About ModernTO
Modernizing the City’s office portfolio and unlocking value to invest in City Building
The ModernTO plan, adopted by Toronto City Council in October 2019, is a new approach to city building that’s designed to modernize the City’s office space, save money, and strategically use its real estate assets. The City currently has more than three million square feet (278,709 sq.m.) of office space across 55 owned and leased locations, which represents a large, outdated, and inefficient office footprint.
Through ModernTO, the City plans to reduce that portfolio to 15 locations – primarily by ending leases and creating office hubs within key civic buildings including City Hall, Metro Hall and the Civic Centres in Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke.
This will also unlock eight City-owned properties for city-building purposes, including affordable housing, City services, and other City priorities.
ModernTO Sites
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At its meeting on April 6 and 7, 2022, Toronto City Council adopted a series of city-building objectives for the eight properties to be unlocked through the ModernTO program and approved the development strategy and vision for the five sites to be repurposed in the short term.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Program, acting as a catalyst for change and accelerating the transition toward remote working.
On October 29 and 30, 2019, Toronto City Council approved the City-Wide Real Estate Strategy and the ModernTO Office Portfolio Optimization Plan to identify primary office buildings and opportunities to unlock value for City objectives.
City Council requested several agencies and corporations (such as CreateTO, TCHC, TPA, and TTC) to adopt their own policies to enable a flexible and mobile office workplace, in a manner consistent with those established by the City under the Office Portfolio Optimization Plan.
City Council adopts ModernTO plan to optimize the City’s real estate assets creating cost savings and city building opportunities.
