern Construction, the construction manager for the project, began preliminary work this week, with more extensive activity scheduled to begin the week of Aug. 5. The project includes the installation of stormwater and sanitary sewers, utility ducts and related servicing to support future development on the 4.9-hectare Quayside site.
Construction impacts will be felt along Queens Quay East from Bonnycastle Street to Parliament Street and along Parliament Street from Queens Quay East to Lake Shore Boulevard East. Starting the week of Aug. 5, infrastructure installation will begin along Queens Quay East and Small Street, with excavation, underground servicing and road restoration concentrated on the north side of Queens Quay East between Bonnycastle and Small Street.
The project is part of a long-term effort to transform Toronto’s underutilized waterfront into what Waterfront Toronto describes as a “dynamic, inclusive and resilient community.”
Waterfront Toronto, in collaboration with the City of Toronto, is overseeing the design and construction of new streets, servicing and public spaces to support the revitalization. Improvements are planned for Parliament Street, Bonnycastle Street, Small Street, and Queens Quay East. The work will create five new development blocks and include new parks and public spaces at the foot of Parliament Street and on both sides of Parliament south of Lake Shore Boulevard East.
Quayside builds on nearby development in the Bayside and Dockside neighbourhoods, as well as the emerging Keating Channel West Precinct. The vision for Quayside includes a master-planned, mixed-use, complete community with architecturally distinctive buildings, green construction practices and a strong focus on public access.
In 2023, the City of Toronto received eight development applications from Waterfront Toronto and its development partner, Quayside Impact Limited Partnership, for the five Quayside blocks. Applications propose seven mixed-use buildings on Blocks 1 through 4, totalling 4,634 residential units — including 869 affordable rental units and about 200 affordable ownership units.
The affordable rental housing will be owned and operated by the City of Toronto in partnership with a not-for-profit housing provider.
Block 5 is being planned as a future institutional site that may include a public elementary school and a cultural institution. Waterfront Toronto’s plans for the block are still in early stages and will be shaped by consultations with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Toronto Lands Corporation and the Toronto District School Board.
Toronto’s waterfront has seen significant transformation since 2010, with surface parking lots and derelict buildings giving way to vibrant, inclusive neighbourhoods. Quayside is the latest chapter in that ongoing evolution.
