In a city that never sleeps, construction and developer applications don't either.
Stephen Velasco, a 26-year-old digital marketer, has created a 3D model of what Toronto could look like by 2030 based on current construction and proposed building plans.
From the looks of the model, the skyline is starting to shape up into a mini Manhattan look alike.
Stephen Velasco | Future Model Toronto
The crowded model showcases what Toronto could look like if all current proposed plans as of December 29 are actually built and construction is complete.
Velasco has been tracking building applications and construction in the city to create accurate models since 2017.
Although he told Narcity, he left the project for a few years and came back to it in full swing in 2020 when he started his Twitter account Future Model Toronto.
"From there, I've been putting out content on a weekly basis covering highrise constriction and development," said Velasco.
Velasco says in the next few years, Toronto can expect some big changes.
"There have been many changes to the Toronto skyline in the past decade, but I think from now until 2030, we're going to be seeing some of the most drastic changes that we've seen yet," said Velasco.
"There's certainly a trend towards buildings becoming not only taller but also more slender and we're seeing a lot more density being proposed predominantly in areas where density already exists."
Velasco says already dense areas like Yonge Street, where high rises are quite popular, will follow similar trends and that most "highrises are concentrated in the downtown core," even though other parts of the city continue to develop.
The first map Velasco built, he created "block by block based of Mapbox data," and he says he's lost track of how long it is taken to create his most recent version of the cities model.
However, before the holidays in December, he says he worked on updating the model five to 10 hours a week on top of his day job because dozens of new applications were submitted to the city.
