Oxford Properties Group has announced that it is planning a $3.5 billion development in downtown Toronto. The project, called Union Park, is one of the largest real estate projects in Canada. It was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and will be located on a four acre site that is just north of Rogers Centre and the CN Tower. It will be a 4.3 million square foot, mixed use complex and is the largest project ever for Oxford not counting Manhattan's Hudson Yards which is a $25 billion project that Oxford is co-developing with Related Companies per Toronto Sun.
The plans consist of the following:
- Two office Towers (58 storeys and 48 storeys)
- About 800 rental apartments across two additional towers (54 and 44 storeys)
- 200,000 square feet of retail
- Three acres of public space
The project is betting on the demand for offices from the city's booming technology and financial services industries increasing dramatically and the shift to downtown from the suburbs. Union Park is situated between the financial core and The Well, a mixed-use development that will be home to Shopify Inc. and hundreds of new residents.
Oxford has plans to attract global tech giants by offering 100,000 square foot spaces that would be split between the office towers and connected by a common atrium.
"It is the culmination of our experience in a number of different cities, and we've looked at what we've done, whether in Europe or in the US with Hudson Yards. This is a site that's exceptionally significant, and it's rare that you can find this size of a site with proximity to the core."
Oxford Properties Group Executive Vice President of North America | Eric Plesman
The development would create 22,000 construction jobs with about 18,000 people working at Union Park. Oxford will also offer larger rental units ranging from one to three bedrooms given the short supply downtown for families.
According to Urban Toronto, the site is currently home to two office buildings, at 315 and 325 Front Street West. This plot of land represents the first in a multi-phased plan that would eventually include redevelopment of the convention centre and associated buildings to the east with a total area of 11 acres.
A winter garden is planned between the office towers, a day care centre and an extension of the PATH network west from the Skywalk. Construction is expected to start in 2023 pending the City's planning and approvals process. In addition, a two acre urban park over the Union Station rail corridor will span between Blue Jays Way and the Rod Robbie Bridge.
Per Real Estate News Exchange, Union Park will be one of the largest real estate projects in Canadian history. The development also creates an opportunity to construct, working alongside several stakeholders, an adjoining two-acre urban park. It will also deliver an improved one-acre Isabella Valancy Crawford Park.
DataBid is currently reporting on this project - Union Park Mixed Use - Toronto (0013062719)