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Redevelopment Coming to Toronto Coach Terminal

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CreateTO has shortlisted seven proponents for the 610 Bay Street project

Once a bustling and central transportation hub in the city, the Toronto Coach Terminal has been decommissioned since mid-2021 after nearly a century in use. Since then, the outdated and abandoned block at the corner of Bay and Dundas Street West has been left in the hands of the city for potential redevelopment with little promise in sight. Until now.

On behalf of the City of Toronto, municipal real estate agency CreateTO has announced plans for an official redevelopment expected to repurpose the 610 Bay Street lot to deliver a range of “city-building priorities.” The vision for the property is to redevelop both sites into a mixed-income, mixed-use development prioritizing the creation of affordable housing, the delivery of a Paramedic Services Multi-Hub and the inclusion of office uses associated with the life science and biomedical sectors consistent with the site’s close proximity to the city’s Health Sciences District.

Along with streetscape improvements to Edward and Elizabeth streets, an additional requirement for the redevelopment is the preservation of the site’s existing heritage building, holding account to the city’s commitment to its historical roots and contrasting the less-forgiving treatment of other beloved landmarks.

Bay Street, Toronto

Rendering courtesy of Cicada Design.

For an area of the city’s downtown core in desperate need of new life, the revival project cannot come soon enough. While a developer for the Toronto Coach Terminal redevelopment won’t be selected until fall 2023, the shortlist of proponents promises an exciting change to one of the city’s most-central heritage sites. In alphabetical order, the list includes Capital Developments, Hines Canada, Kilmer Group & EllisDon Inc., MOD Developments, TAS Developments, Tricon Residential, Tridel Group and Woodbourne Capital Management.

“This is a special site. Given the heritage and prominent location, CreateTO has known from the outset that the redevelopment of these properties calls for a unique vision that will push the envelope when it comes to mixed-use development,” says CreateTO CEO Vic Gupta.”The proximity to the city’s Health Sciences District provides an opportunity to develop a multi-use community that will enrich the lives of Torontonians and I look forward to the results of the market offering.” CREATETO.CA

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Okay, but it clearly is

For the first 16 years of my life, the bat cave at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)—a reconstruction of an actual cave in Jamaica—was among my favourite places in the city. The cave was decorated with cast stalactites and wax bat models, which hung from the ceiling and threw jagged shadows on the walls. A few other features imbued it with spooky verisimilitude: the drip-drip-drip sound effects, the mirrors arranged to create the illusion of infinite depth, the strobe lights strategically placed to make the shadows flutter. When I visited as a five-year-old, the bat cave scared me. When I visited as a stoned fifteen-year-old, it scared me even more. Then came the renovation.

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