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CityPlace is the name given to a large section of former railway land in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada that has been redeveloped for multi-use purpose. The term has been more recently used for a large multi-tower condo development in the Harbourfront district. When completed, this area will be the largest residential development ever created in Toronto's history. The area is bordered by Bathurst Street to the west, Yonge Street to the east, the Gardiner Expressway to the south, and the railway lines to the north.
History
CityPlace was originally conceived as a way to revitalize what was Canadian National's former Spadina Street Yard Facility. Going as far back as 1965, when CN began to shift the functions of many of its yards in the Greater Toronto Area to a centralized facility in the northern suburb of Vaughan, there had been plans to revitalize this part of downtown. One of them called for the construction of a large television/telecommunications tower as a showcase of Canadian industry, which was realized in the 1970s with the CN Tower. Further development took place in the 1980s, with the 1984 completion of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre drawing new attention to the area.
With the arrival of new visitors and development of new commercial draws, a fresh master plan was drawn up by the City of Toronto for revitalization of this area. At the same time VIA Rail, the sole occupant what remained of the Spadina Street Yards, relocated their local operations to the newly built Toronto Maintenance Centre in New Toronto, freeing up the lands necessary for the planned revitalization. Work commenced after the demolition of the last railway buildings with the construction of SkyDome, which was completed in 1989. At the same time, a new network of roads, parks and infrastructure began to take shape. The project proceeded smoothly until an economic downturn caused many of the development plans to be shelved, and much land stood abandoned until 1997 when construction of the Air Canada Centre arena commenced. This began the third and final phase of CityPlace which called for a multipupose development of commercial, residential, and retail.
As of 2009, the lands have been nearly completely developed, with the remaining parcels of land soon to see construction.
The current CityPlace development
The current CityPlace development was conceived by Concord Adex developments, the same company that helped revitalize a large section of former Expo 86 lands in Vancouver.
Project Scope
- Project Size: 44 acres (182 108.5 m²) including a 8 acre (32 375 m²) community park. 7500 residential units upon completion.
- Residential development is divided into 10 street blocks, numbered from 1 to 10. Each street block contains a number of residential towers with its own sets of common facilities.
- Block 1 was developed first with 4 towers, namely Matrix A/B and Apex C/D, all with Front Street addresses. The street block features buildings directly facing the entertainment district and the closest walk to the Financial District.
- Block 2 features 1 building (Optima) only, directly behind the Rogers Centre, fronting on Navy Wharf Court. It features a heightened privacy comparing to the other interconnected towers. Both Block 1 and 2 were completed before 2003.
- Block 3 is the largest street block in the entire CityPlace complex, with 4 towers and a mid-rise building, as well as townhouses to decrease the tension of high density development. The project was named Harbour View Estates and was completed in 2006.
- Block 4 features 2 towers and a mid-rise, mirroring the Harbour View Estates both in location and in design. The buildings are named as WestOne, N1/N2 and The Gallery, was completed in late 2007.
- Block 5 contains 2 towers (Montage) and a mid-rise building (Neo), which has a completion date of mid 2009; though some of their customers have been told mid 2008 (Neo) from previous projections of early 2007 (Neo), depending on time of purchase.
- Block 6 has further progressed in design as trend evolves, with 2 towers and 1 mid-rise, the project is named as Luna.
- Block 7-8 (Parade) Two 38 story towers with a 2 story bridge at floors 28 and 29, 2 podium buildings and 2 mid-rise buildings
- Block 9 An 8-acre (32,000 m2) park
- Block 10 will contain the Panorama building with a 7 story podium/mid-rise and a luxury high rise. The high-rise will feature a number of 1500+sqft units with private elevators. Estimated completion for 2011.
- Number of Units: over 5,000 residential units to date.
City Place Buildings
City Place Rank  | Name | Height
ft | Floors | Year | Notes | Image |
|---|
| 01.0 | Apex[A] | 273 | 28 | 2005 | |  |
| 01.0 | Apex 2[A] | 371* | 36 | 2005 | |
| 01.0 | Harbourview Estates [A] | 402 | 40 | 2006 | |  |
| 01.0 | Harbourview Estates 2[A] | 503 | 49 | 2006 | |
| 01.0 | Harbourview Estates 3 North[A] | 278* | 26 | 2006 | |
| 01.0 | Harbourview Estates 3 South[A] | 378* | 36 | 2006 | |
| 01.0 | Luna[A] | 413 | 38 | u/c | |
| 01.0 | Matrix 1[A] | 320 | 32 | 2004 | |  |
| 01.0 | Matrix 2[A] | 274 | 28 | 2004 | |
| 01.0 | Montage[A] | 476 | 47 | 2008 | |  |
| 01.0 | N1[A] | 425* | 41 | 2007 | |
| 01.0 | N2[A] | 425* | 41 | | |
| 01.0 | Panorama[A] | 315* | 30 | u/c | |
| 01.0 | Parade East[A] | 386 | 36 | u/c | |  |
| 01.0 | Parade West[A] | 386 | 36 | u/c | |
| 01.0 | West One[A] | 486 | 49 | 2007 | |  |
(*) - denotes estimate
See Concord Pacific Masterplan in External Links
Getting Around
With its location nestled between the Gardiner Expressway and Union Station, CityPlace is a very accessible area. The development is also serviced by the Toronto Transit Commission's 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina, and 511 Bathurst streetcar lines.
In addition, a median is being set aside along Bremner Boulevard, the main thoroughfare through Cityplace, so that it can be used for a streetcar route by the TTC in the future.
Criticism
Some planners, architects and politicians have questioned the prudence of the development's urban design. Critics have lauded the architectural excellence of the buildings themselves, but believe suburban ideals have been engineered into the streetscape. With little street life and few amenities, CityPlace favours those with a car. [1] While unopposed to high density, critics cite the project's isolation as a potential hindrance to the future health of the fledgling community. They believe that as with other Toronto high rise developments in the past, CityPlace's lack of interconnectedness with the surrounding city may lead to ghettoization of residents.[2] Others believe community prosperity may be affected by the upward mobility of current purchasers. A lack of large units deters families from choosing CityPlace as a desirable place to live, threatening to recreate the conditions experienced in St. James Town and Regent Park. [3] Some, even major figures in the industry, have stated the sustainability of such large projects is in doubt.[4] The result could be a CityPlace that remains unfinished until the economy recovers.
Another major criticism of the project is the developer's ample use of window-wall construction. This may lead to costly maintenance in the future. [5][6]
| Toronto skyscrapers |
|---|
| | | (partial listing) | | | | Current | CN Tower · First Canadian Place · Scotia Plaza · Brookfield Place · Commerce Court · Toronto-Dominion Centre · Royal Bank Plaza · One King West · Manulife Centre · Exchange Tower · World Trade Centre · Hudson Bay Centre · One Yonge Street · Simcoe Place · Four Seasons Hotel · Royal York · Metro Hall · Canada Permanent Trust Building · Canada Life Building · Sun Life Centre · Continental Bank of Canada Building · Eaton Tower · Robarts Library · Toronto City Hall | | | Proposed or
under construction | Bay Adelaide Centre · One Bloor East · Trump Hotel & Tower | | | | | |
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