The three orders of government, through Waterfront Toronto, reached a major milestone in a promise made to protect Toronto residents and businesses from the damages from severe flooding by completing a new mouth for the Don River and a new island.
Governments committed a combined investment of approximately $1.4-billion for a transformational waterfront revitalization project that protects existing Toronto neighbourhoods from extreme flooding and contributes to unlocking up to 240 hectares of land to build urgently needed housing and to construct the city’s largest park network in a generation. This historic achievement marks a big step in an eight-year major construction project to bring the vision for a waterfront city within a city to life.
“Today’s achievement demonstrates what can be accomplished when all orders of government work together to address major infrastructure challenges facing cities across the world” said Jack Winberg, board chair of Waterfront Toronto. “Undertaking a transformation of unprecedented scale requires unrelenting energy, focus and imagination sustained over a long period of time, which Waterfront Toronto has done for over 20 years.”
“Waterfront Toronto recognizes the value of doing the job right, and it shows. We set the bar higher for design innovation, sustainability and meaningful public engagement and have always met the challenge,” said Waterfront Toronto President and CEO George Zegarac. “This historic achievement unlocks much needed public land on Toronto’s waterfront. Our collective vision will lead us to complete a waterfront city that will ultimately become a home to over 100,000 people and a destination for 97,000 jobs. It starts on this brand-new island. Next year, we will open the largest park Toronto has opened in a generation.”
