Unlike many athletes’ village projects which are purpose built to house competitors during major athletic events and then converted to other uses following the games, Toronto's Athletes’ Village project is accelerating the building of a community that was already planned and under development.

Utilizing a section of the West Don Lands for the Pan Am Games Athletes’ Village means a significant increase in the pace of transforming the former industrial lands into a beautiful, sustainable, mix-use neighborhood.
Originally, build out of the 32 hectare (80 acres) West Don Lands was planned to unfold in three strategic phases and take between 10 and 12 years, subject to market conditions. With the Pan Am Games, more than half of the community will be in place for the Games in 2015.

Development of the West Don Lands, including the section that will house athletes and officials during the Games, is being guided by Waterfront

Toronto’s West Don Lands Precinct Plan. The Precinct Plan, developed through extensive public consultation, outlines the vision for the area and defines the location, scale, character and function of all public spaces, streets, buildings and facilities in the community. The plan describes a showcase modern community where design excellence, sustainability and technology come together.

Utilizing the West Don Lands for the Athletes’ Village is a prudent way to create a legacy from hosting the Games. During the Games, the Village section of the West Don Lands will provide accommodations for athletes and officials.

After the games, it will converted into what is was always planned to be, a lively mixed-use neighborhood that offers a range of housing for people at all stages of life and income levels. Facilities required for the Athletes’ Village, but not part of the long-term needs of the West Don Lands community, will be built as temporary structures.

The section of the West Don Lands that will be used during the Games is being developed by Waterfront Toronto in partnership with Infrastructure Ontario (IO).

The Village will serve as the home-away-from-home for 10,000 athletes and officials for approximately eight weeks in the summer of 2015, after which it will be converted into a range of housing options as defined by the West Don Lands Precinct Plan.

The Pan American Games is one of the world's largest international multi-sport events, held every four years for athletes of the 42 member nations of the Pan American Sport Organization. The games comprise a mix of Summer Olympic Games sports, as well as traditional Pan American sports.

The portion of the West Don Lands allocated for the Village is approximately 3.8 acres centred on Front Street. The development will include approximately 2,000 units of housing, as well as a range of facilities required for the Athletes’ Village, but not part of the long-term needs of the West Don Lands community. Facilities such as a welcome and accreditation center, a 3,500 seat dining hall, parking and service facilities, and a transit mall will be built as temporary structures.

The Village will achieve LEED® Gold certification and will be efficient in its use of resources. Plans for the area require taking advantage of new approaches and technologies to deliver a positive impact on the surrounding air, land and water. LEED® buildings focus on healthy indoor environments, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and efficient use of energy, water and other resources.

Infrastructure Ontario, Waterfront Toronto and the Ontario Realty Corporation are working with Toronto 2015 to develop the section of the West Don Lands that will be home to the Village. The Village will be delivered using IO’s Design-Build-Finance delivery model, with a Build-Finance component for certain site servicing.

Following a competitive selection process, Waterfront Toronto and Infrastructure Ontario named a planning, design and compliance team for the  project in October 2010. The team is responsible for developing output specifications and preliminary design documents for the West Don Lands Athletes' Village Project.

The team:

• HOK: Team Leader - Design & Planning Strategy Team
• Architecture duToit Allsopp Hillier (DTAH) - Design & Planning Strategy Team - Architecture/Landscape
• Quadrangle Architects - Design Strategy Team - Architecture/Accessibility
• Montgomery Sisam Architects - Design & Planning Strategy Team - Architecture
• Populous - Program Manager/Expert Advisor - Athletes' Village