Electric Cities

With successful projects like The Bentway, community engagement in public space is gaining momentum, bringing fresh new energy, funding and ideas into the early stages of planning and design, as well as into the later stages of implementation and programming. Dave Harvey, founder and executive director at Park People, talks about this growing trend and the work his charitable organization is doing to bring creative ideas to animate public spaces.

Toronto is experiencing a surge of new office development activity, particularly in the downtown core. From soaring towers to smaller-scaled buildings and mixed use projects, new developments are springing up in various forms in response to a growing need for more office space. To find out what’s driving this demand and to learn more about the latest trends in office developments, Jeremy speaks with Werner Dietl, Executive Vice President of CBRE’s Toronto Downtown Office.

When it opened in 1989, Rogers Centre (formerly the Skydome), was hailed as the ‘8th Wonder of the World’. But now, almost 30 years later, it is the oldest stadium in major league baseball that hasn’t been renovated. Andrew Miller, the Blue Jays’ Executive Vice President of Business Operations, speaks with Jeremy about the latest trends in stadium design, what the Blue Jays would like to see happen with Rogers Centre, and how it could better connect with the surrounding area.

With the recent release of its new 20-year master plan, Pearson International Airport has big plans for its long-term expansion.  Jeremy speaks with Eileen Waechter, Pearson Airport’s Director of Corporate Relations and Strategic Partnerships to learn how the airport grew from a small terminal surrounded by farmland, to its where it is today.  Eileen talks about the need to respond to future demand, including an exciting vision for a massive new multi-modal transit hub that will better serve the airport and will greatly improve public transit accessibility for passengers, commuters, and the entire urban region.

Jeremy speaks with Alissa North, Associate Professor at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto to learn more about landscape architecture and how it’s evolved to where it is today.  Alissa shares her thoughts on its opportunities for the future, including exciting new projects such as The Bentway and Rail Deck Park, and the impact landscape architecture continues to have on city life and urban design.

Having recently submitted its bid for Amazon’s second headquarters, Toronto Global is a newly minted agency tasked with attracting international investment to the Toronto region.  Jeremy speaks with its CEO, Toby Lennox, to learn more about the agency and the reasons why Toronto and the surrounding region has become such a desirable place to invest in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

For this inaugural episode, Jeremy speaks with Mimi Ng, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Menkes Developments, to find out more about the phenomenal growth of the condo market.  We look back on the wild market of 2017, look ahead to 2018, and discuss emerging trends and how developers are responding to changes in buyers’ needs.