Port Lands Watch Round-up: The big picture for Villiers Island, East Harbour, and more
Our four-part series on the evolving Port Lands is complete. Here’s a quick recap.
It’s often the way of things in reporting: You set out on a story because you’re curious, and you discover there’s a lot more there than you imagined.
Case in point: When we greenlit a four-part series on the evolving Port Lands from writer and transit YouTuber Reece Martin, we didn’t know just deep the rabbit hole went.
But as Reece said in the series kick-off piece, “Despite the many conflicting needs Torontonians have from the waterfront, it is thriving — the almost decade-old revitalization of Queens Quay has much improved the street that feels more popular than ever. At the same time, new development continues east along the lakeshore as well as in contemporary developing areas like the West Don Lands.”
When it comes to the Port Lands, this development includes an entirely new neighbourhood, a new mouth for the Don River, a nearby business district, transit infrastructure to connect all of it, and more — and Reece was able to capture a ton of it in the four pieces of his series.
For a broad overview, check out the visualization attached to this story. Or click through to any — or all, we won’t stop you — of the four pieces listed here:
- Part 1: What’s up with Villiers Island? (July 6)
- Part 2: Why Waterfront Toronto is building a new mouth for the Don River (July 13)
- Part 3: How Villiers Island will work for Torontonians without cars (July 20)
- Part 4: East Harbour and the future of Toronto’s eastern waterfront (July 27)
Bonus Eye Candy
Reece reported this series after a site visit he took last fall. Check out a bunch of his original photography from that tour in the carousel below:
Some of the images above were included in the original articles, and others are being shared for the first time.
As you can see, there’s a long way left to go for Villiers Island and the rest of the Port Lands. And plans will undoubtedly continue to evolve — before he vacated office, Toronto mayor John Tory called for a review of density in the area via his new housing action plan.
It remains to be seen what new mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto City Council will do with the file, though housing and density remain major priorities.
All photos by Reece Martin
Code and markup by Chris Dinn. ©Torontoverse, 2023