The Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood sits upon the site of Toronto’s demolished Maple Leaf Baseball Stadium, which had its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. Unlike most of the development to the east, this neighbourhood is composed of affordable housing. Arranged around the five-acre Little Norway Park (a tribute to the Norwegian Air Force that barracked here during WWII) are two City-owned-and-operated properties (rent geared to income), four housing co-operatives, and one affordable market-housing building. This neighbourhood suffered a dire lack of community amenities for almost 12 years, until 1997, when the community centre and public school were completed on the east side of the park. The neighbourhood is overshadowed by the Canada Malting Silos, which are to be renovated into a national music centre, with studios and performance spaces.

The residential buildings on Bathurst Quay are more significant for the diverse contributions they make to Toronto’s social housing stock than their design innovation.

Harbourside Co-op
Fleiss Gates McGowan Architects

The co-op combines 34 townhouse units, each with full basements, and 21 apartments on the third level, all arranged around a central courtyard.

696 Queens Quay West
Architect, Charles Simon Architect

This is a complex of “garden” apartments, which are double stacked and coated in grey stucco, and a high-rise apartment building.


Winward Co-op
34 Little Norway
Architect, Roger du Toit

This building has won awards for the high level of barrier free access it affords in all units. Its interior courtyard has a raised garden for the enjoyment of wheelchair tenants.

Harbour Channel Co-op
Corner Stadium and Lakeshore Boulevard
Completed 1990
Architect, Paul Reuber

The most interesting aspect of this building is the story of its genesis. To gain more air rights in the central core, the Bank of Nova Scotia (for its Scotia Tower) made a contribution to the Toronto Co-operative Housing Federation, in trust. The City then leased the land to the Co-op for the construction of the housing. The building also has single-mother units specifically for a non-profit organization called Jessie’s.

Leslie Woo