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Van Aken District- 2021 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Finalist
Learn more about 2021 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Finalist, Van Aken District (Cleveland, OH).
Alexandra Park Revitalization – ULI Americas Awards for Excellence Winner
May 4, 2021
Photo By Janet Rosenberg Studio
Photo By Tridel
This mid-rise condo was completed in 2019.
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Developers: Toronto Community Housing Corperation (TCHC); Tridel
Designers: Urban Strategies; LGA Architectural Partners; Teeple Architects; Janet Rosenberg Studio
Site Size: 18.42 Acres
Photo By The Bowery Project
The Bowery Project is a non-profit organization that uses vacant lot for urban agricultural purposes. The Bowery Project is working with Toronto Community Housing and Tridel to build community gardens. These community gardens are being cared for by the Bowery Project in conjunction with local residents.
Following a long period of resident and community consultation, The Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), along with its developer partner Tridel and the Atkinson Housing Cooperative, completed plans for the revitalization of Alexandra Park, an 18-acre social housing complex in downtown Toronto. TCHC was focused on ‘Building a Great Neighborhood’ – one that is safe and integrated, offers housing choice and employment opportunities, demonstrates high quality urban design and sets a new standard for sustainability.
Photo By Teeple Architects
Completed in 2017, this award-winning mid-rise condominium building was the first completed development in Alexandra Park. The sale of these condos finances the revitalization of the affordable housing units.
The plan out lined a vision for a mixed community with different housing types and land uses, improved accessibility to shopping and community services, economic development opportunities, enhanced community safety, and a greener, more sustainable community. The master plan ensures that all existing TCHC units are either refurbished or replaced with units of the same type and number of bedrooms. It also, importantly, ensures that there is no displacement of tenants from the community either during construction or afterwards, and that all existing TCHC units will continue to be rented on a rent-geared-to-income basis. The plan ensures a cohesive mixed-income community, where construction quality and design are indistinguishable between market and affordable housing. This master plan was approved in 2011 by the City of Toronto with full endorsement from the community.
Photo By LGA Architectural Partners
The articulated balconies help create a sculptural like form.
The Alexandra Park revitalization contains 410 replacement social housing units, 396 refurbished rent geared to income units and over 1540 new market units. The site includes the introduction of new municipal servicing infrastructure, road and boulevard improvements and a new privately-owned publicly accessible outdoor space.