An 800-acre project led by Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is officially moving forward in Toronto.
Waterfront Toronto issued an RFP in March and this week declared Sidewalk Labs’ proposal the submission they would move forward with — a process that begins on November 1 with the project’s first town hall.
The project centers on creating an interconnected hub linked online through data systems that coordinate infrastructure such as transportation and other services like healthcare clinics. The mixed-use development, known as Sidewalk Toronto, will transform the city’s eastern waterfront and, the developers hope, position it as a tech hub. (Alphabet is planning to lead the way on that front by moving Canada’s Google headquarters into the district once it’s completed, according to Dezeen.)
Along with announcing the project, Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk Labs released preliminary plans:
(Sidewalk Toronto)
(Sidewalk Toronto)
(Sidewalk Toronto)
Sidewalk Labs’ team includes some of the minds behind New York projects such as Cornell Tech, LinkNYC, PlaNYC and the city’s post 9/11 reconstruction.
The Alphabet sub has committed to investing $50 million in the project, while three levels of government are investing nearly $1 billion in the Toronto cumulatively.
— E.K. Hudson