The City of Toronto and the Ontario government have partnered up to build transit-adjacent developments, known as transit-oriented communities (TOCs), near five Ontario Line stations.
In a series of press releases, both governments announced on April 12th that they would be collaborating on TOCs at five of the Ontario Line’s future stations, which includes East Harbour, Corktown-First Parliament, Queen-Spadina, King-Bathurst and Exhibition.
“The Ontario government is seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build complete communities around transit,” said Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure. “We have worked tirelessly with the City of Toronto and our private sector partner to reach this exciting milestone, and we look forward to transforming these communities to include transit facilities, while also ensuring compatibility with surrounding neighbourhoods and creating benefits for families and businesses for generations to come.”
According to the City of Toronto, the City signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2020 with the Province that detailed mutual objectives for the TOCs. At its recent meeting on April 6th, City Council approved the terms for eight TOC proposals spanning from the Exhibition station to the Corktown station, and directed staff to “conclude negotiations with the Province.”
The Ontario Line broke ground in late March at Exhibition Station. When complete, the 15.6-kilometre stretch of surface, elevated and underground tracks will deliver 15 new stations running northeast up to the Ontario Science Centre.
“Building more transit-oriented communities will be good for this city and good for our residents,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “As our governments move ahead with new transit projects, we must recognize the opportunities that exist to build more housing and public spaces and create places for people to work around transit stations.”
Plans move forward for East Harbour station
In addition to four of the Ontario Line stations, the provincial government says that it has signed an agreement with developer Cadillac Fairview to build a mixed-use TOC at the future East Harbour station, which is located in the southeast portion of the future transit line.
The East Harbour site spans 38 acres and will be home to future residential, parkland and amenity space plus 10 million square feet of commercial facilities with capacity for 50,000 jobs. Nine commercial buildings and nine residential buildings with 4,300 units will be included in the TOC. As a multi-modal transit hub, East Harbour would provide connections to the GO train, TTC light rail transit, the Ontario Line and a future SmartTrack station.
Toronto’s City Council has approved the major terms of agreement with the Ontario government and Cadillac Fairview regarding East Harbour, which includes requirements for 215 affordable rental units for a 99-year period, two child care facilities and a community recreation centre in addition to “other investments in community services and infrastructure in the area to support the East Harbour development.”
The four other Ontario Line TOCs that will be moving ahead will deliver approximately 2,640 units of housing between them, plus new public spaces, bicycle parking spots and street improvements.
“Our government is addressing the housing supply crisis head-on,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark. “This announcement is a testament to the strong partnership between our government and the City of Toronto. Today’s Minister’s Zoning Orders will help support transit-oriented communities while building approximately 7,000 much-needed new homes for Ontarians and their families.”
