Limberlost Place

A Mass-timber Building with Local and Global Impact

George Brown College’s commitment to the development of Toronto’s East Bayfront community continues with Limberlost Place, a 10-storey mass-timber, net-zero building currently under construction at Queens Quay East and Dockside Drive. Limberlost Place will welcome students in January 2025.

Once complete, Limberlost Place will be the first institutional building of its kind in Ontario. The construction of the building will contribute to significant revisions of the national and provincial building codes to allow for mass-timber buildings over six storeys.   

A historic donation

We announced the building's name, inspired by the Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve near Huntsville, Ontario, when Canadian business leader and philanthropist Jack Cockwell donated $10 million to George Brown College for the Limberlost Place project in 2021. This donation was in addition to his earlier gift of $8 million in 2015. The $18-million gift is one of the largest donations made to the college.

Limberlost Place is years ahead of Toronto's 2030 goals for sustainable design (Toronto Green Standard) and performance for new developments, and it has become a global model for mass timber sustainable construction. Built with made-in-Canada mass-timber components, the design provides generous spaces focused on well-being by maximizing access to natural light and fresh air. 

The building will harness green energy from the surrounding environment, including Lake Ontario. Two solar chimneys, the engines of the passive ventilation system, will draw air up and through the building from operable windows. The design also features a 40 per cent window-to-wall ratio, and the building will be outfitted with smart daylight sensors and dimming controls.  

• Limberlost Place will be able to operate passively 50 per cent of the year. 
• The building will run with no fuel-fired systems. Electric systems are more energy efficient and represent a cleaner form of energy consumption than natural gas. 
• A roof-mounted solar array will generate 24 per cent of Limberlost Place's energy consumption to offset GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions generated in the electricity grid.  

Neat fact! Limberlost Place will contribute to significant revisions of the national and provincial building codes to allow for mass-timber buildings over six storeys.