VANCOUVE – Intelligent City, a Vancouver-based company that specializes in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of prefabricated mass timber building systems for mid- to high-rise urban housing, is pleased to announce the official start of production on a nine-story mass timber residential building in Toronto’s west-end neighborhood.

Set to rise at 230 Royal York Drive, this building is set to claim the city’s tallest mass timber residential structure- until future projects currently in the pipeline surpass it. It will include 58 market-rate rental units and two replacement rental dwelling rooms to this area of the city, offering affordable and long-term rental options. The project is developed by Windmill Developments and Leader Lane Developments, and delivered with the help of project partners Oben Build, Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture Inc. (LWPAC) and Moses Structural Engineers.

Intelligent City’s manufacturing facility in Delta, B.C., will manufacture the main structure and envelope of the building, over the course of four months. Using advanced automation, including industrial robots and AI to process and assemble building parts on the production line, the company is driving innovation in industrialized construction processes. This development is a true demonstration of the power of prefabricated construction and sustainable materials reshaping the future of housing. By moving work from on-site to off-site, this approach can cut the construction time by three to four months.

“New construction practices like this shorten the time to build housing and reduce the impact of construction on neighbors,” says Councillor Amber Morley, who represents Ward 3, Etobicoke Lakeshore. “This means our residents will be able to move in sooner to much-needed rental units that are within walking distance of transit. The sustainable, mass timber development at 230 Royal York Drive is reflective of a commitment to reducing carbon emissions and expanding environmentally responsible housing. I’m encouraged to see developers embracing green building practices and working toward a more sustainable future for Toronto.”