Mosaic: Community At Play

It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we partnered up with Quint Development to do a new residential project in Riversdale—Mosaic. At the time, we had built up The Two Twenty and fallen in love with Riversdale. We spent most of our time in the neighbourhood and wanted to create more options for people to experience urban living in this diverse and dynamic community, so close to downtown and the river. 

Mosaic was designed as an infill project that could increase density, while maintaining lots of outdoor green space for residents by organizing units around a common courtyard. But the courtyard was more than a space-saving strategy—it was about creating a means for neighbours to interact with each other and build community.

And five years later, that strategy seems to have had success. Most of the original buyers of Mosaic are still there. And when they invited us to a five year anniversary party at 9 Mile to celebrate, we were overjoyed. (We like planning parties, but we like attending them even better.) We’ve maintained close ties with many residents of Mosaic and are thrilled that the sense of community we hoped to foster is still going strong.

“Living at Mosiac these last five years has been a unique experience that allowed me to meet new people and enjoy Riversdale businesses and creative talent. The Live/Work concept offered me a way to run a small custom design studio and live in an up and coming area in a home that provided sustainable, community focused living.” -Eva Vas

“Mosaic is our own little community, with cats, dogs, kids, passing conversations, neighbourhood gossip, commiserations over beer or philosophy over wine, courtyard  BBQs and Christmas tree decorating.

Mosaic is also part of a larger neighbourhood, Riversdale - a historic, inner city area. Conveniently located to downtown, restaurants, bars, coffee shops and entertainment. 

Our Riversdale location has also brushed us up against the issue of gentrification and displacement. Life is never black or white, good or bad, but shades of gray.” - Vivian and Rod Orr