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Tallest mass timber residential structure in Toronto

5 August 2025

While this may seem irrelevant as Toronto has no earthquake requirements in tall building design, it is an example of low-cost construction for affordable housing which IS relevant to New Zealand, Australia and many other ‘western’ cities … enjoy!

Toronto development is currently defined by concrete-and-steel high-rise construction, but Hälsa at 230 Royal York Road stands out as a rare and sustainable alternative. A 9-storey purpose-built residential rental project rising in Mimico, Hälsa is being built using a prefabricated mass timber system. Designed by LWPAC Architects for Leader Lane Developments in partnership with Windmill Development Group, the mid-rise building is being assembled from robotically manufactured panels that are craned into place onsite.

The project targets LEED Platinum certification and Tier 2 of the Toronto Green Standard. Once complete, Hälsa will rise 31.79m, delivering 60 new rental homes to South Etobicoke.

Click here to read more from Urban Toronto.

Click here to read more from Brandon Donnelly.

Image credit – Brandon Donnelly

WoodWorks Issue – 05 Aug 2025

Welcome

Greetings for another ’Timber-Tuesday’ from your WoodWorks team. We begin this week’s insights in Punakaiki on the west coast of the South Island.  The efficient prefabricated nature of using mass timber made it ideal for the remote but busy visitor centre.  Adding to that, the versatility of timber suited the structural resilience required for this high-wind coastal area.

Moving  to the Middle East where the glulam experts from  Red Stag TimberLab have made a 92m span bridge in Qatar.  This was a job that required precision of the fabrication so site adjustments were not necessary.

Limberlost Place, an institutional timber tower from Toronto showcases exposed timber and natural ventilation by using a solar chimney.  From British Columbia see the Fraser Mills Presentation Centre’s sweeping, free flowing roof form supported by cantilevered columns.  Lastly we examine the tallest mass timber residential structure in Toronto, could this affordable housing be the solution for New Zealand?

Finally this week, we are pleased to announce the full conference programme for our national WoodWorks Conference on 4-5 November.  Check out our speakers and site visit plan for the afternoon of Day 2 of the conference.  In coming weeks we will feature speaker and case study previews.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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