Sherbourne Common

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Project Facts

  • The 3.6 acre, $30 million project is a novel hybrid: it’s both a park and a stormwater treatment plant that reduces stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into Toronto’s Lake Ontario.
  • The park was transformed from a brownfield into one of the Toronto waterfront’s main green space in 2011.
  • Sherbourne Common’s stormwater treatment uses Ultraviolet (UV) technology instead of chlorine to treat the water. After UV treatment the water flows through a 240-meter long urban river, a bio-filtration bed, and is then released into Lake Ontario.
  • Sherbourne Common is the first park in Canada to receive LEED gold certification.
  • The park contains about 182 native or regionally adapted trees: 108 Pacific Sunset Maple, 45 Red Oak, and 29 American Beech.
  • The park incorporates locally-available materials, extensively uses light-colored permeable paving surfaces to reduce the urban heat island effect, and uses special light fixtures to reduce light pollution.

PROJECT TYPE

  • Urban
  • Waterfront
  • Park
  • Brownfield

Environmental Benefits

  • Cleans Water
  • Ecologically Manages Stormwater
  • Recycles Materials
  • Reintroduces Native Plants
  • Reduces Urban Heat

Links