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Progress continues at the Wallace Emerson Community Centre, where vibrant green-glazed terracotta cladding — custom-fabricated in Germany and rarely seen in local civic architecture — is now wrapping both pavilions. Designed by Perkins&Will for the City of Toronto as part of Almadev‘s Galleria on the Park redevelopment of the southwest corner of Dufferin and Dupont, the new hub will replace the existing centre to the east and anchor the northwest corner of an expanded Wallace Emerson Park.
Since UrbanToronto’s last update in March, 2025, cladding and parkland have progressed in tandem, on the way to forming a new public realm designed by Public Work.
A July, 2025 image shows the two irregularly shaped pavilions, with terracotta panel installation continuing on the main building’s (right) eastern elevations. The triangular rooftop running track has taken shape, surrounded by a low parapet, with solar panels installed at the top. The red-brown, water-starved green roofs across both buildings are bordered in blue weatherproofing. Between the pavilions, a large dirt staging area remains active with heavy equipment. To the left in the distance, work is also advancing on the BMX/skate park in the southwest corner, where smooth concrete transitions and sculpted bowls are taking shape.
Installation of the vertically fluted NBK panels continues along the second storey near the south end, with sections of exposed insulation and mounting infrastructure still visible at the corner, and between the dark-tinted window bays at right and left. The ground-floor curtainwall system is now largely glazed, while exposed concrete along the second-floor slab’s soffits and slab edges awaits finishing treatments. A boom lift is active near the south end.
This interior view through the north glazing reveals progress inside the aquatic facility. The east pool wall is lined with exposed pink batt insulation, while the filled basin is bordered by temporary timber guardrails. Cylindrical concrete columns rise across both levels. At the mezzanine level, green weatherproofing is in place where the fitness area will overlook the pool.
Meanwhile, the south elevation is now fully clad in terracotta, with curtainwall glazing spanning the first level. A boom lift’s bucket is positioned at the upper window wall. In the foreground, poured concrete seatwalls, mounded earth, and newly planted trees define the emerging landscape. Cylindrical bollards line the park’s west edge, ready for when the temporary wall comes down along the abutting laneway.
This month, a close-up look at the Field House highlights the smaller of the two pavilions and its sharply angled roofline rising from west to east, with its sharply angled overhanging section at the north end of the second floor. At grade, the building transitions between white masonry block on the west end and full-height curtainwall glazing along the east. In the foreground are staged rebar cages, with a compact excavator to the right.
Construction is currently scheduled for completion in Summer, 2026.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
| Related Companies: | Almadev |