Fengate Asset Management has announced the launch of Toronto Rail Yards, a large mixed-use community to be built above the rail corridor south of Front Street West between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue in the city’s downtown area.

Once complete, the project will deliver nearly 4,000 new homes of various types and sizes, more than two acres of public park space, approximately 915,000 square feet of office space, two childcare centres and about 50,000 square feet of retail space. 

The development proposal envisions seven multi-residential buildings ranging in height from 34 to 70 storeys and one 44-storey office building.

It’s expected that 27 per cent of the residential units will be family-sized and an affordable housing component, though not part of the proposal at present, could potentially be included.

The park areas will feature: gardens; terraces; landscaped areas; programming spaces for special events such as farmers’ markets, festivals and busking; playground structures; public art; shaded seating areas; pedestrian and cycling pathways; and animated retail spaces such as cafes.

History of air rights and previous proposals

LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada (LPFCEC) paid undisclosed amounts to acquire partial ownership in 2021 and full ownership two years later for the air rights to 14 acres extending from Bathurst to Spadina and another section from Spadina to Blue Jays Way. 

This project will focus on the Bathurst to Spadina portion, where LPFCEC’s longtime partner Fengate will develop a 6.3-acre deck that will be constructed above the Bathurst rail yards and connected to the future Spadina-Front GO Transit station and the city’s broader public transit network.

“Metrolinx needs the portion of the air rights over the active rail lines to remain flexible to allow for them to plan and deliver their regional GO expansion project going forward,” Fengate vice-president of development Jordana Ross told RENX.

“That six-acre part over the Bathurst yards is still resulting in a really ambitious and transformative project.” 

Getting to this point involved years of planning, design and active coordination and engagement with community members, City of Toronto stakeholders and Metrolinx, which owns and operates an integrated transit network involving GO Transit, UP Express and PRESTO.

Next steps to be taken

This is the fourth application made for the site, with the last one being made in September 2024. Ross said this one adds the office tower, improves the experience on the Front Street-facing portion through changes in the building podiums and eliminates all parking.

“We're looking forward to getting feedback from the City on a master-plan scale, a technical scale and a development and engineering scale,” said Ross. “We're looking forward to comments and to having meetings with them as soon as possible.”

Toronto Rail Yards will be delivered in phases to minimize construction impacts while delivering the project efficiently. If all goes as planned, site preparation is anticipated to begin in 2028.

The anticipated three- to three-and-a-half-year construction of the deck would begin later in 2028. Ross said it’s too early to talk about phases and timelines for the rest of the development.

“Some of the tower development can start before the full entirety of the deck is built,” she explained. “We're looking at it as a whole right now for the purposes of entitlements, because that's the right way to approach it with the City.

“The team is looking at it on its own in terms of how it can be phased, but we want to get the concept in front of the City as a whole and to hear their feedback on it as a whole.”

Architects and other team members

Danish architectural firm Henning Larsen is the lead architect for the project. The company was founded in 1959 and works across architecture, landscape, urban design and interiors.

Henning Larsen has more than 500 employees and offices in Denmark, the United States, Singapore, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Hong Kong.

Other members of Toronto Rail Yards’ multidisciplinary team include Hines, PCL, WW+P Architects and RJC Engineers.

“It has taken over a year to build a team with real expertise in terms of building, placemaking, design, engineering and construction,” said Ross.

“Some of the team members worked on CIBC Square, which was built over the Union Station rail corridor,” she continued later. “We've got a fantastic team and Toronto's ready for world-class projects like this.” 

Sustainability and economic benefits

Toronto Rail Yards is designed as a sustainable community, supporting transit-oriented infrastructure and helping the City reach its net-zero goals by 2040.

The project is expected to generate significant economic benefits through construction work, long-term employment, retail activation and new downtown activity.

The deck construction alone is estimated to create more than 4,600 construction jobs, generate $650 million in labour income and produce more than nine million union construction hours, which is equivalent to building approximately 10 conventional highrise residential buildings.

“The deck is likely to be delivered by the current ownership, but the developments above may be developed through partnerships, joint ventures and transactions,” said Ross. “We’re open to different opportunities.”

LPFCEC and Fengate

LPFCEC was established in 1972 and has since become one of the fastest growing multi-employer pension funds across Canada. Its diverse investment portfolio has more than $13 billion in assets.

Fengate Asset Management is an alternative investment manager focused on real estate, infrastructure and private equity strategies that has more than $27 billion of assets under management. It has offices across Canada and the U.S.

The company’s Fengate Real Estate division is a fully integrated real estate investment, development and asset management platform with $9.4 billion of assets under management. This includes a 25,000-plus residential unit pipeline and more than five million square feet of industrial space in varying stages of development.