The City is working in partnership with Waterfront Toronto to deliver a new 9,600m2 park at 318 Queens Quay W., referred to as Rees Street Park, on Toronto’s Central Waterfront. An extensive community engagement process determined the program elements and project scope and was used to refine the construction budget and inform the international design completion, which occurred in 2018. An objective of the park design is to connect a series of detached spaces on the north side of Queens Quay.
The timeline is subject to change
Information about this project is also available on the Waterfront Toronto website.
The design team is working through revisions to the schematic design in collaboration with Waterfront Toronto since the park design no longer needs to accommodate a future storm shaft. The detailed design is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023.
Waterfront Toronto will be hosting community engagement events in 2023 to collect additional public and stakeholder feedback on the design and programming of the park.
In late 2022, Toronto Water confirmed that a storm shaft was no longer required in the park design. The preliminary schematic design that included a storm shaft was presented to the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel (DRP) in late 2022.
An international design competition was conducted for the park design, which was funded by the City and led in partnership with Waterfront Toronto. Communication and engagement with the public was a key component of the design competition. A Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) comprised of local residents, businesses, and neighbourhood groups and a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of City Staff met at key points during the competition to provide advice and feedback to the project team and the competition jury.
Shortlisted proposals were displayed online and at Toronto City Hall, allowing the community to review the proposals and provide feedback. The feedback was summarized and shared with the competition jury for consideration in addition to Advisory Committee reports.
The winning team, WHY Architecture and Brook Mcllroy, was announced in October 2018.
A workshop was held with local stakeholder organizations to identify priorities key themes and needs for the future park. It was intended that meeting outcomes would establish preliminary park themes and program to guide discussions at future public events. Collectively, all public input and meeting outcomes will inform the call for design services.
Many thanks to all who attended the first public consultation event, held at the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre.
Below are the materials shared at the event:
Creating a park at this location is consistent with the emerging priorities of the TOCore study which recognizes the need for additional parks and place-making in growing communities. The site can be accessed by the Martin Goodman Trail, is situated within walking distance of the Peter Street Slip and Lake Ontario and is nearby waterfront parks including HTO Park East + West, Toronto Music Garden, Harbourfront Centre, and Spadina/Rees/Simcoe Wave Decks.
The consultant, WHY Architects and Brook McIIroy, has been selected through an international design competition process in 2018. The objective for the design is to connect a series of detached spaces on the north side of Queens Quay.
The design elements for the park include:
Using a combination of fun recreational uses for kids and adults who want to relax, meet up with friends and play together, the design supports spontaneous and un-programmed year-round activities focused on community-building and other recreational activities.