Sidewalk Labs Plans Construction of $ 80 Million Wood Processing Plant

The goal of Sidewalk Labs is simple: to transform five acres on the shores of Ontario into a smart city in Toronto. The plan details the shape of the buildings, the streets, the planned infrastructure in terms of transport and communication, as well as the way the company wants to build this new city. 

Earlier in the year, a copy of this project had already appeared online. It already showed that this project had to be built of wood. Now, official, Sidewalk Labs proposes to invest $ 80 million to build a wood processing plant as well as its supply chain to build this all-wood neighborhood. The company explains that this plant, which would focus on the production of prefabricated elements for this project, could reduce by 35% the duration of the work, compared to more traditional methods.

Wood presents new advantages

The wood construction techniques used for this project would be as resistant as steel, more fire resistant than standard wood, but also more environmentally friendly than steel and concrete constructions, generating large amounts of CO2. 

In addition, the modular aspect of the proposed constructions would, according to Sidewalk, limit costs and construction times. The various modules have also been proposed to several architectural firms to see how they could be used for other developments in the area, and a wide variety of proposals emerged. In addition, the plant alone could generate 2,500 jobs over a 20-year period.

Sidewalk Labs imposes its style

"  We would fund the creation of this plant at a location in Toronto that we believe can act as a catalyst for the new wood industry,  " says Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Sidewalk Labs. 

Nevertheless, funding for this plant will also depend on the company's ability to develop this idea across the shoreline. Indeed, the 10 properties presented in the initial plan would not be sufficient to guarantee a return on the investment of $ 80 million provided by Sidewalk Labs and its private investors.

It should be noted that for the moment, the Toronto Urban Plan does not allow as many buildings of this type in the same area, but Doctoroff says he is confident that this may change. The sidewalk would, of course, be responsible for the development of the whole area, if the government agrees to bend its urban plan according to the proposals of the company.