This morning I did a hard hat tour of the Port Lands area of Toronto. And once again, I was reminded that this is one of the most important projects taking place in the city right now.

When completed at the end of 2024, the $1.25 billion flood protection project is going to create over 60 acres of new greenspace and parkland, and unlock a significant amount of land for development. Already, it's hard to imagine this part of the city not becoming a desirable new neighborhood and a magnet for recreation.

I was asked not to share any images from within the site (i.e. the non-public areas), so I'm only sharing the above photo taken from Cherry Street. But we did get a chance to stand on the bed of the new river valley that will eventually take flow from the Don River. And I have photos on my phone to prove it. That was almost certainly a once in a lifetime thing.

For the latest on construction progress, check out this video from Waterfront Toronto.

One of the most exciting city building projects going on in Toronto right now is the revitalization of the 715-acre Port Lands area (here's a map if you'd like to get situated). Despite its massive scale, it doesn't seem to be receiving a lot of attention. And that's probably because, at this stage, it's mostly infrastructure work. It's just a lot of soil being moved around.

But it's of course important work. The mouth of the Don River (where it meets Lake Ontario) was never properly engineered for resiliency, and so the entire area is at risk of flooding. That's why this $1.25 billion effort to re-naturalize its interface is currently underway. The above video does a good job explaining just what that entails.

At the same time, it is creating a wonderful city building opportunity -- new parks for the illegal drinking of craft beers, new wildlife habitat, new meandering rivers for kayaking, and of course new housing and new jobs. But when you look at what's planned, it's hard not to feel like we're missing the mark in terms of density.

The plan for Villiers Island calls for some 4,900 homes (according to this Globe and Mail article). And the plan for the entire area calls for only about 20,000 homes (according to this recent Bloomberg article). Surely there's room for at least a few more -- especially if we're hoping to support a new LRT line to the area.

On Monday, Christopher Hume of the Toronto Star responded to the recent backlash against Sidewalk Toronto with a piece called, Anger over Google’s vision for Toronto waterfront is misguided. The below excerpt is what I was trying to diplomatically allude to with my post on net present value. We need to look at what we are getting and what we are giving up (by way of foregone revenue).

What had civic (and provincial) nabobs gnashing their teeth was Sidewalk’s suggestion that it should receive a share of city property taxes and development fees. And what would the New York-based outfit do in return? A few things, it turns out. Specifically, it would finance the long-delayed Queens Quay LRT, build the infrastructure necessary to remake much of the Port Lands, launch a new wood-based construction industry and, oh yes, kick-start redevelopment of 140 hectares of long neglected landfill.

I also don't understand how the possibility of expanding into the Port Lands has come as a surprise to anyone. That was always integral to the opportunity here in Toronto. What your thoughts?