A Sweet Preview - Bayfront makes a Sugary Introduction to the East Side

The Vision

I have to admit I’m on a bit of a roll this week. Maybe it’s the impending start of school, a 3-week hiatus from blogging (guilty!) or my boyfriend’s new Xbox but I seem to be keenly motivated these past few nights. Before sitting down to write yesterday evening I’ll admit I took a long procrastinating bike ride home from work. It was a gorgeous blue skied evening and while I had made a date with my laptop to knock out A Bistro Affair, I couldn’t deny myself a little cruise.

East Queens Quay has for as long as I can remember been a sorry state of affair, offering little to the city, the community or visitors. It was a friend at work who mentioned a recent development along the lake, which sparked my curiosity. I googled “Sugar Beach” and ended up reading a bunch about this starting point for the Bayfront project set to conquer this lack lustre 55 acres. I had recalled hearing about the project a year ago but talk is one thing, standing on a sandy white beach beside an impending Gold LEED building is quite another.

Zipping east I was sceptical of my impending destination. Lake Ontario and the city of Toronto have had a less than glamourous relationship. Whereas most cities showcase their shoreline real estate and those who are landlocked will create some sort of man-made water feature. Toronto has snubbed the shores of this great lake, making it feel inferior to its modernized high-rise superiority. However as I passed Red Path and swerved around the temporary fence I suddenly found myself in a little utopian slice of waterfrontage.

White sandy beach, pretty pink umbrellas and low riding Adirondack chairs spread out before me. Where there could have been palm trees, weeping willows swayed gently in the evening’s breeze. The lake glistened proudly in the background in shades of cobalt blues as white sailboats casually cruised by.  A quiet crowd of locals spread out amongst the strip enjoying a relaxed moment in the warm August sunset.

Reading up on the park I discovered that for a mere $14.3 million dollars they were able to transform this space into a sweet urban escape. Sand from Ohio, granite from northern Quebec, black and white cobble stones, maple, white pine and willows are a few of the natural elements used to construct this project. I appreciated the Adirondack chairs designed by Loll but was particularly excited by the Ipe slat benches. Unlike typical street seating these oversized wavy creations offered ample uninterrupted seating for users. No armrests break up the length, allowing for luxurious lounging over its gentle curves. It’s the perfect spot to curl up with a friend and enjoy the views.

The entire project is broken into 3 sections, the beach, the promenade and the plaza.  Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes won the 1997 design competition by designing a dynamic, playful destination with signature elements. Green highlights include the use of recycled content in construction materials, LED lights, stormwater management systems beneath the plaza and proximity to public transit systems. These elements are part of the Waterfront’s larger goal of achieving LEED ND GOLD (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighbourhood Development).

Promenading further east I was also able to take in the nearly completed TEDCO-Corus Office Building. It was designed by local architectural firm Diamond & Schmitt with Aecon awarded the hefty $100 million construction contract. The project entails an 8 storey, 550,000 square foot above-grade building space with an additional 70,000 square foot below-grade parking garage. Adapting to it’s surrounding this building’s green agenda includes a green roof, certified wood, low emitting materials, light pollution reduction and rainwater reuse.

It’s an odd juxtaposition of beach to building but I became rather jealous at the thought of passing a lunch hour in the sun. Reminds me a bit of Rio de Janeiro where come noon throngs of suits flock to the beach for a break. Wasting no time, they strip down to their skivvies, carefully place their folded business uniforms on the corner of their sarongs and bask in the sun for an hour or two. Now there’s a city that truly honours and respects their waterfrontage, could Toronto be taking note?!

The cherry on this sugar sweet sundae was a final pass-by of the Corus complex. At first I thought it might be a mirage in this city retreat but on closer inspection it turned out to be real. The interior forum of the building featured a full out white spiral tube slide from the upper floor to ground level. It’s like one of those urban cool office space legends come true. Awkward sales meeting requires a quick escape after dipping revenues…COWABUNGA and down the slide you go.

As it delightfully turns out my detour proved to be less procrastination and more inspiration. Sugar beach is an enticing preview of the impending Bayfront project, promising an innovative new ‘hood for us Torontonians. I have to admit that the tubular slide momentarily tempted me to reconsider my old career in media. But then I took a look around and thought why be the one to use the slide when I can be the one to design it. With an impending second year coming up quick, it is evenings like this that remind me how amazing it is to be part of a team that makes ideas come to life.