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Development of the area south of Front Street is proceeding at a dizzying pace, with new residential, commercial and institutional projects filling in the once-ignored and mostly-vacant land between Front and Lake Shore Boulevard. With land in Toronto's traditional financial district already occupied by skyscrapers, high-rise office space is now pushing south where there is land available to developers. Southcore Financial Centre & Delta Toronto by Great West Life and bcIMC is set to become one of the most significant commercial developments in the south financial district, contributing 1.4 million square feet of office space plus a four-star hotel. The Page + Steele / IBI Group Architect and KPMB-designed project includes three towers of 26, 30, and 45 storeys and is expected to be complete in 2014.
Southcore's location along Bremner Boulevard, between York and Simcoe Streets, puts it in close proximity to a number of important downtown destinations. The Rogers Centre, CN Tower, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Air Canada Centre and Union Station (which will serve as Southcore's main transportation link) all surround the site. There are plans to link Southcore to the PATH network, as the City of Toronto looks to expand the underground system south of Front Street to serve the growing number of destinations in Southcore's area as well as provide connections to current PATH destinations such as First Canadian Place in the existing financial district.
The City is encouraging developers to be active partners in the PATH expansion through agreements to include PATH access points in their development plans for eventual future connections. The PATH has become an important piece of infrastructure in the downtown area and has been shown to boost economic activity and attract tenants to the developments to which it is connected. More information on the PATH is available in our story on the PATH Master Plan.
Commerical developments like Southcore are a reflection of the trend for businesses choosing to locate or relocate to the core, where they can attract and retain professionals who are increasingly living in downtown condominiums.
Southcore Financial Centre joins a growing mixed-use community south of Front, some complete and some ongoing. Its neighbours include Ice Condominiums at York Centre, Telus House - 25 York Street, and Maple Leaf Square.
