Development Pipeline

The Development Pipeline bulletin (2022 Q2) examines how and where the city has grown over the past five years and how it will continue to develop in the near future.

Toronto is Canada’s most populous city, the focal point of development and growth, and the heart of the Greater Toronto Area.

For many years now, Toronto has experienced a surge of both residential and non-residential growth. 

  • Staff Report from the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning on Development Pipeline 2022 (February 13, 2023).
  • Presentation from the Planning, Research and Analytics staff, presented to Planning and Housing Committee on February 28, 2023.
  • Addendum from the Planning, Research and Analytics staff, prepared in response questions from Planning and Housing Committee on February 28, 2023.

Toronto is growing with strong development prospects helping to bring more people and jobs into the City.

  • 717,327 residential units and 14,484,961 square metres of non-residential gross floor area (GFA) were proposed, representing all projects with development activity between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022.
  • There are 167,599 more residential units and 1,096,666 square metres more non-residential GFA in the five-year pipeline window to 2021 compared to the 2020 Q4 pipeline.
  • There are 613,689 residential units that are either Under Review or Active. If all of these proposed residential units were eventually approved and built, the total number of dwellings in the city would increase by over one half.
  • In total, the Development Pipeline could represent a potential population of 1,213,000 people. This would be equivalent of growing Toronto’s population by over 40 per cent.
  • 103,638 new residential units were constructed between 2017 and June 30, 2022.
  • 203,793 residential units and 5,483,875 square metres of non-residential GFA are in active projects that have received at least one Planning approval but have not yet been built.
  • 91 per cent of new residential development is proposed in areas targeted for growth by the City’s Official Plan including Secondary Plan Areas.
  • 84 per cent of new non-residential development is proposed in areas targeted for growth by the City’s Official Plan including Employment Areas.
  • The Downtown and Central Waterfront area is the main location for proposed residential development with 25 per cent of the residential units and 34 per cent of the non-residential GFA proposed in the city.
  • Secondary Plan areas contain proposals for 71 per cent of the residential units and 69 per cent of the non-residential GFA proposed citywide.
  • As of June 30, 2022, City Planning had already approved more units in 2022 than in the whole year prior.
  • Considering only projects which have received a Notice of Approval Conditions (NOAC) for a Site Plan Control application, the City approved an average of 22,823 residential units per year between 2017 and 2021; an additional 6,840 residential units on average or a total of 143 per cent of the average annual production through the Pipeline.
  • City Council approved an average of 29,726 residential units per year between 2017 and 2021, while 15,983 units on average were built annually. This is 186 per cent of the average annual number of units built.
  • City Council approved an average of 22,823 residential units per year on projects that have received a Notice of Approval Conditions on their Site Plan Control applications between 2017 and 2021. This is 143 per cent of the average annual number of units built

The map and chart below show proposed units in development projects with activity between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022. Built Projects are those which became ready for occupancy and/or were completed. Active projects are those which have been approved, for which building permits have been applied or have been issued, and/or those which are under construction. Projects under review have not yet been approved or refused, or are under appeal.

The technology to convert the maps on this page to an accessible format is not currently available. These maps may not be compatible with screen reader software. If you are unable to access these maps please contact Hailey Toft, City Planning, cityplanning@toronto.ca, 416-392-8343.

City of Toronto Proposed Residential Development

This map shows residential projects as graduated dots with their size based on the number of units they contain. Residential projects in all statuses are concentrated in Downtown, the Centres and along the Avenues throughout the city. For more information, contact Hailey Toft at 416-392-9787 or hailey.toft@toronto.ca.

 

This bar chart shows that 74% of under review, 87% of active, and 89% of built units are proposed in the growth areas of the city. Source: City of Toronto, City Planning Division, Land Use Information System II. For more information, contact Hailey Toft at 416-392-9787 or hailey.toft@toronto.ca.

The map and chart below show proposed non-residential GFA in development projects with activity between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2022. Built Projects are those which became ready for occupancy and/or were completed. Active projects are those which have been approved, for which building permits have been applied or have been issued, and/or those which are under construction. Projects under review have not yet been approved or refused, or are under appeal.

The technology to convert the maps on this page to an accessible format is not currently available. These maps may not be compatible with screen reader software. If you are unable to access these maps please contact Hailey Toft, City Planning, cityplanning@toronto.ca, 416-392-8343.

City of Toronto Proposed Non-Residential Development

This map shows non-residential projects as graduated hexagons with their size based on the amount of non-residential GFA they propose. Source: City of Toronto, City Planning Division, Land Use Information System II. For more information, contact Hailey Toft at 416-392-9787 or hailey.toft@toronto.ca.

 

This bar chart shows that 77% of under review, 88% of active, and 90% of built non-residential GFA are proposed in the growth areas of the city, including Employment Areas. Source: City of Toronto, City Planning Division, Land Use Information System II. For more information, contact Hailey Toft at 416-392-9787 or hailey.toft@toronto.ca.
Employment Areas outside of Downtown, Centres, Avenues, and Other Mixed Use Areas only. All Other Areas in this figure excludes Employment Areas.

Toronto’s Official Plan came into force in June 2006 and has subsequently undergone a number of thematic amendments to bring it into conformity with the Growth Plan and the Provincial Policy Statement. The Official Plan is the guide for development in the city over the coming decades. Its central geographic theme is to direct growth to appropriate areas given their access to transit and other community services and facilities and away from the city’s stable residential neighbourhoods and green spaces.

The locations recognized as being most appropriate for growth are those identified in the Official Plan’s Urban Structure Map as Avenues, Centres and the Downtown as well as other areas in the city designated as Mixed Use Areas and Employment Areas.