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 Manhattan lookalike.
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.
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 said 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 said 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.
Velasco said the first map he built was created "block by block, based off of Mapbox data," and he said he's lost track of how long it has taken to create his most recent version of the model.
However, before the holidays in December, he said 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.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.