Minto Westside is your opportunity to live next to the proposed Rail Deck Park

Just over a month ago, Toronto Mayor John Tory announced plans for the Rail Deck Park, a new 21-acre park stretching from Bathurst to Rogers Centre, built along the rail corridor above the tracks. Twitter exploded with news of the park, and people instantly started speculating about property values, feasibility, costs, and so on.

One new development that the Rail Deck Park will impact is Minto Westside by The Minto Group, which is now under construction at the corner of Front and Bathurst, just steps from where the proposed park will be.

We recently had the opportunity to chat with Wells Baker, Director - Conservation & Sustainable Design, The Minto Group, about how important this park is to the neighbourhood.

Via the City of Toronto

Newinhomes (NIH): Can you tell us more about your role at Minto as Director - Conservation & Sustainable Design?

Wells Baker (WB): My role is to oversee the incorporation of sustainable design into both Minto’s new construction projects and existing building retrofits. Historically this has focused mainly on finding ways to improve the energy and water efficiency of residential buildings and to pursue 3rd party building certifications like LEED and ENERGY STAR.

NIH: Do you think more condo developers and builders in the GTA should have this job position? Why?

WB: We have found it very beneficial to have our own sustainability team. Buildings codes are getting better all the time and are requiring higher and higher levels of energy efficiency. We have found having an internal group of sustainability consultants, who really understand our past projects and what the company is trying to achieve, helps make it possible to stay ahead of code changes and build better performing buildings.

Via the City of Toronto

NIH: Being responsible for sustainable design at Minto, what was your first thought when you heard about the new Rail Deck Park?

WB: I was really excited to hear about the possibility of the new Rail Deck Park. Toronto has a lot going for it, especially when it comes to the incorporation of nature. It has an excellent waterfront, a host of small urban parks and really good tree coverage for such a large city, but in my opinion it has always been missing a really substantial park close to downtown.  

New York has Central Park, and Vancouver has Stanley Park, which provide urban dwellers with access to nature and usable outdoor space. It has been shown that having the ability to connect with nature is very important to mental and physical wellbeing.    

NIH: Why is this concept so exciting for purchasers at Minto Westside?

WB: This is perhaps, even more important to future residents at Minto Westside, which sits at the northwest corner of the proposed park. These condos already claim proximity to the island airport, restaurants and entertainment along King Street, and a grocery store as the ground floor retailer. The prospect of one day having such a large park right at their front doorstep makes living at Westside even more attractive.     

NIH: What does the City of Toronto need to do to make Rail Deck Park happen sooner rather than later?

WB: I can’t speak to technical aspects of building a park on top of rail lines. I expect it will be a very ambitious project, similar to Chicago’s Millennium Park, which will involve significant amount of money, design, engineering and cooperation between a large number of stakeholders.   

Learn more about Minto Westside

Minto Westside features a wide variety of units, with studio to three-bedroom floor plans, ranging up to 989 square feet. When construction started earlier this year, Minto moved their presentation centre to 700 King Street West (entrance off Bathurst).

Visit the new Condo Gallery Monday to Thursday from 12 pm to 7 pm or on the weekend from 12 pm to 5 pm. You can also call 437-836-8565 for more information.