Mar 27 2015
Today, The Daniels Corporation’s Senior Vice President Tom Dutton, Mayor John Tory, internationally recognized urban design expert Ken Greenberg and leading Toronto arts and cultural organizations unveiled plans for Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts, a sweeping reimagining of the former Guvernment entertainment complex at Toronto’s East Bayfront located at the corner of Lower Jarvis St. and Queens Quay East.
Daniels Corporation - City of the Arts - Northwest View
Dutton outlined the company’s vision for this groundbreaking new community, which is one of the first private-sector developments within the city’s East Bayfront, and the first to be built on privately owned land at a projected total cost of $700,000,000. This dynamic new community, at the gateway to East Bayfront, will become a fully connected destination that will enhance Toronto’s position as an internationally recognized city of arts, culture and innovation, and be home to a broad spectrum of media platforms, and will nurture established and start-up businesses and artists.
The Daniels Corporation has a legacy for creating landmark communities such as TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower at King and John Streets, as well as Daniels Spectrum and the Regent Park Revitalization in Toronto’s Downtown East. The organization champions investments in the arts, social programs and innovation-focused projects, and includes artistic components within all of their communities.
The Guvernment Nightclub was an iconic entertainment venue that helped many artists get their start, so it’s fitting that Daniels’ vision for this new community pays homage to the sites artistic roots and expands on that tradition with the introduction of leading arts and cultural organizations who will anchor the ‘City of the Arts’ in the coming years. They include Artscape, a non-profit development organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities; talent management firm Last Gang Entertainment; Manifesto, a non-profit organization responsible for one of Canada’s largest celebrations of hip hop culture; The Remix Project, a non-profit that helps under privileged youth launch careers in the creative sector, and entertainment law firm Taylor Klein Oballa LLP, which is one of Canada’s leading entertainment law firms, representing music royalty from Gordon Lightfoot to Drake.
Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts is bordered by Lakeshore Boulevard to the north, Richardson Street to the east, Queens Quay to the south, and Lower Jarvis Street to the west. Daniels’ vision is taking the ongoing revitalization of the eastern waterfront to the next level, with a 1,320,000 square foot ‘live-work-play-learn-create’ community that combines significant office, retail, residential, academic and cultural components within two phases on the site.
Plans for Phase One (south parcel) include:
- 280,000 square feet of commercial office space in two towers that will become home to mainstream businesses, including The Daniels Corporation’s headquarters.
- 150,000 square foot ‘Creative Industries Hub’ that will house leading arts and cultural organizations, some of which were announced this morning.
- 27,000 square feet of retail space, including an RBC branch, as well as local and national brand stores, restaurants and coffee shops.
Plans for Phase Two (north parcel) include:
- 650,000 square feet of residential space, with more than 900 suites in two towers. The 48-storey Lighthouse Tower will offer residents an exclusive connectivity package to the arts across the City.
- 240,000 square feet of post-secondary academic space. The Daniels Corporation is working with George Brown College and OCAD University, who are considering a potential collaboration on a centre for innovation and commercialization within this community.
Daniels worked closely with Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto to ensure that the design for this community exceeds the Bayside Urban Design Guidelines for the East Bayfront revitalization. To achieve this, Daniels enlisted two architectural firms to help frame the overall composition of the site. Giannone Petricone Associates Inc. designed the academic component and the two residential towers, and RAW Design created the office and retail components.
Ken Greenberg of Greenberg Consultants, an internationally celebrated urban design expert, was engaged to establish urban design and public realm principles to ensure that Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts will be a landmark gateway to the East Bayfront.
Claude Cormier + Associates, landscape architect for Canada’s Sugar Beach, has designed Sugar Beach North at Daniels Waterfront. This extension of Sugar Beach will be an active public amenity for outdoor gatherings of music, dance, and celebration. Uniting the north and south parcels of the site will be another important public amenity called ‘The Yard’. An east-west pedestrian connection between Lower Jarvis and Richardson Streets, ‘The Yard’ takes its inspiration from London’s trendy Brick Lane neighbourhood, and will include retail, cafés and restaurants as well as festivals and special events.
Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts is connected to the past and to the future, to the lake, to the city, and most importantly to the arts.
Demolition of the Guvernment nightclub is nearing completion, and construction on the south parcel is scheduled to begin this May, with the first commercial office tenants slated to take occupancy in spring 2018. The 48-storey Lighthouse Tower will be released for sale this fall.