Aitken Place Park, a new 3,000-square-metre park planned for Toronto’s waterfront, will be designed by landscape architecture firms Thomas Balsey Associates and Scott Torrance Landscape Architect Inc. The companies, based out of New York and Toronto respectively, were selected to collaborate on the project by Waterfront Toronto.

The park will be designed to incorporate key sustainability principles, including biodiversity, bio-retention, storm water retention, low energy lighting, and a tree canopy to provide shade.

“We are very honoured to have been selected to create a neighbourhood oasis for the local residents to enjoy,” says Scott Torrance, Principal at Scott Torrance Landscape Architect Inc. “Our collective vision for Aitken Place Park includes a continuation of the design excellence within the public spaces that have been spearheaded by Waterfront Toronto in the creation of an inviting park for the local community of East Bayfront to connect with nature, the Water’s Edge Promenade and providing great views of Lake Ontario.”

Aitken Place Park will connect the Water’s Edge Promenade, Sugar Beach, Sherbourne Common, Parliament Slip and the mouth of the Don River.

International engineering firm Arup, known for projects including the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, will assist the design teams with the engineering components of the park.