Eva's Phoenix / Waterworks
60 Brant Street and 505 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Type: Renovation and new construction
Size: 381,000 sf
Project Cost: unknown
Development Partners:
- Eva’s Phoenix
- Build Toronto
- City of Toronto
- MOD Developments
- Woodcliffe Landmark Properties
Status: Under construction, shelter operational
Description
Eva’s Phoenix / Waterworks is a diverse mixed-use project that involves the revitalization of a former public utilities building to include Eva’s Phoenix transitional shelter for youth, a 299-unit residential condominium development with 15 affordable ownership homes for artists, a YMCA, a public food hall, and an improved St. Andrew’s playground.
Complexity / Collaboration
The surplus City of Toronto property includes a heritage component and was transferred to Build Toronto in 2011 for sale and redevelopment. The City, Build Toronto and Eva’s selected the parcel at 60 Brant Street for the relocation of Eva’s Phoenix, which opened in 2016. Build Toronto selected a partnership between MOD Developments and Woodcliffe Landmark Properties as purchaser/ developer for the remaining portion of the site. The property was sold contingent on the inclusion of an on-site YMCA. Guidelines called for a new public market to anchor the site. The City entered into an affordable housing agreement with Artscape, Build Toronto and the developer whereby 15 homes will be sold at a below-market value.
User Interaction/Partnership Framework
Waterworks is expected to be ‘a neighbourhood within a building.’ Synergies are anticipated between residential tenants, the food hall and retail to create an active site. Residents will gain special access to the YMCA. The development benefitted from having a more holistic approach to development by gathering many partners at the table to collaborate. Although a private facility is generally not allowed to open onto a park, for example, rules were bent to have the food hall publicly accessible. Eva’s Phoenix benefitted from a collaboration with the City Planning department to develop compliance alternatives to the building code for glazing requirements.
Costs / Funding
The project is funded by a variety of public and private sources. The City leased 60 Brant Street to Eva’s for $1 per year for twenty years with renewal options, and the estimated $12.5 million cost of renovation is funded by the Eva’s Phoenix Capital Campaign with a collective contribution of $5 million from the City and a $1 million contribution from the Home Depot Canada Foundation. The estimated $34 million YMCA is funded through contributions from the City—including Section 37 and 45 funds—to a maximum of two-thirds of the construction cost, and a combination of funds from the YMCA and donations from the community (e.g. the McDonalds’ family contributed $3 million). Artscape Lofts is funded by a $2.4 million subsidy provided by all three levels of government and Build Toronto. The price of condominium units varies from $400,000 to $2.5-million.
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