Toronto’s Maple House residential project in the Canary Landing district has received a major international award for project excellence from the Urban Land Institute.
Maple House, a three-tower complex developed by Dream Asset Management, Tricon Residential and Kilmer Group, features a checkerboard approach to combine market and affordable units throughout the community.
Nearly half of the building’s 770 rental homes have two- to four-bedroom layouts, providing housing options for families at both market and below-market rates.
The project was one of 10 to be recognized in the 2024 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence program in July and was the only Canadian winner.
Andrew Joyner, managing director at Tricon Residential, called Maple House “one of the world’s finest examples of city-building.”
ULI Toronto executive director Richard Joy noted all three levels of government participated in creating affordable housing at a large scale, lamenting the Maple House model has not been replicated since.
“Fifty years from now, Maple House is going to continue to stand up as a really, really great triumph of city-building in the city of Toronto,” said Joy. “The fact that we had all three levels of government working together on one project to make it affordable is not something we see anywhere else, and that’s unacceptable.”
Joyner added in a statement, “We partnered with all three levels of government to conceptualize and deliver an innovative first-to-market integrated housing community that has made Toronto a more livable and thriving city.”
Canary Landing was previously a brownfield, located next to distinct neighbourhoods such as the Distillery District, Corktown and Riverside.
In 2017 Infrastructure Ontario issued a RFP and selected Dream, Kilmer and Tricon to develop a 12-acre, 2,500-unit purpose-built rental community with 30-per-cent affordable apartments.
Maple House, with two 16-storey buildings and a 26-storey tower, was the first phase, designed by Danish architecture firm COBE and local partners architectsAlliance with the residences emerging from a masonry podium that recall the tank houses of the neighbouring Distillery District.
“The Distillery District is an outstanding placemaking feature,” said Joy. “A hub of commerce, of arts, food, obviously, heritage preservation. It had a character that has emanated as it was expected, energy in all directions. I think what we’re seeing in Maple House and other developments in the neighbourhood is a reflection of that brilliant energy that came from the vision of the Distillery District.”
The ULI awards evaluate submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation and sustainability, among other qualities.
Joy noted Canary Landing builds upon previous efforts to reclaim underused lands in the area with “brilliant” upgrades, including development of the Pan Am Games facilities and the rehabilitation of the Don River besides the Distillery District.
Generations earlier, the nearby St. Lawrence community was also revitalized, to such acclaim, Joy said, that municipal officials from across the continent visit to examine how Toronto executes walkable, mixed-income communities in that part of the city.
“And this is just the magnificent opportunity that was built on top of that,” said Joy of Maple House. “The DNA of Maple House is derived from the St. Lawrence community next door.”
The project, which was completed in 2023, has an amenity program covering 40,000 square feet indoors and outdoors including a gym, a Nordic-designed outdoor pool, co-working spaces and a music recording studio.
The parking garage and services are underground, maximizing and encouraging the use of walkable outdoor space.
Landscape architecture was from Montreal firm CCxA. The team said they saw Canary Landing as a “dynamic community hub that puts people first and prioritizes sustainability, affordability and inclusion.”
The inclusion of so many family-sized units is also unique in the last 25 years said Joy.
“That is so essential as well. And that’s another triumph of this project that should not be overlooked,” he said.
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