Broccolini will launch sales for The Riv, its second mixed-use condominium on Toronto’s downtown east River Street, in the coming weeks after almost three years of work to bring the project to market.

The 34-storey, 388-unit condo at the corner of River and Labatt Avenue will be built next door to Broccolini’s 580-unit River & Fifth, which is under construction and is set to begin occupancy this fall. 

“We're big believers in downtown east in general and in this node in particular,” Broccolini associate vice-president of real estate development Phil Brennen told RENX.

Broccolini assembled the site from individual property owners and closed on its purchase in the spring of 2017. It had originally planned to launch sales in 2020 but delays associated with COVID-19 and a long rezoning and approvals process means that it’s launching sales for The Riv more than four years after River & Fifth.

“Everyone would agree that we’re faced with a housing crisis largely driven by not enough product and too much demand,” Brennen said. “We're confident that the homes will be welcomed.”


The Riv will include studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom and three-bedroom suites. Prices for The Riv will begin in the mid-$500,000s, which Brennen said will make it the most affordable downtown condo launch this year and easier for end-users to buy.

The Riv’s selling points

The Patton Design Studio is the interior designer for the building, which will offer more than 18,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.

That will include an outdoor terrace with eastern waterfront views, a co-work/business studio, a kid’s room, a speakeasy, a gym, a meditation room, a gaming lounge, a tool annex and a pet spa. 

Suites will be equipped with Home by Broccolini, a smart-home system that allows residents to lock doors, access amenity spaces and allow visitor entry via a smartphone application or a wall pad.

The entire building will be outfitted with high-speed Internet.

The IBI Group-designed condo will also add widened, tree-lined streets to the neighbourhood, as well as boutique retail spaces designed for cafes, shops and other small businesses.

The location offers access to the King and Queen streetcar lines to the south and the Dundas streetcar line to the north, while two future subway stops on the Ontario line will also be within walking distance.

The Riv will also be in close proximity to Cadillac Fairview’s 60-acre mixed-use East Harbour development that’s expected to accommodate 4,300 residential units, more than 50,000 jobs, a public transit hub and nine acres of parks and open spaces. 

The Riv's 93 River St. site will back onto the Don River and the Lower Don River Trail, which connects to Riverdale Park and Evergreen Brick Works to the north and Corktown Common to the south.

Those public spaces will become even more accessible thanks to a new pedestrian walkway to Bayview Avenue. 

“All of that adds up to a pretty great spot to live,” Brennen said.

The goal is to begin construction sometime next year, depending on how quickly units at The Riv sell. Construction is expected to take three-and-a-half years.

Future Toronto condo developments

Montreal-based Broccolini has built more than 30 million square feet of commercial, industrial and residential space in Quebec and Ontario.

Its real estate management subsidiary manages more than 40 properties representing more than six million square feet of assets.

Broccolini is seeking approvals for two more Toronto condo developments: 

• a property assembly near Bloor Street East and Sherbourne Street that will encompass about a million square feet and approximately 1,200 units in two towers;
• and another on the site of an office building that will be demolished near Highway 427 and Burnhamthorpe Road to make way for three towers encompassing more than 700,000 square feet and approximately 800 units.

Both developments will have a mixed-use element with a small amount of retail, while the Bloor and Sherbourne site will also have community space.

Montreal multifamily activity

Broccolini is also active on the multifamily front in its hometown.

Occupancy began this year at Victoria Sur Le Parc, a 58-storey, 400-unit condo with a nine-storey, 330,000-square-foot mixed-use podium comprised of office and commercial space at 700 St. Jacques.

Broccolini and RioCan are partnering on the redevelopment of the 319,445-square-foot unenclosed Centre RioCan Kirkland shopping centre in the suburb of Kirkland. They’re looking to create a mixed-use community with residential, commercial and office space.

The proposed project, which is in the entitlement phase, is tied to a station on the new REM light rail network that’s scheduled for completion late next year.

Le Sherbrooke — a 25-storey, 515-unit condo at 1528 Sherbrooke St. W. — will be completed in 2025.

Brennen said Broccolini is looking to expand its multifamily development footprint in Montreal and Toronto and move farther out into the Greater Toronto Area.