Monthly Archives: June 2011

PwC tower aims for autumn occupancy as digging continues for hotel & office towers next door

PwC office tower at 18 York Street

June 20 2011: The exterior construction elevator has been removed from the south side of the PwC tower as the office building nears completion …

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

… while excavation work is underway for the Delta hotel and Bremner office building that will join PwC as part of the Southcore Financial Centre

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Only 10 floors of windows remain to be installed on the south wall

 

 

Nearly finished: Occupancy is expected to commence this fall for the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) office tower at 18 York Street, the first of three buildings that will make up the Southcore Financial Centre (SFC) complex occupying the entire block of Bremner Boulevard between York and Lower Simcoe Streets. When I walked past the SFC site recently, I saw that the temporary construction elevator had been removed from the south side of the PwC tower, where windows are gradually being installed where the elevator previously rose. Meanwhile, crews were busy with site preparation and excavation for the 45-storey Delta Toronto hotel and the 30-storey Bremner Tower office buildings currently under construction to PwC’s immediate west.

According to SFC, the 26-storey, 650,000-square-foot PwC tower is 96% leased. Its anchor (and namesake) tenant will be the PwC Canada accounting and consulting firm, while other major tenants will include personal and commercial insurance firm RSA Canada, engineering & construction organization SNC-Lavalin, and the commercial real estate services company Avison Young. The 700,000-square-foot Bremner Tower will rise right next door. Both office buildings were designed by Toronto’s KPMB Architects. The Delta Toronto, a four-star hotel with 566 rooms, was designed by Toronto’s Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects. Scheduled completion date for the Bremner Tower is December 2013, while construction of the Delta Toronto is expected to finish in the fall of 2014.

Below are pics of recent construction activity at the SFC site. Further information and photos of earlier construction progress, along with architectural renderings of the three towers, can be seen in my April 24 2011 post as well as my February 26 2011 post.

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

June 20 2011: The PwC logo will be mounted on the top left section of the tower

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

June 20 2011: Windows being installed where the temporary construction elevator used to rise on the south side of the PwC tower

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

June 20 2011: Workers apply finishing touches to the tower’s south face

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

June 20 2011: A closer view of the crew working on the glass curtain wall

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

June 20 2011: A construction entrance gate on Bremner Blvd. near York Street. Some of the new tower’s tenants will begin moving in this fall.

 

Southcore Financial Centre site

June 20 2011: The Bremner Tower will rise on this spot beside the PwC Tower…

 

Southcore Financial Centre site

… while the Delta Toronto hotel tower will rise a little farther west, at the corner of Bremner Blvd. and Lower Simcoe Street.

 

Southcore Financial Centre site

June 20 2011: Excavation activity in progress for the hotel and office towers

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: The Delta Toronto hotel tower will sit directly across Lower Simcoe Street from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: Buses parked on Bremner Boulevard near Lower Simcoe Street, outside the future location of the Delta Toronto hotel tower.

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: The railway tracks sit to the immediate north of the SFC site

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: Overlooking the northwest corner of the SFC building site

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: Railway and commuter trains pass on the opposite side of the concrete and steel beam barrier at the northern perimeter of the SFC site.

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: Two excavating machines at work on the site

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: A welder works on the retaining wall next to the railway tracks

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 2011: A crew works near the northeast corner of the SFC building site

 

Southcore Financial Centre construction site

June 20 2011: The northwest corner of the site along Lower Simcoe Street

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Window installation should be completed soon on the upper 10 floors where the exterior construction elevator once rose

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

July 1 2011: A closer view of the former elevator location on the south wall

 

PwC office tower at 18 York Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Another view of the areas where windows will soon be installed

 

Couture condo tower begins climb above grade

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: Forms for first floor walls stand in place as construction of the Couture Condominium tower climbs above street grade (seen here looking north from street level behind Couture’s neighbour, X Condos).

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: Concrete walls for the first floor rise above the street near the tower’s northeast corner and right beside the construction crane

 

Couture Condominium first floor construction

June 22 2011: A view of first floor construction progress, looking to the northeast

 

Couture Condominium first floor construction

June 22 2011: First floor takes shape near the building’s northeast corner

 

Couture Condominium first floor construction

June 22 2011: X Condos looms to the south as Couture’s first floor rises

 

Couture’s climb: Just weeks ago there was still a huge hole in the ground where the Couture Condominium tower has been under construction. Now that the underground levels are almost finished, the tower is pushing above grade, and walls for the first floor of the 44-storey skyscraper are taking shape.  Passersby will no longer have to peer into a large pit to watch the tower’s progress — it’s all straight up from this point. Below is a series of photos chronicling Couture’s construction progress at various times this spring.

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: The foundation’s southern third slowly fills in …

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

… by June 5 2011, it has made great strides in catching up …

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

… and by June 22 2011 most — but not all — of the foundation is finished

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Foundation viewed from the southeast corner, looking north …

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

… by May 1 2011 crews haven’t yet made tremendous progress on the SE corner …

Couture Condominium construction

… but on May 31 2011 they’re placing forms for the first floor concrete pour …

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

… and by June 22 2011, the corner has filled in right up to street level

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

May 1 2011: This view from the southeast corner shows how much work remains to be done on the foundation’s southern section …

 

Couture Condominium construction progress

… but by June 22 2011 most of the foundation has filled in up to grade

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

May 1 2011: Looking to the southwest, wall forms are seen approaching grade …

 

Couture Condominium construction

… and by June 22 2011 forms begin to rise  high above the street

 

Couture Condominium foundation construction

May 1 2011: Looking south at foundation progress at the front of Couture, along Ted Rogers Way (a.k.a. Jarvis Street) …

 

Couture Condominium construction progress

… by June 22 2011, the stretch of property along Ted Rogers Way is fully filled in

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Four underground levels visible from the site’s southeast corner

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Looking north across the center of the construction site

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Looking north across the west side of the site

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: The view from the site’s southwest corner

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Looking across the site toward Ted Rogers Way

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: The southeast corner has a lot of catching-up to do

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

April 22 2011: Looking west across the southern third of the Couture site

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

May 1 2011: Underground floors on the southern section slowly start to fill in

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

May 1 2011: Looking down into the southeast corner of the foundation

 

Couture Condominium construction

May 31 2011: Forms being put in place to prepare for concrete pour for the street-level main floor

 

Couture Condominium construction

May 31 2011: Another view of grade-level work on the northern third of the site

 

Couture Condos foundation construction

June 5 2011: Most of the foundation starts closing in on street level

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 5 2011: Looking across the Couture foundation from the southwest corner

 

Couture Condos construction

June 22 2011: Looking south along Ted Rogers Way as Couture starts climbing above the street

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: Looking west across the northern third of the Couture site

 

Couture Condos construction

June 22 2011: Looking northwest from Ted Rogers Way

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: Street-level floor nearly complete at the south end of the site

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: The southwest side of the building isn’t completely at grade yet

 

Couture Condos construction progress

June 22 2011: Part of the first underground level remains to be closed in

 

 

Condo tower in the works for 2 Gloucester Street?

Gloucester Mews at 2 Gloucester Street Toronto

June 22 2011: Constructed  in 1888, the Gloucester Mews building at 2 Gloucester St. / 601 Yonge St. was originally a Masonic Hall. A rezoning application for the property has been filed with the City.

 

How big? How tall?: Originally constructed as a Masonic Hall, and currently housing loft condos, retail shops and restaurants, the elegant red brick Gloucester Mews building that has graced the northeast corner of Yonge & Gloucester Streets for the past 123 years could soon become part of a condo tower development project.

According to a development projects entry on the City’s website, an official plan amendment and rezoning application for 2 Gloucester Street was filed earlier this month. However, the website provides no further details about the June 10 application, such as the size or height of whatever building a developer may be planning for the site.

It’s no secret that the heritage building and its next-door neighbours to the east — the Fire on the East Side restaurant and bar at 6 Gloucester Street, along with Olympic 76 Pizza and Fly Nightclub at 8 Gloucester Street — have been in property developers’ sightlines for quite some time. Architects and urban planning consultants identified the properties as a suitable condo tower site several years ago, and city planners told public meetings I attended this past spring that highrise condo development on the corner site was inevitable. Also this spring, word circulated amongst area residents that the Fire on the East Side building had been sold to a developer. What hasn’t been certain, though, is just how big and how tall a developer will seek to build there. I expect those details will be released soon. And until that information is available, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the Gloucester Mews — one of my favourite downtown buildings — will be retained as part of whatever development occurs, rather than being reduced to a mere facade. I’m sure many Toronto heritage enthusiasts will be hoping and praying that it’s left alone, too, but I won’t be surprised if it isn’t.

According to architectural journalist Patricia McHugh’s Toronto Architecture: A City Guide (Mercury Books 1985), the Gloucester Mews/Masonic Hall was for “many years the tallest building on Yonge Street north of Dundas.” She noted that the Masons met in a fourth floor hall “for 33 years until 1921 when a new Masonic building was constructed at Davenport and Yonge.”  In 1972, the firm Adamson Associates renovated the Masonic Hall, joining it to the “Bay-n-Gable” house at 8 Gloucester with a two-storey glass link. “Though still called Gloucester Mews, the shops-around-a-courtyard mews plan was early abandoned to allow Fenton’s Restaurant to fill the glass-covered interior space as well as the old house,” McHugh wrote.

Below are some photos I snapped this afternoon of Gloucester Mews and its neighbours. 

 

Gloucester Mews building at 2 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: Lower south side of Gloucester Mews building

 

Gloucester Mews at 2 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: Upper floors of the 5-storey Gloucester Mews building

 

2 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: The gated entrance to 2 Gloucester Street is next door to the Fire on the East Side restaurant and bar at 6 Gloucester Street (right)

 

Fire on the East Side at 6 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: Fire on the East Side restaurant & bar at 6 Gloucester

 

Olympic 76 Pizza and Fly nightclub at 8 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: Olympic 76 Pizza and Fly nightclub at 8 Gloucester Street

 

2, 6 and 8 Gloucester Street viewed from the east

June 22 2011:  2, 6 and 8 Gloucester viewed from Gloucester Lane

 

Laneway and parking lot next to 8 Gloucester Street

June 22 2011: Looking south on Gloucester Lane outside the “back” (east side) of 8 Gloucester Street. The Norman Jewison Parkette extends from Isabella to Gloucester Streets on the other side of the parking strip.

 

City Scene: $28M condo penthouse in the clouds

Four Seasons Toronto $28 million condo penthouse

Penthouse in the mist: Clouds and fog swirl around the top floors of the Four Seasons Toronto Hotel & Residences tower in this photo shot this afternoon.  The skyscraper, which is under construction in Yorkville,  made headlines last month when an undisclosed buyer from outside the country purchased the 9,038-square-foot 55th floor penthouse for $28 million — the highest price ever paid for a condo anywhere in Canada. But as today’s weather proved, money can’t buy everything — especially a glorious penthouse view on a rainy day.

 

 

Ontario gov’t to provide $56.4 million for new Health Sciences Building at Ryerson University

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

June 20 2011: Crews clear demolition debris from the site where the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre will be built. The Ontario government will provide funds for Ryerson to construct a new Health Sciences Building, too.

 

Ryerson growing bigger: It has been just over three months since Ryerson University unveiled the stunning design for the new Student Learning Centre it will begin building later this year at the northeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets downtown. Now, the rapidly-growing university needs to find a site for a new Health Sciences Building — and select an architect to design it.

Today, the Ontario government announced it will provide Ryerson with $56.4 million to construct a new Health Sciences Building that will feature “state-of-the-art labs and classrooms to house a number of health-related programs, including the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing.” The popular downtown university, which already has 28,000 students, will be able to increase its enrolment by 1,800, thanks to the province’s financial “investment” in the new building.

The university hasn’t yet selected a site for the facility, and also has not yet chosen an architectural firm to design it, said Janet Mowat, Ryerson’s Director, Public Affairs / Marketing and Communications, when I inquired if any renderings are available.

I’m keen to find out if the Health Sciences Building will be constructed somewhere on the Ryerson campus or at another location in the immediate vicinity. (Hmm … I wonder if Ryerson has attempted to acquire the 335 Yonge Street site that has sat empty since the ruins of a heritage building destroyed in a suspicious January fire were cleared away during the winter. That property is directly across Gould Street from the Student Learning Centre site — but might not be big enough for a new campus building.)

I’m also anxious to see if the university will ask architects to come up with another eye-popping design, like the spectacular building that Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City conceived for the Student Learning Centre. (Full details of that construction project, along with architectural renderings of the Centre’s design, are provided in my April 8 2011 post.)

Ryerson’s  popularity with students has been surging in recent years. According to the university, Ryerson “has the highest ratio in Ontario of first choice applications from secondary-school students to number of places available.” The university has been experiencing a building boom, too, to accommodate its increasing enrolment. Already more than halfway through construction is the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre at the corner of Gould and Bond Streets, which I profiled in a January 12 2011 post and in an April 2011 follow-up post. Next up will be the Student Learning Centre where site preparation work is underway and, after that, the Health Sciences Building. And since early spring, the university has been undertaking major sidewalk and streetscape improvements to the new Gould Street-Victoria Street pedestrian zone on its campus.

Below are recent photos of the Student Learning Centre site, as well as the streetscape improvements on Gould and Victoria Streets.

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

April 30 2011: Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site viewed from the corner of Gould Street and O’Keefe Lane, looking to the northwest

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

April 30 2011: Student Learning Centre site looking southwest from O’Keefe Lane

 

335 Yonge Street

April 30 2011: The empty lot at 335 Yonge Street, where an 1880s-era heritage building was destroyed by fire in early January of this year. This property is situated directly across Gould Street from the Student Learning Centre location.

 

Gould Street on the Ryerson University campus

April 30 2011: Streetscape improvements underway on Gould Street near the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre construction site (rear)

 

Victoria Street on Ryerson University campus

April 30 2011: Ryerson streetscape improvements along Victoria Street

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

May 13 2011: Development proposal sign at the Student Learning Centre site

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

May 13 2011: Looking north from Gould Street at the Student Learning Centre site. This was the location of the former Sam the Record Man flagship store.

 

 

City Scene: Four new towers in north downtown

Skyscrapers in the Yonge & Bloor area

June 21 2011: A Broadview Avenue view of four new glass and steel towers that rise high in the Bloor-Yorkville area. At far left is Casa Condominium; in center are X Condos and James Cooper Mansion Condos; at far right with the construction crane is the Toronto Four Seasons Hotel & Residences.


Sidewalk along east side of Bay Street taped off after glass falls from Murano condo towers — again

 

Bay street below Murano condos

3:15 p.m.: “Caution” tape blocks the east sidewalk on Bay Street, seen here looking south from Grosvenor toward Grenville Street. A security guard told me the sidewalk was closed as a safety precaution after glass fell from one of the Murano condo towers sometime today.

 

Overhead dangers: The sky isn’t falling this week, but you can forgive many Toronto motorists and pedestrians for thinking that it is. Yesterday, a 10-pound chunk of concrete fell from the Gardiner Expressway onto Lake Shore Boulevard near Bathurst Street, forcing the temporary closure of two lanes of traffic while crews cleaned the road and inspected the elevated expressway for additional loose pieces. (Further information about that is available in a Toronto Star article published today as well as a story that appeared in yesterday’s Globe and Mail.) Then, sometime today, glass apparently fell from one of the Murano condo towers on Bay Street, forcing building management to tape off pedestrian access to most of the sidewalk on the east side of Bay between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets as a safety measure.

Today’s broken glass/sidewalk closure incident is the latest in a series that have occurred at the popular downtown condominium complex for more than a year. A project of Lanterra Developments, Murano is a pair of attractive glass and steel condo towers that soar 45 and 37 storeys above the east side of Bay Street, between Grosvenor to the north and Grenville to the south. As I reported in a January 18 2011 post, there were three occasions last year on which glass balcony panels either shattered or loosened and fell from the towers. In April 2010, a balcony panel apparently plunged from one of the towers, smashing and cracking several panes of a glass canopy that extends along the condo building exterior above the Bay Street sidewalk.  When two more balcony panels broke last September the local media took note, with the Toronto Star publishing a September 18 2010 report headlined “Shattered glass rains down from condo tower.” Just before Christmas, I noticed that a balcony panel on the south side of the North Tower had been replaced with a piece of wood, while in late January I saw a board on yet another balcony on the other side of the same tower (see my February 2 2011 post for photos of that, as well as pics of a temporary wood panel on a balcony at the 46-storey Casa Condominium on Charles Street East).  There were no reports of injuries in any of the incidents. For most of 2010 and much of this past winter, however, scaffolding was kept in place to protect pedestrians using the sidewalks outside the Murano towers. Meanwhile, replacements for the broken and cracked panels on the canopy above the sidewalk were not installed until sometime in April of this year.

Early in May, I noticed that most of the scaffolding had been removed from the sidewalks, while just a week or two back I saw that the sidewalks were completely clear for the first time in many months. When I was heading north on Bay Street in midafternoon today, however, I encountered yellow and red “caution” tape that had been strung across the trees in front of the Murano complex, blocking most of the sidewalk from pedestrian use. Only a narrow section, with barely enough room for two pedestrians to pass each other, remained open alongside the curb. A disabled man in a motorized wheelchair came along and noticed, to his chagrin, that the section of sidewalk still open for passage was not wide enough for his chair. He proceeded to drive under the “caution” tape, which snagged on his headrest and ripped away from the trees as he rode up the middle of the sidewalk. A security guard wearing a white hardhat came racing toward him, gesturing for the man to drive his wheelchair along the edge of the sidewalk next to the road. “You can’t go up here! It’s dangerous!” he warned.

When I asked why the sidewalk was taped off, the security guard said it was because “glass fell from the tower.” He did not know whether the glass had fallen from a broken window or a balcony panel. All he could tell me was that glass had fallen to the street and the sidewalk had been cordoned off as a safety precaution. “It’s very dangerous for you here,” he told me, before scurrying down the street to replace the tape that had been torn loose by the wheelchair (several pedestrians had started walking up the middle of the sidewalk since the tape was no longer in place to indicate it was off-limits.) I didn’t see broken glass anywhere on the sidewalks; if there had been any, it had already been swept up. A police car was parked on Grosvenor outside the entrance to the Murano North Tower but, apart from the “caution” tape, there was nothing to suggest anything “dangerous” had happened. Nevertheless, I wonder if I’ll once again see scaffolding above the sidewalk next time I walk past the Muranos?

Below are two more pics showing the taped-off sidewalk today, along with photos I took during the winter of the missing and cracked canopy panels and their replacements.

 

Bay street beside Murano Condos

June 21 2011: Red caution tape blocks the Bay Street sidewalk beside the Murano Condo towers, seen here looking north from Grenville Street.

 

Bay Street beside the Murano Condo towers

June 21 2011: Red and yellow tape tied to trees blocks the Bay Street sidewalk next to the Murano condos, seen here looking south from Grosvenor Street.

 

Murano Condos on Bay Street

March 29 2011: One glass panel is cracked and others are missing from the canopy that extends above the sidewalk from the west side of the Murano towers

 

Murano Condos on Bay Street

March 29 2011: Looking up at the 45-storey Murano Condos South Tower through the space where a panel is missing from the canopy above the Bay Street sidewalk

 

Murano Condos on Bay Street

March 29 2011: Looking up at the Murano’s North Tower, left, and South Tower

 

Murano Condos on Bay Street

April 30 2011: New panels have recently been installed in the canopy

 

Murano Condos on Bay Street

April 30 2011: The glass podium of the Murano towers reflects the Burano condo tower — another Lanterra Developments project — currently under construction on the west side of Bay Street

 

 

L Tower asserts its presence on The Esplanade as condo construction climbs above fifth floor

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: L Tower construction dominates the west end of The Esplanade as the condo tower rises past the 5th floor on its way to 57 storeys

 

L Tower condo tower construction

November 9 2010: Last fall, supply trucks had a bigger presence on The Esplanade than did construction of the  L Tower condo tower itself

 

High Five: It doesn’t take long for new building construction to make a major impact on the look and feel of a downtown street, as the L Tower condominium highrise demonstrates. Just five months ago, anyone heading west on The Esplanade, near Scott Street, could see only a tall white construction crane, hoarding and supply trucks as they approached the building site. They had to get within less than half a block of Yonge Street before they could see any signs of the base being built for the 57-storey condo tower. It’s a completely different story now that L Tower is five floors high — and counting. The construction is visible from much farther east on the Esplanade, and L Tower already dominates the western end of the road at Yonge Street. It won’t be much longer before L Tower climbs above the Sony Centre next door and begins asserting its presence on the city skyline, too. Designed by New York-based Daniel Libeskind, L Tower is a project of Fernbrook Homes, Cityzen Real Estate Group and Castlepoint Realty Partners. Below is a series of photos comparing construction progress since February, followed by several more photos taken today.  Further information about the condo project, along with pics I took during earlier stages of construction, is available in my March 8 2011 post.

 

L Tower condo tower

February 3 2011:  Construction of the tower base begins rising above the street …

 

L Tower condo tower

March 7 2011: Construction has reached the second level …

 

L Tower condo tower

April 21 2011: L Tower has almost blocked sight of the federal government building on the west side of Yonge Street …

 

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011:  The federal building is now barely visible from The Esplanade

 

L Tower condo tower

March 7 2011: Construction inches above the hoarding along Yonge Street …

 

L Tower condo tower

April 21 2011: In just six weeks, the condo tower construction now commands attention from Yonge Street

L Tower condo tower

March 7 2011: The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, next door to L Tower, is visible through this entry gate at the corner of Yonge & The Esplanade …

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: The Sony Centre is now barely visible behind the L Tower

L Tower condo tower

March 7 2011: Skyscrapers in the Financial District are visible to the north of the L Tower site in this view from The Esplanade …

L Tower condo tower

April 21 2011: L Tower is gradually blocking the skyscrapers from view …

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: Only the top floors of the BCE Place towers remain visible from The Esplanade — and will soon be blocked as L Tower climbs higher

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: Looking northeast from Yonge Street at L Tower’s progress

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: Distinctive angles accent the tower’s southwest corner

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: L Tower will soon overtake the Sony Centre in height

L Tower condo tower

June 20 2011: L Tower begins climbing into view from the south; this photo was taken on the north side of Lake Shore Blvd. near Bay Street

Pre-Thanksgiving opening in sight for Loblaws store under construction inside Maple Leaf Gardens

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Carlton Street view of Maple Leaf Gardens, looking northwest

 

Talking turkey: If all goes according to plan for the Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project, downtown residents will flock to the historic hockey shrine to shop for Thanksgiving turkeys this fall. Construction of a 70,000 square foot Loblaws grocery store inside the Gardens fell behind schedule this year (it was supposed to be open by now), but I’ve been told that Loblaws anticipates work will finish within the next three months. The goal is to open the store by summer’s end so Loblaws can cash in as shoppers rush to fill their kitchen cupboards for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. On the other hand, a completion date remains far from certain for the Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre, which is being built on two levels directly above the Loblaws store, since substantial construction work remains to be done there. When I got a peek inside the ground level of the Gardens a few days ago, I didn’t think the Thanksgiving target would be achievable.  When I asked one of the site supervisors if work would be finished by October, he chuckled and said: “As we say in construction,  ‘it will be finished when it’s finished.'” But another man in a white hard hat told me that once the “shell” of the grocery store is finished, which he said should happen soon, the grocery store interior will take shape rapidly.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot happening outside the Gardens, too. Scaffolding that has shrouded much of the building’s south wall along Carlton Street is gradually being dismantled as crews complete window installation and work on the brick facade. From street level, the most noticeable change has been the removal of the long blue and silver Maple Leaf Gardens marquee above the main entrance; it will be replaced. Just around the corner, southbound traffic on Church Street is disrupted frequently when portable cranes pull up to hoist steel bars and other building materials for the Ryerson sports complex onto the Gardens roof (a supervisor said that’s how most construction supplies must be loaded into the Ryerson section of the Gardens now that the grocery store has filled out most of the ground level).  The dome atop the Gardens roof is being refurbished, too, and once that is done, a new maple leaf logo will be painted on the broad white surface and Canadian flags will be raised to flutter from the empty rooftop flagpoles. Below are photos I have shot since late April of construction activity outside and on top of Maple Leaf Gardens. To view photos of earlier stages of construction, check out my posts from April 14 2011, March 29 2011, and February 2 2011.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 29 2011: Roof work underway on the north side of the Gardens’ dome

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 29 2011: Another view of revitalization work on the roof of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Scaffolding covers the middle third of the Maple Leaf Gardens south wall along Carlton Street. The Canadian flags and the blue and silver marquee above the main entrance will be removed as work proceeds on the building.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Scaffolding rises from the marquee above the main entrance all the way to the top of the building’s south wall.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: A view of the main entrance before the marquee is removed

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Window replacement and brickwork is underway behind the shrouds

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: The sidewalk and one westbound lane on Carlton Street have been closed so crews can finish exterior work on the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Construction workers on the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Workers atop the dome’s northeast corner above Church Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A truck pumps concrete through the Maple Leaf Gardens roof and into the Ryerson University sports complex being built on the upper two levels

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Concrete pumper above the southeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Pumpcrete vehicle delivering concrete for the sports complex

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: The long boom of the Pumpcrete truck rises to the roof

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A closer view of the Pumpcrete machine

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A concrete truck outside the Gardens’ Carlton Street main entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 1 2011: A crane hoists a load of steel bars to the roof of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 1 2011: A worker guides the load to the rooftop

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 3 2011: With the roof recovered, brickwork proceeds on the north wall

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 3 2011: Workers replace a window on the Wood Street wall of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: A crane hoists building materials to the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Another load of construction material rises to the rooftop

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Two construction workers watch as the crane hoists its load

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Workers watch and wait while the crane hoists supplies to the roof

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Scaffolding rises up the south side of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: The scaffolding is gradually being removed as brickwork is finished

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: A metal frame (bottom) is all that remains of the long blue and silver marquee that used to hang above the Gardens’ Carlton Street entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Another view of scaffolding above the Carlton Street entrance

 

 

 

 

Proposed 62-storey “Casa 2” condo tower would soar 202 metres high at 42 Charles Street East

42 Charles Street East condo proposal

42 Charles Street East condo development proposal notice

 

Drawing of condo tower proposed for 42 Charles Street East

This drawing of the proposed 62-storey condo tower appears on the project development notice outside 42 Charles Street East

 

Going tall on Charles: Area residents had been hearing rumours for months, and knew it was only a matter of time before a condo development application for 42 Charles Street East would be filed with the city planning department. What they didn’t know for certain was how tall the  condo tower proposed for the site — presently occupied by a a nine-storey YMCA building — would be. While real estate websites had been claiming that Cresford Developments was going to announce plans for a spectacular 64-storey skyscraper, some people who live in two recently-built Cresford condos on Charles Street told me they had heard it would be “only” 50 to 55 floors instead. But the May 13 development application put all speculation to rest. It proposes a 58-storey tower rising 186.7 metres atop a four-storey (16-metre) podium.The tower would have 570 condo units, two lobbies (one off Charles Street, the other off Hayden Street to the north), five levels of underground parking with spaces for 215 vehicles, and 230 bicycle parking spots. Building amenities would be provided in the podium and atop of the podium’s roof.

Cresford is the developer that recently built two other condo towers on Charles: the 46-storey Casa Condominium tower at 33 Charles Street East, and the 32-storey Bloor Street Neighbourhood (BSN) condo at 38 Charles Street East. When word got out that Cresford had purchased the YMCA property, condo tower fans and foes alike immediately started speculating that a “Casa 2” was in the works. If approved by the city, Cresford’s latest condo won’t be the only new tower rising on the one-way street in the popular Bloor-Yorkville area. Demolition of an eight-storey office building at 45 Charles Street East is expected to commence next month, to make room for construction of the 39-storey Chaz on Charles condominium. But if Cresford gets the go-ahead, its tower will easily dwarf the 138-metre Casa, as well as the 163-metre, 51-storey Manulife Centre two blocks west. Looks like Charles Street is destined to become the “condo canyon” I wondered about in my March 1 2011 post after all.

 

42 Charles Street east YMCA building

June 11 2011: The YMCA building that currently occupies 42 Charles Street East

 

Silhouettes of Toronto skyscrapers at sunset

June 6 2011: The silhouette of the 46-storey Casa Condominium tower dominates the Bloor-Yorkville area in this sunset photo I shot from my balcony. If approved, the 62-storey tower proposed for 42 Charles St. E. would soar high above Casa barely a stone’s throw to its east.

 

 

Reflections in windows of new Burano condo tower add a golden glow to my skyline view at sunset

Burano condo tower

Windows in the Burano condo tower under construction on Bay Street reflect a deep golden glow at sunset on June 6 2011

 

Golden glow: For the past few months, I have been able to see a slim section of the new Burano condo tower’s east side from my own condo windows and balcony. Most of my view of Burano’s construction on Bay Street has been blocked by the 21-storey Ontario Coroner’s Courts building (the George Drew building) that sits a half a block to the east at 25 Grosvenor Street. I’ll be able to see much more of Burano once it rises a few floors higher in the next several weeks and overtakes  not only the coroner’s building, but also the Murano North condo tower at the corner of Bay and Grosvenor, and climbs closer to its final full height of 50 floors. But Burano already makes a striking impact on my views of the city skyline to the west — especially at sunset on clear days. On those occasions, Burano’s east windows reflect a deep golden glow as neighbouring buildings bounce the sunset against them. And during some brilliant sunsets, the reflections become so intense that Burano’s windows radiate a fiery, molten-lava-like glow that can be painful to watch without sunglasses. The sight reminds me of how Royal Bank Plaza looks when it reflects sunshine from certain angles. Below are several more recent pics of Burano’s golden glow.

 

Burano condo tower

June 6 2011: Burano condo tower windows viewed from the east

 

Burano condo tower

June 1 2011: The Burano windows have an ember-like glow as the sunset fades

 

Burano condo tower

June 3 2011: A fiery reflection off the Burano windows at sunset

 

Burano condo tower

June 3 2011: At left is the Murano South condo tower; at right, the top floors of Murano North rise above the Ontario Coroner’s Courts building on Grosvenor Street (officially known as the George Drew Building, it has no windows on its east and west sides). Burano will be the tallest building of the bunch once completed.

 

Burano condo tower

June 3 2011: It’s not until sunset that the Burano windows begin to glow boldly, as this photo taken earlier in the evening shows

 

 

38-storey condo tower will bring colour & curves to former gas bar site at Wellesley & Sherbourne

159 Wellesley Street East condo tower illustration

This artistic illustration of the 38-storey condo tower planned for 159 Wellesley Street East appears on a development proposal sign posted on the property

 

159 Wellesley Street East condo tower site

May 31 2011: This is how the 159 Wellesley Street East condo tower site presently looks when viewed from the same perspective as the artistic illustration (above). The building at right is Wellesley Central Place, a long-term care facility.

 

159 Wellesley Street East condo tower

Development proposal sign on security fencing around 159 Wellesley Street East

 

Corner condo: Another condo tower has been proposed for the northeast downtown residential neighbourhood at Wellesley & Sherbourne Streets. This latest development proposal — a 326-unit, 38 -storey building with street-level retail space and four levels of underground parking — would rise on the southwest corner of Wellesley and Sherbourne, the former site of a Beaver gas station and Baker’s Dozen donut shop. It would be similar in height to two recently-constructed condo towers right across the street: Verve, just one block west at the corner of Wellesley Street and Homewood Avenue, and 500 Sherbourne, one block north at the corner of Sherbourne Street and Lourdes Lane. The site sits kitty-corner to St James Town, a densely-populated neighbourhood with nearly 20 rental apartment highrise buildings, and is just two blocks west of the popular Cabbagetown residential district.

Area residents expected that a condo tower would be proposed for the site when for sale signs were posted on the gas station/donut shop location last year. Demolition of the buildings and facilities for those two businesses took place during April and May; the vacant lot that remains has been closed off by security fencing ever since. Neighbours have been wondering if the three-storey building next door on Sherbourne Street — currently home to a Domino’s pizzeria, a restaurant and a convenience store, plus two floors of rental apartments upstairs — also will be demolished to make way for the condo tower. That building is not part of the condo development — yet. However, city planners have suggested that the condo developer look into purchasing that property to create a larger site that would be more appropriate for a tower 38 floors tall.  The planning department hasn’t yet announced the date on which a public meeting will be held to get feedback on the condo proposal.

I published photos of the 159 Wellesley Street East site and other buildings in the immediate area, along with pictures of the gas bar and donut shop demolition, in my April 19 2011 post. Below are several more photos showing the final stages of demolition and the vacant property that now awaits building approval from the city.

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011: A view of the 159 Wellesley East condo tower development site from outside Wellesley Central Place, the long-term care facility on the northwest corner of Wellesley and Sherbourne

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011: Most of the former Beaver gas station has been demolished but, at this point, the underground gas tanks haven’t yet been pulled out

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011:  Looking south at 159 Wellesley Street East from across the street

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011: Site demolition at 159 Wellesley Street East is nearly complete

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011: The three-storey apartment and retail building next door is visible in this view from Wellesley Street.


Buildings next door to 159 Wellesley Street East

The building next door — with street level businesses at 462, 464 and 466 Sherbourne Street, and two floors of rental apartments upstairs — is not part of the condo development for now. But city planners have urged the condo developer to try to acquire this property to create a larger site for its proposed tower.

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 22 2011: A pile of rubble is all that remains of the Baker’s Dozen Donut shop that once sat on this location next to the gas station

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 29 2011: The underground gas tanks for the former Beaver gas station have now been removed from the property

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 29 2011: The tanks had been located under the site’s northeast corner

 

159 Wellesley Street East

April 29 2011: Looking south at what used to be a busy Beaver gas station

 

159 Wellesley Street East

May 9 2011: Northeast view towards St James Town of what is now just an odd-shaped vacant lot at 159 Wellesley Street East

 

159 Wellesley Street East

May 9 2011: Looking east across the vacant 159 Wellesley Street East property

 

Sherbourne Street view toward 159 Wellesley Street East

May 31 2011: A view of the condo development site, looking south on Sherbourne

 

 

Going …

FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: Demolition is underway at the FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street…

 

FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

… where this unsightly rear addition to a late 1880s-era Yonge Street heritage building is being destroyed…

 

Hariri Pontarini architectural rendering of FIVE Condos tower

… as part of the extensive FIVE Condos block redevelopment and condo tower building project at Yonge & St Joseph Streets, depicted in this illustration provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects in Toronto

 

Falling for FIVE: Wrecking crews have been busy on St Joseph Street, where this week they began knocking down parts of buildings that presently occupy a site where the 45-storey FIVE condo tower will ultimately rise. The structures being demolished sit to the rear of several 1880s-era historical buildings at the southwest corner of Yonge and St Joseph Streets, which will be preserved and restored as part of the FIVE Condos at 5 St Joseph redevelopment project.

First to go was a tacky two-storey rear addition to the charming building right at the corner of Yonge & St Joseph; a sports bar once occupied the upper level, while the ground floor was part of a Timothy’s coffee shop during the late 1990s and early 2000s and, most recently, a shawarma shop. Just to the immediate south, a boxy three-storey brick structure is also being pulled down. The good news is that six old brick buildings with storefronts along Yonge Street will be restored and incorporated into the FIVE Condos development, as will be the case with the facade of the former Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on the corner of St Joseph and St Nicholas Streets. A senior city planner, Michael Hynes, has publicly described the FIVE Condos development as “the largest heritage building protection project in the country.”

FIVE is a team project by MOD Developments Inc., Graywood Developments Ltd., Tricon and Diamondcorp, along with Hariri Pontarini Architects, Cecconi Simone Inc. interior design, and Janet Rosenberg & Associates landscape architects. FIVE was a bigger winner at the 2011 BILD Awards, presented in late April by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). It won four major awards, including High-Rise Project of the Year, Best High-Rise Building Design, Best High-Rise Sales Office, and Best Model Suite.

Below are several photos showing demolition activity at the FIVE Condos project site this week. Additional information, photos and architectural renderings of the project are provided in my April  28 2011 post, while there are a few more pics of demolition equipment at the site in my May 12 2011 post.

 

FIVE Condos site at Yonge & St Joseph Streets

May 31 2011: Hoarding extends along Yonge Street outside the old buildings that will be incorporated into the FIVE Condos development

 

Construction and demolition equipment on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: Construction and demolition equipment outside the former Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on St Joseph Street

 

Demolition activity at the FIVE Condos site

May 31 2011: Demolition activity at the FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

 

Demolition activity on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: The structures being demolished sit at the rear of the historic buildings being preserved on the Yonge Street flank of the FIVE Condos site

 

Demolition activity on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: This former warehouse is quickly being reduced to rubble

 

… also going …

Nicholas Residences condo construction site

May 31 2011: A small section of brick wall is all that remains…

 

67 St Nicholas Street

… as demolition of a building that once stood at 67 St Nicholas Street continues …

 

Nicholas Residences condo building rendering

… to make way for construction of the Nicholas Residences condo tower, depicted in these artistic illustrations from the condo project website

 

Nearly gone: Demolition of the former Regis College buildings at the southeast corner of St Mary and St Nicholas Streets was nearly finished when I walked past the site Tuesday afternoon. All that remained of the buildings was a section of brick wall running along the south perimeter of the property, where construction is expected to start soon for the 35-storey Nicholas Residences condo tower. Full details of the Nicholas Residences project are outlined in my March 31 2011 post, while photos of Regis College demolition activity during early May can be viewed in my May 11 2011 post. Below are more photos I snapped Tuesday of demolition activity at the condo project site.

 

67 St Nicholas Street demolition

May 31 2011: Demolition activity at 67 St Nicholas Street

 

67 St Nicholas Street demolition

May 31 2011: A demolition machine gradually knocks down the last remaining section of the south wall of the former Regis College building

 

Nicholas Residences condo construction site

May 31 2011: Looking southeast from St Mary Street toward the site where a Regis College building once stood at 15 St Mary Street

 

15 St Mary Street

May 31 2011: 15 St Mary Street is now a parking lot for demolition crews

 

15 St Mary Street demolition site

May 31 2011:  Three buildings once occupied this site at the southeast corner of St Mary and St Nicholas Streets, next to the Church of Scientology of Toronto (left)

 

15 St Mary Street demolition

May 31 2011: Part of the south wall of a former Regis College building at 67 St Nicholas Street is all that remained to be demolished Tuesday