10 Minutes with Jim Ritchie of Tridel on Bayside Master-Plan
By Lucas on Jun 28, 2013
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Jim Ritchie, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Tridel, about their very exciting Bayside master-plan community. We discussed the first phase of the development, Aqualina at Bayside, and then moved on to the community as a whole.
On to the interview!
Newinhomes (NIH): Aqualina at Bayside is pursuing LEED® Platinum Certification, the highest standing. What features will the building have to achieve this?
Jim Ritchie (JR): To achieve Platinum Certification, there are a number of initiatives we take into account to reach that standing. Energy efficiency is very important and that’s achieved through the type of mechanical equipment we use. The air conditioning systems, the heating systems; we look at the glazing of the building - all of these are very key components that affect the efficiency of the building in terms of energy operation. In addition, we will have solar panels on the roof of the building and an outdoor urban garden. It’s a combination of many things that come together to achieve Platinum.
NIH: Aqualina is only going to stand 13-storeys. That makes it one of Tridel’s smallest condos. What’s the strategy behind that?
JR: The design criteria respects the location of the site, in terms of its proximity to the lake immediately to the south, and to the Sherbourne Common Park on the west side. Although standing at 13-storeys tall, the design layout allows for Aqualina to have 363 suites in total.
NIH: What recreational amenities will Aqualina feature?
JR: Similar to many Tridel communities, Aqualina will feature a large number of amenities. In this particular community, the highlight will be the multi-level rooftop, which will feature indoor and outdoor lounges, barbecue areas, a large sun deck and infinity pool. On the other amenity level, we will have a game room, billiards lounge, private dining room, a party room with bar, a complete fitness centre, spinning studio, a yoga studio, theatre, whirlpool spa, steam rooms and something we call the “Aqua Lounge.” It is truly resort style living along the water’s edge.
NIH: Can you talk a little bit about pricing at Aqualina?
JR: Aqualina will have a wide range of pricing, starting from the mid $300s to over $2 million, which reflects the large selection of suite sizes. The suites start at a functional 550 square feet to a spacious 2,100 or 2,200 square feet. The one-bedroom suites will range from 600 to 670 square feet, and the two-bedrooms will start from 800 square feet. We felt that being positioned along the water’s edge, designing larger suite layouts would have more appeal to the end user.
NIH: You mentioned that there are 363 suites at Aqualina. According to the plans for the entire development, there will be approximately 1,900 residential suites at Bayside. How many residential buildings will there be?
JR: There could be a total of six residential buildings. Bayside Toronto will be a large master-planned community – a total of 13 acres and almost 2 million square feet of development. Bayside Toronto will be a mixed-use community including residential, office, retail, and cultural uses. We planned the first component very carefully, which is Aqualina, as well as the two office buildings to follow.
NIH: Can you be a bit more specific about the cultural uses throughout Bayside?
JR: The cultural uses will be a part of the large 150,000 square foot retail space. We have some great and inspiring ideas of what to do in that space, including a children’s museum on the ground floor. This type of facility exists in other majors cities, but has yet to come to Toronto and we feel that it would be a great contribution to the community. Whether it’s the children’s museum or another venue for the arts, we’re not quite sure yet, we're working on it.
Another component that ties into cultural uses is our internal roadway system and Aqualina’s unique passageway, called the ‘Via Velo’, which will leads from Sherbourne Common into the master-planned community. Both the roadway system and ‘Via Velo’ can be used for street festivals and community/ cultural events.
NIH: So, when all is said and done, what will the atmosphere and environment at Bayside be like?
JR: The main attraction is the waterfront property – it’s unique in terms of its size and scale and doesn’t exist otherwise in the city. Our focal point was to find people who have the desire for a condominium lifestyle that want to be close to the city and on the water.
Bayside Toronto will ultimately help revitalize Toronto’s waterfront. The whole design of this community is clearly about people. We’ve created living, recreational, retail, and cultural spaces, with a significant workplace component. The scale of the project, the amount of landscaping, the proximity to the water, the view corridors – it’s all about creating a vibrant waterfront master-planned community for the residents of Toronto.
We would like to thank Jim Ritchie for his time and for shedding a bit more light on this ambitious master-planned community. We at the Toronto Star’s Newinhomes.com are very excited to watch the Bayside area transform over the coming years.
