Union Park | All You Need to Know
Courtesy of OXFORD Developments
Our vision is to build upon and complement Toronto’s icons with exceptional, but timeless design. Union Park will deliver the largest mixed-use development in Toronto’s history – contributing office space, community-serving retail, rental residential, public realm improvements, and a large park.
Union Park is proposed to be a 4.3 million square foot landmark development that will deliver approximately:
Three acres of green space, in the heart of downtown Toronto, including a two-acre urban park built over the Union rail corridor connecting to the future Rail Deck Park;
3.3 million square feet of office space;
Approximately 800 rental residential units, including family-oriented housing; and 200,000 square feet of high quality retail.
This redevelopment will become the best expression of a mixed-use community in Toronto.
Union Park will be a transformative development that will celebrate Toronto’s great diversity, vibrancy, and success.
Our goal at Oxford is to connect people to exceptional places, so we are creating an ambitious project that adds to Toronto’s ongoing evolution as a world-class city to live and work in.
Our big ideas for Union Park include:
The overbuild park, a new two-acre urban park to complement the Rail Deck Park
New community amenities
New jobs and employment opportunities
Remarkable architectural design
New rental housing for families and young professionals
Improved public realm and connections
Sustainable design
Smart and technologically innovative design
COMMUNITY AMENITIES
Union Park will provide a broad range of amenities to meet the needs of a diverse population of residents, workers, and visitors.
COMMUNITY-SERVING RETAIL
Union Park will include 200,000 square feet of retail space to create a vibrant shopping experience. Offerings will include food, beverage, and health, as well as services like grocery stores and pharmacies to address service gaps in the neighbourhood.
PARKS
Union Park will offer new gathering spaces for the community. New park space will be designed to provide strong visual interest, rich landscaping, and engaging spaces for a diverse community.
New and improved park spaces include:
Two-acre overbuild park built over the rail yard, connecting to the future Rail Deck Park;
Winter garden (located in between the two office towers); and
One-acre, on-site park (Isabella Valancy Crawford).
DAYCARE
Toronto is experiencing a shortage of daycare spaces. A study conducted in 2016 found that the demand for licensed daycare spaces outstripped supply by 4,069 spots. Our family-oriented development will include an integrated 8,500 square foot daycare to support growing families in our community and the surrounding neighbourhood.
NEW JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT
Union Park will create new jobs and employment space in the heart of the downtown.
Union Park reflects Toronto’s status as a global hub for finance, commerce, innovation, and creativity, supporting a strong employment base and thriving economy.
Our proposal includes 3.3 million square feet gross building area of office space across two towers. The base of the two office towers will feature bright, oversized spaces, drawing talented and innovative minds from across the globe-that’s enough space for 18,000 employees.
Oxford’s Toronto office tenants employ over 50,000 workers which represents 15% of the total workforce in the City of Toronto’s downtown core.
NEW LIVING SPACES
Our proposal includes rental residential housing for Toronto’s growing and diverse downtown population, including families and young professionals.
Union Park will help to meet the demands for rental residential and family-friendly housing in Toronto. We are proposing approximately 800 units across two towers with a mix of 2- and 3-bedroom suites to accommodate families, as well as 1 bedroom and studio units.
NEED FOR PURPOSE-BUILT RENTAL
Approximately 46% of residents rent their homes with almost all new rental demand being met through the secondary rental market (e.g. rented condominiums and secondary suites).
They accounted for only 6% of developments from 2011 – 2016 (Toronto Housing Market Analysis, 2019). Purpose-built rental housing provides secure housing options.
Toronto has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country sitting at 1.1% (CMHC, 2018).
NEED FOR FAMILY HOUSING
Between 2011 and 2016, of the 143,000 new dwelling units constructed in Toronto, 80% were greater than 5 storeys.
Approximately 10,000 more children and youth live in high-rise buildings than they did in 1996.
A recent study conducted by the Ryerson City Building Institute projects that the population in Toronto between the ages of 35 to 44 is expected to increase by over 200,000 by 2026, creating more demand for larger, family-friendly housing.
THE PARK AT UNION PARK
The park is a momentous city-building initiative that will create a landmark community-gathering space for generations to come.
A key feature of Union Park is an expansive park that will span from Blue Jays Way to the John Street bridge, and connect to the future Rail Deck Park to the west. The two-acre park, designed by award-winning OJB Architects, will aim to deliver much needed green space to downtown Toronto and create opportunities for flexible, programmable community spaces, public art, and installations. Working with the city and adjacent landowners, our aspiration is to create a legacy urban park for Torontonians and visitors to enjoy for decades to come.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Sustainability and energy efficiency are part of Oxford’s core principles.
Union Park will feature progressive design strategies for a sustainable future.
CYCLING
Union Park will support cycling in Toronto through the provision of at-grade bicycle facilities for both residents and office dwellers, including 80 showers.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Union Park will incorporate renewable energy measures, targeting connection to district energy systems, on-site solar, and grey-water re-use.
GREEN BUILDINGS
Union Park is envisioned as a sustainable community and office buildings will be designed to meet or exceed LEED Platinum standards.
PUBLIC REALM AND CONNECTIONS
Sustainability and energy efficiency are part of Oxford’s core principles. Union Park will feature progressive design strategies for a sustainable future.
Union Park will integrate with the surrounding neighbourhood through a network of public realm and landscape improvements, park space, and a new PATH connection.
Improvements to the public realm and connections will include:
A landmark two-acre park connecting the site to the future Rail Deck Park;
Enhanced landscaping will frame the site along Blue Jays Way and Front Street;
An expansive winter garden, creating permeability through the site;
A revitalized Isabella Valancy Crawford park to the east, bordering the Metro Toronto Convention Centre; and
A new PATH connection extending to Peter Street, expanding the Financial Core westwards.
