Toronto’s Brownfields Are a Golden Opportunity
Sidewalk Labs is redeveloping the Toronto Port Lands into a futuristic city.
Toronto has a reputation for tearing down old buildings and propping up new condominiums in their place. However, this isn’t the case with Quayside: a neighbourhood that is being developed by Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs in partnership with Waterfront Toronto.
In fact, Quayside sits on brownfield land. Brownfield land is previously developed land that is currently vacant, abandoned, or under-utilized and whose redevelopment is complicated by potential contamination from past or present industrial activities. The area that Sidewalk Toronto will be redeveloping is known as the Toronto Port Lands. This 1000-acre district along the waterfront was developed for industry in the 1880s. Then, global deindustrialization during the 1970s led to the abandonment of the Port Lands and its contaminated brownfields have been the target of redevelopment efforts since.
Redeveloping brownfields is a lengthy and difficult process complicated by bureaucratic and logistical challenges. The Port Lands lie within a flood zone and it is poorly linked to the City of Toronto’s road, transit, and wastewater collection networks. There are massive investments in infrastructure required to redevelop the area and the project is further complicated by the fragmented ownership of Toronto’s brownfields.
The potential contamination of the land is another major concern. Past industrial activities could leave traces of toxic substances in the Port Lands, like lead, arsenic, asbestos, and petroleum hydrocarbons.
Although much of the Port Lands has been subject to redevelopment efforts, many areas still need work. Earlier this year, the annual Toronto Waterfront Night Market was due to take place at the Hearn Generating Station, a decommissioned power plant in the Port Lands. Chaos ensued when Toronto Fire Services declared the building unsafe for public events and warned that there were “serious deficiencies and breaches of the Ontario Fire Code.”
This leaves us with the question: with these obstacles, why bother redeveloping these areas in the first place? Well, the redevelopment of brownfields would remediate the land and eliminate the risks that they pose to both human health and the environment. There are also numerous economic benefits that will result from the revitalization of unproductive land.
Redevelopment of the Port Lands promotes sustainable urban development through urban intensification. Since brownfields have been previously developed, their redevelopment accommodates urban growth without disrupting greenfield land. The revitalization of the Port Lands has the potential to generate huge environmental, social, and economic benefits. Productive land allows for income-generating activities, which increases the government’s tax revenue. Putting brownfield land back into use reduces urban sprawl, creates more housing in cities, and establishes areas of ecological value, like parks, trails, and other recreational spaces. It’s good news for homeowners as well: these green spaces have been proven to increase the value of surrounding properties.
In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and Mayor John Tory committed $1.2 billion in funding for a seven-year flood protection project in the Toronto Port Lands on behalf of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. This project will also clean up contaminated soil, unlock underused industrial land for development, establish 14-hectares of new aquatic habitats and wetlands, and create more than 1,000 metres of naturalized river valley. Municipal infrastructure, including roads, water mains, storm sewers, and three new bridges, will be built and the Lake Shore Boulevard bridge will be extended to create a wider opening over the Don River in order to prevent flooding. According to Tory, the project will “unlock the potential of under-utilized waterfront lands, protect the area from flooding and support Toronto’s long-term growth by creating new parks, natural areas, and mixed-use neighbourhoods.”
And it’s not just governments that see the benefits of redeveloping brownfields, which brings us to Sidewalk Labs’ $64 million investment in Quayside. The proximity of the Port Lands to the city centre and the waterfront will make Quayside a very attractive neighbourhood to live. Toronto is growing fast and the city is getting denser, so when the Port Lands are revitalized and the vision of Sidewalk Toronto is realized, major economic benefits will be reaped.
