Located just steps away from Canada’s largest financial and cultural urban core, East Bayfront is one of the first new neighbourhoods to be developed on Toronto’s waterfront. Its proximity to downtown Toronto and location directly on Lake Ontario will make East Bayfront one of the world’s most significant waterfront communities.

For years, the 23 hectare (55 acre) East Bayfront site which extends from Lower Jarvis Street east to Parliament Street and from Lake Shore Boulevard south to the water’s edge has been a reminder of Toronto’s industrial past. Now, after years of planning and public consultation the transformation of this underutilized area into a beautiful, sustainable and technologically advanced new waterfront community is well underway. The revitalization of this mostly City-owned land will unfold in phases over the next 10-15 years. Life in East Bayfront will be defined by the lake and the parks and public spaces surrounding it. Two signature parks, Sherbourne Common and Canada’s Sugar Beach, and a kilometre-long continuous Water’s Edge Promenade and Boardwalk will make up an extraordinary quarter of the community. The community’s main waterfront street, Queens Quay Boulevard, will also be pedestrian, transit and cyclist-friendly.

The community’s imaginatively designed residential, retail and commercial developments are being beautifully intertwined with its inviting parks and public spaces. East Bayfront will feature 6,000 residential units, including 1,200 affordable residences, and millions of square feet of employment space able to accommodate 8,000 jobs. The area will also be a hub for retail, entertainment and cultural amenities and will be easily accessible by public transportation.

Supported by state-of-the-art technological infrastructure, East Bayfront will be an intelligent community that will attract the world’s leading organizations from knowledge and creative-based industries. In fact, leading-edge companies and organizations already call it home. There’s Corus Quay, the new corporate headquarters of Corus Entertainment, one of Canada’s largest media and entertainment companies. Its 42,000 square metre (450,000 square foot) office and production facility will be home to 1,200 employees. The George Brown College Waterfront Campus under construction in East Bayfront will bring more than 3,500 full-time students to the area.

East Bayfront also sets the standard for sustainable neighbourhoods and has already achieved Stage 1 LEED ND Gold certification.

East Bayfront was formally Lake Ontario marshland that was in-filled in the 1950s, during the last stage of the Toronto Harbour Commissioners’ 1912 plan for a waterfront industrial park. The lands were developed as the Queen Elizabeth Docks by the Toronto Harbour Commission for industrial and marine transport-related purposes, in anticipation of an increase in port activity with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Historically, the East Bayfront property was used primarily as a marine freight transfer facility under the Toronto Harbour Commission, and by Canadian Pacific Express and Transport Ltd. and others. The evolution of downtown Toronto and changes in the goods movement industry has meant that the area no longer functions as a busy industrial port.

Today, approximately 70% of the East Bayfront precinct land area is in public ownership, presenting an exciting opportunity for a comprehensive mixed-use community that will be integrated within Toronto’s urban fabric.

Boundaries: From Lower Jarvis Street to Parliament Street, Lake Shore Boulevard to Lake Ontario

Size:

• 23 hectares (55 acres) compares in size to: Canary Wharf, London
   
• 6,000 new residential units
   
• 3 million square feet of commercial space
   
• 1 km continuous water’s edge promenade
   

Proximity: 10 minute walk to Union Station

Design Team: Koetter Kim & Associates, Precinct Plan Lead