Abattoir Development TAS
Toronto
Ken Greenberg was engaged by TAS Development as part of a team to prepare a proposal for the former Abattoir site on the west side of Downtown Toronto, just north of the rail corridor opposite Fort York working with KPMB Architects and Landscape Architects Public Work. The site a former abattoir and cattle market from the late 19th century until 2014—has been re-imagined as a dense, mixed-use "complete" community. Drawing on the historical context of the site, and its unique topography on the path of the buried Garrison Creek, the site plan is configured around a notional upper “plateau”, a “lowland” and a “creek bank” running through the middle, with a full range of employment, residential, retail and cultural uses incorporating the structure of the original abattoir and a number of new buildings. There is a strong emphasis on public amenities including a boardwalk amphitheatre, indigenous grass plantings, and bleachers along the north side of the rail corridor for trainspotting. Negotiating a change in elevation, the Creek Bank is designed to effectively create two outdoor levels, with levels of public seating lining the change in grade.