Earlier this year, we highlighted East Bayfront as one of our best Up and Coming New Condo Neighbourhoods.  With the recent launch of Aquabella Condos, we got to spend some time in the area to see how far along it has come and we were blown away by the progress that has been made and we truly believe that this will become one of the best neighbourhoods in all of Toronto.

East Bayfront: At a Glance

Everything has been meticulously planned.  The public spaces are inviting and once the retail is added to the equation, we really feel like this area will explode.

Here is a run down of the top 6 reasons why we think East Bayfront will become one of the most sought after communities in all of Toronto.

1. It is a Master Planned Waterfront Community in a Downtown Setting

It is not unusual for a major City to be developed from the Waterfront out.  What that means is that prime waterfront areas are typically snapped up first and developed out (it’s one of the reasons why Redpath Sugar Factory occupies such a prime piece of land in Downtown Toronto – it was developed early from the waterfront).  It is so rare to be in a position to build a brand new waterfront from scratch this close to a Downtown Core.

What makes East Bayfront even more exciting is that there was a master plan for the area that wanted to achieve a number of specific goals.  A lot of time and energy was spent in trying to turn this area into a destination, which means public spaces that people in Toronto will want to go to, waterfront restaurants and cafes, brand new jobs and world class residential.

2. There is going to be a lot of Public Spaces

The public realm is one area that we think that East Bayfront has excelled.  There has been millions of dollars invested by both public money and private money from the developers giving back to the community.

Sugar Beach

Sugar Beach has become a major success story. Turning an old parking lot across from the Sugar Factory into an Urban beach sounded like a crazy idea, but with excellent design and by Claude Cormier + Associates (featuring the iconic pink umbrellas) they turned this into one of the most well used public spaces on Toronto’s Waterfront.

Sugar Beach will extend north as part of the brand new Lighthouse Tower Condominium and Offices by Daniels.

Waterfront Promenade

The other major area that will see a lot of investment is the brand new 1.5km waterside promenade – and they are not cheaping out on this. Brand new cobblestone work in the shape of the Maple Leaf, high end lighting, amazing wave-designed benches. This is the real deal and they’re putting huge amounts of funds into making sure they get this right.

The promenade is lined by cobblestone in a Maple Leaf pattern, high end lighting and uniquely designed wave chairs.

The promenade will stretch the entire length from Jarvis to Parliament and will be lined with restaurants and coffee shops.

Sherbourne Common Park

Sherbourne Common is a 3.6 acre park that stretches from Lakeshore to the Promenade and is the second signature park in East Bayfront. It features three dramatic art sculptures called “light showers” on the north side that will run along the west side of Monde Condos.

The southern section of Sherbourne Common sits alongside Aqualina Condos, the first phase of Tridel’s Bayside condominiums projects which is now under construction.

One of the goals of this section of the park was to make it a year round destination, highlighted by the large skating pavilion in the centre of the park, bringing people to the area all year round.

Aitken Place Park

Aitken Place Park will sit between Aquavista Condos and Aquabella Condos and will be developed by Tridel as part of the Bayside project.

The 0.75-acre park will offer opportunities for play and recreation, as well as quiet places to relax and enjoy waterfront views.

3. There is going to be brand new Retail

Retail is another very important element for this neighbourhood.  There are numerous re-development plans across Downtown Toronto that have failed at adding vibrant retail to the ground level, and as a result have created “lifeless” neighbourhoods.

The plans for East Bayfront have put retail at a priority from the get-go.  Every building in the new pocket is required to have double-height (18ft.) retail space at the ground level making the entire neighbourhood walkable and pedestrian friendly.

The slip is designed to maximize park front and waterfront retail spaces and we expect them to be lined with restaurants, cafes, boutiques in addition to the neighbourhood staples such as grocery stores.

Daniels have gone the extra mile with introducing amazing new retail to their development at Lighthouse Tower.  Dubbed “The Yard”, the retail component of their project has become a major selling feature and will connect four towers and will create a “community within a community”

4. There is going to be thousands of new Jobs

Another area that East Bayfront will excel is with exceptional new office space.  The neighbourhood will add 3 million sq.ft. of brand new office space that include:

• Corus Entertainment Head Quarters (already open)
• 2 Office Towers as part of the Daniels Waterfront Plan
• A brand new 375,000 sq.ft. Waterfront Innovation Centre by Menkes
• And much more

Menkes recently revealed the design for their brand new Innovation Centre, the latest prime office space in East Bayfront.

5. It is being developed by Toronto’s Top Developers

It is no coincidence that Toronto’s top developers were picked to develop this neighbourhood.  The four major developers involved in bringing new residential and commercial towers to this community including:

• Great Gulf
• Tridel
• Menkes
• Daniels

All four are at the top of the development food chain and each have extensive expertise in building master planned communities.  Menkes are also one of the leading commercial developers with a huge portfolio of office towers throughout Toronto, including the Telus Tower at York & Lakeshore.

6. There is going to be World Class Residential Condominiums

The quality of the new condominiums in this neighbourhood are as good as anything you will find across the City and speak to where the developers see this neighbourhood going in the future.  Towers are designed by world renowned architects (including Moshe Safdie and 3XN Architects) and feature unique suites that reach over $4 million.

The major developments in this area include:

• Monde Condominiums by Great Gulf Homes
• Lighthouse Tower by Daniels
• Lighthouse East Tower by Daniels
• Aqualina Condos by Tridel
• Aquavista Condos by Tridel
• Aquabella Condos by Tridel

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