One by one, the parking lots of Downtown Toronto are disappearing. A few years ago, the largest concentration of surface parking lots could be found south of the rail tracks in what has come to be known as the SouthCore, an evolving mixed-use district comprised of new condominiums and office buildings.

Up until the mid-2000s, the only office buildings south of the tracks were the first and second phases of WaterPark Place. That began to change during the latter half of the decade, when various projects were proposed, approved and started in the area. Back on June 9, 2007, the parking lot on Queen's Quay west of Bay Street was still populated by cars, when the Telus Tower, Maple Leaf Square, and Southcore Financial Centre complexes did not even have cranes yet .

Looking north from the south side of Queen's Quay, June 9, 2007, image by Edward Skira

Fast forward to September 2014, and you cannot even see those projects from this same spot since the third phase of WaterPark Place, known as RBC WaterPark Place III, is now blocking the view. It has just started to fill with new tenants as of this week.

Podium of RBC WaterPark Place III viewed from the south side of Queen's Quay, image by Jack Landau

Now we are waiting for the revitalization work on Queen's Quay (which can be seen in the foreground of the image above) to finish up too. 

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!