Daniels Waterfront: Bringing it All Together

The Newinhomes.com team took a break from our desks at our 1 Yonge office to walk over to the grand unveiling of The Daniels Corporation’s master-plan at Richardson and Queens Quay East - better known as the Guvernment site. Mayor John Tory, urban design expert Ken Greenberg, and many Daniels representatives, including Senior Vice President Tom Dutton and President Mitchell Cohen, were in attendance to celebrate the momentous occasion.

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Officially named “Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts,” it is one of the first private-sector developments in the East Bayfront area and is the first to be built on privately owned land. The whole project is estimated to cost approximately $700 million.

"The revitalization of our waterfront is one of Toronto’s most exciting and challenging urban renewal projects,” says Tory. “The Daniels Corporation’s vision for the former entertainment complex site is a groundbreaking project that will have a lasting cultural legacy. Not only will this site feature landmark residential and office towers, but it will also be home to student innovation and a hub for the creative industries. The project will complement the future East Bayfront community, further adding to the diversity of our waterfront while creating jobs that are central to our city’s growth.”

Mayor of Toronto, John Tory

The site is separated into two parcels. The south parcel, which will be developed first and known as Phase 1, will feature commercial office space for mainstream businesses, and Daniels will be relocating their headquarters to this location. There is also a Creative Industries Hub designated for arts and culture organizations, including not-for-profits Artscape, The Remix Project, and Manifesto. Leading entertainment law firm Taylor Klein Oballa LLP and Toronto’s top music company, Last Gang Entertainment, will also have offices in Phase 1. Retail space will line the streets, featuring shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and an RBC Branch.

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“The Guvernment Nightclub was an iconic entertainment venue that helped many artists get their start, so it’s fitting that our vision pays homage to the site’s artistic roots and expands on that tradition,” says Dutton. “Today we demonstrated how Daniels Waterfront is connected to the past and the future, to the lake, to the city, and most importantly to the arts.”

Phase 2, which is the north side of the site, will feature two residential towers, the first being The Lighthouse Tower. Daniels is also working with OCAD University and George Brown College to build a considerable amount of post-secondary academic space.

Ken Greenberg

“Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts represents the next great step in city building in the East Bayfront,” says Ken Greenberg, Principal, Greenberg Consultants Inc. “The variety of its program in arts, cultural, innovation and education plus the mix of people living and working on the site and a strong emphasis on expanding the public realm for all season use will make this project a magnet for creative endeavours on the Toronto waterfront.”

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Another exciting aspect of the plans is that Claude Cormier + Associates, the architecture firm behind Sugar Beach, has designed Sugar Beach North, extending the beach to the north side of Queens Quay. There is another public realm called “The Yard,” which will exist between the north and south parcels of the site, and serve as an outdoor “urban living room,” where residents, office workers, artists, and the public can gather to shop, eat, and participate in special events.

Office tenants are scheduled to take occupancy in spring 2018, and the suites at The Lighthouse Tower will be released this fall.

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Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts by the numbers

280,000 square feet of commercial space

150,000 square foot Creative Industries Hub

27,000 square feet of retail

650,000 square feet of residential

900 suites in two towers

48 storeys is how tall The Lighthouse Tower will be

240,000 square feet of post-secondary academic space

1,320,000 square feet in total

$700 million project cost

We are very excited to watch Daniels and all of the other organizations involved play a role in Toronto’s quickly evolving waterfront. Stay tuned - we’ll be keeping track of the development’s progress until it’s completed!