Safdie Architects has shared its design for ORCA Toronto, a proposed mixed-use development in Downtown Toronto that weaves together the surrounding neighborhoods with a new 10.5-acre park.
By decking over the 100-meter-wide, 800-meter-long rail corridor leading to Union Station, the project looks to reclaim a 16.5-acre site just west of CN Tower. Of the 16.5 acres, 10.5 acres are available for an urban park with six acres that feature residential, office, hotel, retail, and transit facilities.
Safdie’s design features a configuration of slender residential towers connected by elevated bridges that accommodate housing units, gardens, and recreational facilities. Pedestrian bridges will connect the towers and create special public and community amenities. The shared indoor and outdoor amenities will exist at multiple levels and encourage interaction among residents, fostering a sense of community.
The design will also activate 65% of the site’s area through a multilevel park. The park, designed in collaboration with PWP Landscape Architecture, will feature open lawns, playgrounds, walking trails, and bike baths that are accessible by ramps, escalators, and elevators interwoven throughout the development.
Shops, restaurants, and cafes will be directly connected with the park’s outdoor areas on several levels. The retail galleria seamlessly integrates with the park and is designed to be opened to the park in good weather and enclosed during the winter months. Direct access for pedestrians and bicyclists will be provided on all North-South cross streets to allow free movement from the surrounding streets to the park without requiring entrance through the retail galleria.
The project incorporates nine towers in total, including a corner office tower and eight residential towers that will provide approximately 3,000 housing units.
Safdie Architects developed the project in collaboration with Arup Engineering.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Oct 7, 2022
Design for new Ft. Lauderdale mixed-use tower features sequence of stepped rounded volumes
The newly revealed design for 633 SE 3rd Ave., a 47-story, mixed-use tower in Ft. Lauderdale, features a sequence of stepped rounded volumes that ease the massing of the tower as it rises.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 8, 2022
Chicago Bears unveil preliminary master plan for suburban stadium district
As the 2022 NFL season kicks off, the league’s original franchise is fortifying plans to leave its landmark lakefront stadium for a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use stadium district in northwest suburban Arlington Heights.
| Aug 31, 2022
A mixed-use development in Salt Lake City provides 126 micro units with mountain views
In Salt Lake City, a new 130,000-square-foot development called Mya and The Shop SLC, designed by EskewDumezRipple, combines housing with coworking space, retail, and amenities, as well as a landscaped exterior for both residents and the public.
| Aug 15, 2022
Boston high-rise will be largest Passive House office building in the world
Winthrop Center, a new 691-foot tall, mixed-use tower in Boston was recently honored with the Passive House Trailblazer award.
Mixed-Use | Jul 21, 2022
Former Los Angeles Macy’s store converted to mixed-use commercial space
Work to convert the former Westside Pavilion Macy's department store in West Los Angeles to a mixed-use commercial campus recently completed.
Mixed-Use | Jul 18, 2022
Mixed-use development outside Prague uses a material made from leftover bricks
Outside Prague, the Sugar Factory, a mixed-used residential development with public space, marks the largest project to use the sustainable material Rebetong.
Mixed-Use | May 19, 2022
Seattle-area project will turn mall into residential neighborhood
A recently unveiled plan will transform a 463,000 sf mall into a mixed-use destination site in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash.
Building Team | May 18, 2022
Bjarke Ingels-designed KING Toronto releases its final set of luxury penthouses
In April 2020, a penthouse at KING Toronto sold for $16 million, the highest condo sale in Toronto that year or the year after.
Building Team | May 6, 2022
Atlanta’s largest adaptive reuse project features cross laminated timber
Global real estate investment and management firm Jamestown recently started construction on more than 700,000 sf of new live, work, and shop space at Ponce City Market.
Mixed-Use | Apr 26, 2022
Downtown Phoenix to get hundreds of residential and student housing units
In fast-growing Phoenix, Arizona, a transit-oriented development called Central Station will sit adjacent to Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus.
