The chair of Waterfront Toronto is promising to create an “iconic” looking neighbourhood at Quayside as the corporation gets set next year to seek a new partner to co-develop the site abandoned by Sidewalk Labs.

Steve Diamond, a developer and chair of the board for Waterfront Toronto, said the board has heard “loud and clear” that the public wants to see a housing development at Quayside that leaves the Sidewalk Labs proposal “in the rear view mirror.”

“One of the pillars of where we’re moving toward is iconic architecture. The actual design will be left up to the private sector.

“We want to have creative active and passive open spaces for people, which we think is another important pillar of what we want to see at Quayside, that will hopefully set an example for the rest of the waterfront,” Diamond said.

Starting with a request for qualifications (RFQ) around late January, followed by a request for proposals (RFP) sometime in April, Waterfront Toronto will look for a qualified builder to develop the 12-acre site on the waterfront that Sidewalk Labs gave up on earlier this year.

Critics are urging the corporation to take a sharp turn away from the predictable look of many downtown highrises.

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