Toronto's Next Great Neighbourhood

The future of Toronto’s downtown is Bremner Boulevard. For years, the area between the railway tracks and the Gardiner expressway has been a desolate no man’s land. It is Toronto’s DMZ, separating the financial district from the central waterfront. And running through it, is Bremner Boulevard, a street that most Torontonians probably couldn’t find on a map.

But a decade of development in the area is going to culminate in the next few years and finally make Bremner Boulevard a destination. It began in 1999, when the Air Canada Centre at the eastern end of Bremner Boulevard opened, creating an axis of sports centres with the former SkyDome. In the early years of this decade, developers erected five condominium towers west of the SkyDome where Bremner intersects Spadina Avenue.

Now, the main stretch between the sports stadiums is undergoing a drastic transformation. A midrise and lowrise condominium was recently completed at Lower Simcoe Street. One block east, three developments promise to change the York and Bremner intersection. On the northeast corner, a 30 storey office tower to be the home of Telus is under construction. Another is planned for the opposite side of the street. And on the southeast corner will be a mixed use development in partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Two residential towers, a hotel and retail centre will comprise the block. Next door to the ACC, the complex will create a covered promenade where it meets the western facade of the arena. Here, the developers aim to provide pre- and post-game entertainment for ticketholders. The site should be complete by 2010.

Equally important are the new connections into the area. A new southern entrance to Union station will open onto a plaza situated between the Telus building and Air Canada Centre. It will connect the area to the underground PATH network. And the city of Toronto is re-opening the Simcoe street tunnel beneath the railway tracks. This underpass perforates a section of Front street that has long been impermeable to pedestrians and cars alike. And it leads straight to the neglected Roundhouse park at Bremner and Lower Simcoe street.

Communities need places for living, working, recreation and entertainment in order to thrive. By the end of the decade, those will all emerge on Bremner Boulevard, making it one of Toronto's most attractive neighbourhoods.