River City
River City
It’s not our first project (that’s Camden Lofts, in 1996), nor is it our biggest (that’s M City, with 8 towers, 6,000 units and a cumulative total of 455 stories) or our most socially progressive (that award goes to our all-female development, Reina). But River City has become internationally known as our signature development (at least to this point), and as such deserves a page of its own.
Designed by Montreal-based Saucier + Perrotte Architects, the four-phase, 1,100 unit River City community is unlike anything else. Winner of multiple national and international design awards including an OAA Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence, it has a unique architectural aesthetic that responds to both the “soft” parkland and “hard” transportation infrastructure that surround the site.
River City was the first component of the West Don Lands revitalization, kickstarting the transformation of what was previously a derelict district into the thriving neighbourhood that is the West Don Lands today. Urban Capital won the right to develop River City in 2008 after an extensive public tender process in which 18 national and international developers participated.
Making River City
With gorgeous cinematography, interviews with the developers, architects and other contributors, and explanations of how River City was designed and built, Making River City gives you behind the scenes insights into the development of this seminal Toronto community.
River City Phases
Awards and Accolades
Since the launch of Phase 1, River City has won a ton of design awards, and received a slew of press coverage. Below, a sample of the highlights.
RC3 Awards
“A wasteland in Toronto becomes a community”, Dave Leblanc, The Architourist, Globe and Mail
“A New Film Captures One of Our Favourite Urban Developments.”
RC3 wins Awards of Excellence from both the OAA and the OAQ.
Urban Toronto names RC3 the third most influential building in Toronto in the 2010s
RC3 wins a CTBUH Award of Excellence, bringing it some serious international attention
Christopher Hume lauds RC3
Winner of the 2015 BILD Design Award for Best Building Design
River City Phase 2 Awards
Toronto Life Condo of the Week May 2018
2017 OAA Lieutenant Governor's Award for Design Excellence in Architecture
2017 Canadian Green Building Awards for Large Residential
Toronto Urban Design Awards 2017 Award of Merit — Private Buildings in Context, Tall Category
BlogTO names RC2 as one of Toronto's Top 10 Buildings in the Last 5 Years
Urban Toronto Reader’s Favourite Residential Building (4–12 stories), 2015
River City Phase 1 Awards
2017 OAA Lieutenant Governor's Award for Design Excellence in Architecture
2017 Canadian Green Building Awards for Large Residential
Toronto Urban Design Awards 2015 Award of Excellence — Private Buildings in Context, Tall Category
2014 PUG Award Winner — Best Residential Building
2014 BILD Award — Best Building Design