Today, the City of Toronto and CreateTO announced the Kilmer Group and Tricon Residential (Kilmer-Tricon) as the preferred proponents for the redevelopment of the City-owned sites at 610 Bay St. and 130 Elizabeth St. – home to the decommissioned Toronto Coach Terminal.
News Release:
City of Toronto and CreateTO announce development partners and vision for the historic Toronto Coach Terminal site
The properties will be redeveloped into a mixed-income, mixed-use development including affordable housing, a new Toronto Paramedic Services hub and employment opportunities with a focus on innovative uses that take advantage of the unique location within the city’s Discovery District. The redevelopment will also include the adaptive reuse of the existing heritage building as well as streetscape improvements.
Consisting of two towers with residential, retail and public space, the development will be a 100 per cent purpose-built rental project, delivering 873 new homes including 290 affordable rental homes.
The design vision for the site, led by award-winning architectural firms Studio Gang, architects-Alliance and Smoke Architecture, with landscape design by CCxA, is rooted in the Indigenous principle of the Seven Directions. The goal is to create a complete community that puts people first, invigorates the surrounding area and creates tree-lined public spaces that connect the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Additional project features include:
- adaptive reuse of the heritage Toronto Coach Terminal and bus bays
- a new 23,000-square-foot Toronto Paramedic Services Hub that will provide vital emergency support to surrounding communities
- a partnership with University Health Network which intends to operate a state-of-the-art organ repair centre for heart, lung, kidney and liver transplants
- affordable housing partnerships with the University Health Network, and the Hospital Workers’ Housing Co-operative to provide housing options for essential hospital workers and their families, as well as Woodgreen Community Services, the March of Dimes and Wigwamen
- a new public plaza positioned between the two buildings, which will create an urban oasis and incorporate a series of ‘outdoor rooms’
- a geothermal district energy system and sustainable building design, exceeding the requirements of the Toronto Green Standard and the Canadian Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Design Certification.
Completion of construction and leasing of rental homes at 610 Bay St. is expected in first quarter of 2029 and in Q1 2030 for 130 Elizabeth St.
The properties at 610 Bay St. and 130 Elizabeth St. were selected for redevelopment through the ModernTO program adopted by Toronto City Council in October 2019 and are part of eight high-value City-owned sites identified as being currently underutilized, with opportunities to unlock value and address City needs.
More information about this project can be found on the CreateTO website.
Quotes:
“We need to build more affordable homes in Toronto. That’s why I am so pleased that this project will transform the former Toronto Coach Terminal into not only new rental and affordable housing, but a thriving hub with healthcare facilities and space for small business to start and grow. This project sets a high bar for how we can build more homes, while celebrating our City’s history and embracing Indigenous knowledge as we build new communities.”
– Mayor Olivia Chow
“It’s truly encouraging to see this project deliver essential services such a Paramedics hub, and an organ care centre through the UHN partnership, along with critical housing options for frontline workers and others looking to house themselves in the downtown core. 610 Bay St. will be a model initiative that combines heritage, sustainability and much-needed services, while addressing the growing housing need in Toronto. I look forward to seeing this thoughtfully designed building and the surrounding space becoming a reality.”
– Councillor Dianne Saxe (University-Rosedale)
“The Toronto Coach Terminal has always been a place of connections and CreateTO is proud to see that continue as this beautiful heritage building is redeveloped as part of a mixed-use community. Our team has worked with our colleagues at the City and Kilmer-Tricon to ensure this project honours the site’s history, enriches the downtown core and makes Toronto a better place to live, work and enjoy.”
– Vic Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, CreateTO
“We are thrilled that the Kilmer-Tricon Partnership has been selected by the City of Toronto and CreateTO as their development partner for the city’s first ModernTO site at 610 Bay Street and 130 Elizabeth Street. This is an important city building opportunity in the core of the city, and we look forward to working with our partners to deliver urgently-needed affordable rental housing, a centralized paramedics hub, commercial space to support the surrounding Discovery District and much more. We will do this by preserving and revitalizing an important heritage asset and transform it into a landmark all Torontonians will be proud of.”
– Ken Tanenbaum, Vice-Chairman, Kilmer Group
“We are incredibly proud to partner with the City of Toronto to increase the supply of rental housing in the Discovery District. The Kilmer-Tricon Partnership has a demonstrated track record of partnering with all three levels of government to deliver innovative, large-scale, mixed-income rental communities where all residents thrive, and the Coach Terminal redevelopment will add new, much-needed affordable units to Toronto’s most important technology and health sciences cluster.”
– Andrew Joyner, Managing Director, Head of Multi-family, Tricon Residential
CreateTO was formed in 2018 as the City of Toronto’s real estate agency. The organization brings together stakeholders, partners and community members to ensure the best use of the City’s real estate assets for today and tomorrow. CreateTO manages the City’s $27 billion real estate portfolio, develops City buildings and lands for municipal purposes and delivers client focused real estate solutions – ensuring a balance of both community and economic benefits to build the city we love. More information is available on the CreateTO website.
Toronto is home to more than three million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation and climate action, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on X, Instagram or Facebook.
Media contacts:
Media Relations, City of Toronto, [email protected]
Media Relations, CreateTO, [email protected]
Media Relations, Kilmer-Tricon, [email protected]