A new high tech innovation centre is coming to the Toronto waterfront. Planned for a plot of land located next to Sugar Beach and the Corus Building, the 350,000 square foot building is a private sector development that will add a significant dose of commercial space to the soon to rise East Bayfront neighbourhood. Menkes won an open bid process for the right to develop the project and will employ Sweeny & Co Architects in the design of the building.

The first renderings for the project look promising. Not only does the building fit in well with the surrounding area (also home to George Brown's Waterfront Campus), but the sweeping staircase leading up to the entrance confers an openness to public use that's key given its proximity to parks. There's a passing similarity, at least in terms of shape, to the Student Learning Centre that's about to open at Ryerson.

Projected tenants include film and TV production and post-production companies, health care professionals, digital animators, and cognitive computing firms, all of which will take advantage of the ultra-high-speed broadband fibre optic network being installed along the eastern waterfront as part of the heavy development currently in the works and planned over the next decade. 2,000 people are expected to work at the Waterfront Innovation Centre, which is set to break ground in late 2016.