Toronto, May 15, 2012— A team of award-winning architects, city officials and developer Dundee Kilmer Developments L.P. executives broke ground on Block 11, the first market condominium building of the Canary District to be constructed.
Following the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games, the area will transition from an Athletes’ Village into Toronto’s most ambitious city-building project in generations, with the cutting-edge residence  rebranded as the Canary District Condominiums. Sales will begin in June, 2012.
The Canary District Condominiums will be housed in the exciting 35-acre neighbourhood, an area in the city’s West Don Lands. The sustainable, mixed use neighbourhood will feature 8 buildings including market condominiums, affordable housing, George Brown College student residences, YMCA, and world-class lifestyle amenities and top-tier retail—a winning combination that’s sure to make it Toronto’s most desirable live-work-play destination.
“The dynamic urban lifestyle that the Canary District will offer is reflected in its first buildings, carefully crafted to offer refuge to busy professionals, growing families, and empty-nesters alike, within a lasting community where people want to live, want to work, and want to invest their time and their money,” Dundee Kilmer Developments L.P. President Jason Lester said.
The one and two bedroom (some with dens) suites start in the low $200,000’s. There will also be townhomes and lofts.
The Canary District Condominiums have been designed to bring a unique, urban modernism to a former brownfield site, while establishing a direct connection to surrounding neighbourhoods such as the historic Distillery District.
Designed by KPMB Architects with interiors by Munge Leung, the 369-unit building is being constructed to achieve LEED® Gold certification, while incorporating local materials throughout.
The building’s exteriors are defined by stone, metal and glass—also reflected in the treatment of its interiors—while the building’s exterior provides an excellent social amenity space complemented by a serene flowing water feature. With its showpiece  two-storey glass lobby pavilions and amenities such as a party room, billiard room and dining room for residents and their guests, the buzz already swirling about the Canary District Condominiums should surprise no one.
What may take some aback are the suites’ well-appointed finishes. Hardwood and engineered floors grace interiors throughout the building (utilizing locally-sourced materials), while kitchens featuring ceramic porcelain backsplashes, built-in and concealed kitchen appliances and European-style kitchen range hoods make this one of the most tempting condo buys in Toronto’s history.
So, too, does the neighbourhood in which it’s located. The Canary District features extensive pedestrian networks to ensure maximum walkability, open and transparent streetscapes, as well as large-scale building windows and balconies to offer a connection between residents living above and the bustle of streets below—a direct nod to the late Toronto urban planning visionary Jane Jacobs’ ‘eyes on the street’ thesis. Street-level amenities will include retail stores, cafes and restaurants, as well as accessible community and recreational services at the base of residential buildings.
To connect the Canary District with the neighbouring Distillery District, materials such as masonry are being used at street-level, while a contemporary and modern design aesthetic has prevailed to exemplify the area’s status as Toronto’s most cutting-edge new community.  The community’s overall design maximizes green spaces throughout and meets LEED® Gold criteria, while honouring requirements of Toronto’s Mandatory Green Building standard.
But as Lester pointed out, the Canary District Condominiums offer buyers even more than first-class amenities and the opportunity to lay roots in an attractive new neighbourhood. “This is an opportunity to buy a living memory of a moment in Toronto history,” he said, “a moment when the world will come to us, and we will greet all with the hospitality and diversity for which we are known.”
For more information about the Canary District Condominiums, please visit http://www.canarydistrict.com/