Posts Tagged ‘Don River Park’

One of the most exciting things about being in the business of selling the City is watching how it changes over the years. In 2008 I started focusing on the West Don Land (or River City) part of town.  At the time it was no more than a contaminated brown field with a bunch of old industrial buildings.  With the announcement of Toronto hosting the Pan Am games in 2015… plans quickly got underway to improve the look of the area.

A new school, daycares, and condos are just a few of the things planned for the area… but before any of this could happen, the City had to deal with a potential flood hazard at the base of the redevelopment. Reshaping the floodplain would not only protect the West Don Lands but also a 99 hectare (245 acre) area, including Toronto’s financial district, from sinking underwater!

The solution they came up with was both practical and useful for the area residents and the overall look of the area! Approximately 400,000 cubic metres of fill is being used to construct the Don River Park.   According to WaterFrontToronto’s website: “The centrepiece of the West Don Lands, Don River Park will be a 7.3 hectare (18 acre) active, vibrant and inviting park that will not only serve the local community, but residents from throughout Toronto and visitors from far and wide. Construction of the park, which will occupy the south eastern portion of the neighbourhood and will run along the Don River from King Street to the rail corridor in the south, started in September 2010. When completed, the beautiful green space will invite people to the Don River and offer inspiring experiences along the river’s edge as well as spectacular views of downtown and Lake Ontario.”

I’ve visited the site several times since 2009 and been blown away by it’s progress each time! Shortly before the park opened, I took a self guided tour of the almost completed park!  Check out the photos below:

After spending a week in sunny Varadero,  the end of vacation and the start of work officially commenced with an update letter from the River City team!

The letter was sent out to all the purchasers and their Realtors in an effort to keep us up to date with progress on this changing part of Toronto.   To summarize the changes thus far:

Wednesday September the 8th marked another milestone for the West Don Lands revitalization…although work has been going on at the site for over a year, yesterday marked the official ground breaking at the Don River Park!

Everyone from Mayor Miller to Jim Flaherty were on hand to mark the momentous occasion…by now you’re probably asking yourself “What’s so big about a park, and why do these high paid politicians need to be there to break ground?” The second part of the question, I don’t have an answer for, but in regards to the park…

The Don River Park will transform an abandoned post-industrial site into a dynamic, year-round, public space for the River City residents!  Renowned design firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, has been assigned the task of transforming the 18 acre site!  Once complete, the Don River Park will be offer playgrounds, sports fields and open parks and other leisure activities for Torontonians to enjoy.

Aside from all the above mentioned features, the transformation of the land also acts as a flood plain! The Don River Park will double as a protection landform covering over 245 acres including the West Don Lands AND  Toronto’s financial district.

The construction of this park is a brilliant move by all involved!  They’re taking a barren brown field, creating a flood protection plain out of it,all the while transforming it into an open space for the public to enjoy.

To tie it into River City… Once the land transformation of the Don River Park is complete, Waterfront Toronto will hand over the land to Urban Capital to allow for the construction of River Cities Phase 1! 270 of the 348 units have already been sold at River City, but some great units are still available.  If you’d like to get a unit before they’re all gone …give me a call or send me an email, I’d love to help!

And the award for Best Building Design goes to……….*drumroll*

RIVER CITY!!!

Congratulations to all that have been involved in making the project so special.  And even bigger congratulations goes to the purchasers who now live in the best designed building according to BILD (Building Industry and Land Development)

The first phase is over 70% sold with a variety of layouts still available.  Designed by Saucier + Perrotte, River City will be a four phased community of over 900 loft-style condominiums and townhouses, together with street level restaurants, cafes and boutiques!  I’ve been covering the project extensively since it first launched back in 2009 and will continue to as the West Don Lands transform into one of downtown Toronto’s newest neighbourhoods!

For floorplans, prices, and availability…give me a call or send me an email, I’d love to help!

Check out the progress at the Don River Park…what is no more than piles of dirt will soon be a 17 acre park in the West Don Lands part of the City (which is actually the East side of the City. Confusing, I know!).

In this video update, I take a look at the early evolution of the Don River Park. Once complete, the green space will link residents of River City to the future site of the Pan Am Village. See for yourself in the video above!

If you’re interested in calling River City home, give me a call or send me an email… I’d love to help!

In my last post, I took a step back and looked at the West Don Lands Park and the value it provided River City.  In this one, I’m taking a step forward and looking at “green” initiatives offered at the development.

River City will be the first residential development going for a Gold LEED Certification in Toronto! LEED ranks building design, construction, and operational practices that provide high quality and high performance advantages to increase occupant health, comfort, productivity while reducing environmental impacts.  The exact details of green initiatives at River City have not been officially released but according to their website, the 4 main goals are:

1. Reduce as much as possible to what it take to build and then live in River City
2. Create healthy living environments
3. Reduce as much as possible what we actually throw back into the community
4. Offset any remaining impacts so River City is carbon neutral overall Read the rest of this entry »