Spotlight: Toronto Chapter Walking Tour

By Joanne Vacheresse, CLO

In mid-August, members of the REIC Toronto Chapter and its Board of Directors participated in a walking tour of the Concord CityPlace neighbourhood.

The tour started with an overview of the master planned development by Gabriel Leung, Vice President of Development at Concord Adex. Following this, Joanne Vacheresse, CLO, Manager, Commercial Leasing presented the community’s commercial retail tenant mix, leasing strategy and integration of retail which has further enhanced the vibrancy at CityPlace.

The recently approved CityPlace and Fork York Business Improvement Area (BIA) was highlighted by Andrea McKittrick, Coordinator, Commercial Leasing, who spoke about its short and long term objectives. After a day of taking in the impressive sights on the walking tour, the group gathered at Hunters Landing for a social networking function. It was a very beautiful day for a tour, as the stunning photos will reflect, and overall it was a tremendously successful event.

Highlights of the tour included:

Sobeys – This anchor tenant boasts the first Nutella Café in Canada, with second-highest organic food sales in Ontario. It is the highest performing store in the district.

Canoe Landing Park – An urban park designed by Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg in collaboration with Landscape Architects, The Planning Partnership of Toronto, art consultant Karen Mills and Canadian artist Douglas Coupland. It features numerous pieces of public art works and a one-mile run called the Terry Fox Mile.

Spectra and Quartz – A pair of multi-faceted residential condominium buildings located adjacent to Canoe Landing Park. These soaring towers display the distinct permeability of the CityPlace design.

Puente de Luz Bridge – The “bridge of light”, designed by Chilean artist Francisco Gazitua, serves as functional public art connecting Front Street West to CityPlace.

Iceboat Terrace – The city’s first Privately Owned Publicly- Accessible Space (POPS) is located below the Parade towers at CityPlace.

CityPlace and Fort York BIA – The BIA will assist local businesses and property owners to achieve several objectives, including organizing festivals and events to draw attention to CityPlace and Fort York. •

Photos by Laura Rossi