TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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.
“Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts will become a fully connected
destination, at the gateway to the East Bayfront, enhancing Toronto’s
position as an internationally recognized city of arts, culture and
innovation. Daniels vision is taking the ongoing revitalization of the
eastern waterfront to the next level, with a groundbreaking
‘live-work-play-learn-create’ community that combines significant
office, retail, residential, academic and cultural components. 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. 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.” Tom
Dutton, Senior Vice President, The Daniels Corporation
"The revitalization of our waterfront is one of Toronto’s most exciting and challenging urban renewal projects. The Daniels Corporations 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.” John Tory, Mayor of Toronto
“Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts is a strong sign that waterfront revitalization is well underway. The fact that this site was appealing to The Daniels Corporation speaks to the work that Waterfront Toronto and its partners have done in planning the East Bayfront community and in building out the important parks, public spaces and critical infrastructure that attract private-sector investment in the waterfront. I’m particularly pleased that this development is focused on providing needed space for Toronto’s important arts and culture sector, which will help to make East Bayfront a more attractive place to live, work and play and also support one of the City’s important economic sectors.” John Campbell, President & CEO, Waterfront Toronto
“Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts represents the next great step in city building in the East Bayfront. 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.” Ken Greenberg, Principal, Greenberg Consultants Inc.
“George Brown College and OCAD University are excited to pursue new programs and student pathways together, and are considering a potential collaboration on a centre for innovation and commercialization within Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts community. This partnership would leverage the significant investment that has already been made in Toronto’s waterfront and offer programs that directly serve the labour market needs of the design, arts and digital media sectors that are emerging as key drivers of Ontario’s economy.” Anne Sado, President, George Brown College and Dr. Sara Diamond, President, OCAD University
“Artscape is proud to continue its partnership with The Daniels Corporation in this exciting development, which will bring increased vitality to the East Bayfront and provide space for the arts and culture to grow and expand in Toronto. We’re delighted to be moving our headquarters to the Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts where we’ll be situated among some of the city’s most dynamic organizations and institutions, as well as working on a new venture to be unveiled at a later date.” Celia Smith, President, Artscape
“Manifesto and The Remix Project are thrilled to partner with The Daniels Corporation to create our new home in Daniels Waterfront – City of the Arts. This space will become the centre of gravity for youth, arts, culture and creative industries in Canada. Daniels investment in this project is not simply an investment in our organizations, but rather an investment in Toronto’s future as a global cultural leader.” Che Kothar and Derek “Drex” Jancar, Manifesto & The Remix Project, Co-Chairs of the Convergence Campaign
THE DANIELS CORPORATION:
The Daniels Corporation is one of
Canada’s pre-eminent builder/developers, building more than 25,000 new
homes across the Greater Toronto Area for over 33 years. Daniels has
been named Tarion Warranty Corporation’s ‘Ontario High Rise Builder of
the Year’, and a recipient of the Toronto Arts and Business Award
presented by the Toronto Arts Foundation. Among its many initiatives,
Daniels was chosen to partner with Toronto Community Housing to
revitalize Regent Park – 69 acres in the heart of Toronto’s Downtown
East. Daniels’ newest mixed-use community, Daniels Waterfront – City of
the Arts, is coming soon to the corner of Lower Jarvis and Queens Quay
in Toronto’s East Bayfront community. This innovative development will
offer over 1.3 million square feet of space to live, work, learn, play
and create, including unique office, retail, commercial, academic and
residential opportunities that will change Toronto’s waterfront forever.
Committed to community, Daniels offers innovative programs that help
people achieve homeownership, champions investments in the arts, social
programs and innovation-focused projects, and supports numerous
charities and non-profit organizations. www.danielshomes.ca
CITY OF TORONTO:
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the
fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of
about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance,
arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most
livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan
American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency
City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors
can visit toronto.ca,
call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms
GREENBERG CONSULTANTS INC.:
Greenberg Consultants applies
creative problem solving to managing change in all aspects of city
building and re-building including land use, built form and public
space, municipal infrastructure, transportation and environment. At the
core of this practice is a deep commitment to improving the lives of
people at every level of society. This value has shaped a unique
methodology body of work in which urban design goes beyond form to
create a context for social connection, economic vitality, and
environmental sustainability; in which the specific and authentic
qualities of the local place focus and ground design strategies; in
which public and private interests cooperate across traditional
boundaries to create mutual benefit for their cities; and in which the
examined interaction of infrastructure, individual parcels and blocks,
and the public realm sets a liberating context for great architectural
and landscape design. www.greenbergconsultants.com
WATERFRONT TORONTO:
The Governments of Canada and Ontario
and the City of Toronto created Waterfront Toronto to oversee and lead
the renewal of Toronto's waterfront. Public accessibility, design
excellence, sustainable development, economic development and fiscal
sustainability are the key drivers of waterfront revitalization.
Toronto's new waterfront communities will use technology to enhance
quality of life and create economic opportunity for the citizens of
Toronto, helping to keep the city competitive with major urban centres
around the world for business, jobs and talent. www.waterfrontoronto.ca
ARTSCAPE:
Artscape will relocate its headquarters to Daniels
Waterfront – City of the Arts and is also working on a new project for
the area, which will be unveiled at a later date. Artscape is a
not-for-profit urban development organization that makes space for
creativity and transforms communities. Its work involves clustering
creative people together in real estate projects that serve the needs of
the arts and cultural community and advance multiple public policy
objectives, private development interests, community and neighbourhood
aspirations and philanthropic missions. Since its beginning in 1986,
Artscape has become recognized as an international leader in creative
placemaking, a practice that leverages the power of art, culture and
creativity to catalyze change, growth and transformation in communities.
The organization is known for its community cultural hubs Daniels
Spectrum, Artscape Youngplace, Artscape Wychwood Barns and Artscape
Gibraltar Point, as well as its multi-purpose creative spaces Artscape
Distillery Studios and the Parkdale Arts & Cultural Centre and artist
live/work developments Artscape West Queen West and Artscape Triangle
Lofts. Artscape also works constantly to expand its portfolio, share its
expertise and advance the field of creative placemaking, offering
training, mentoring and coaching, and learning opportunities through its
Creative Placemaking Lab. www.artscape.ca
THE REMIX PROJECT:
The Remix Project was created in order to
help level the playing field for young people from disadvantaged,
marginalized and underserved communities. Our programs and services
serve youth who are trying to enter into the creative industries or
further their formal education. The REMIX Project also provides
top-notch alternative, creative, educational programs, facilitators and
facilities. Our mission is to help refine the raw talents of young
people from across the GTA in order to help them find success as
participants define it and on their own terms. www.theremixproject.com
MANIFESTO:
Founded in 2007, the award-winning Manifesto
Festival of Community & Culture is one of Canada’s biggest celebrations
of hip hop culture and beyond – a multi-disciplinary, world-class
festival with a positive social and economic impact. But we’re more than
just a festival. Manifesto is a non-profit, youth-powered platform
designed to put local artists on the map and unite, inspire and empower
diverse communities of young people through arts and culture,
year-round. Our programs aim to cultivate multi-disciplinary artistic
and professional development for young people and artists across
mediums. Building careers, fostering community connections and fuelling
civic pride – all while contributing to the vitality of the city we
love. www.mnfsto.com
TAYLOR KLEIN OBALLA LLP:
Taylor Klein Oballa LLP is one of
Canada’s leading entertainment law firms representing music royalty from
Gordon Lightfoot to Drake, Academy Award winning producers, new media
pioneers, and television personalities like George Stroumboulopoulos and
Liz Trinnear. The firm is counsel to global music publishing powerhouse,
ole, as well as influential music company, Slaight Music. www.tkolawyers.com
LAST GANG ENTERTAINMENT:
Last Gang Entertainment is
Toronto’s #1 independent music company with offices in Toronto, Los
Angeles and London with sales of over 2,000,000 albums. The company is
responsible for launching the careers of cool alternative/electronic
acts like Metric, Death From Above 1979, and Crystal Castles. Their
management roster includes award-winning acts Lights and Lindi Ortega
among others. www.lastgangentertainment.com
