Monthly Archives: July 2011

Crews removing Murano condo balcony panels after city inspectors demand glass be replaced

Murano condo north tower

July 27 2011: Sections of Grosvenor Street and St Vincent Lane below the Murano north condo tower remain closed to vehicles and pedestrians …

 

Murano condos north tower

… as crews remove hundreds of glass panels from the building’s balconies. On orders from City inspectors, the developer is replacing all of the panels.

 

Balcony blues: Residents of the Murano north condo tower at 37 Grosvenor Street won’t be able to watch summer sunsets from the comfort of their balconies for the rest of the summer … and might not even be able to walk out onto them until sometime this fall. After two glass panels fell off balconies and smashed onto Grosvenor Street last Thursday, city building inspectors ordered Murano management to keep residents off their balconies until all glass panels have been removed and replaced, the Toronto Star reported. Murano’s builder, Lanterra Developments, began the remediation work immediately, and will foot what is bound to be a substantial bill for the project.

Last week’s incident marked the third time this year that glass panels have fallen from the highrise onto the street. In the latest mishap, panels plunged from north-facing balconies on the 18th and 35th floors. The panels fell around 2 p.m. on one of the hottest and most humid afternoons of the summer. Environment Canada data show that the temperature at Pearson International Airport at the time was 37.1 Celsius, while the Humidex reading was 48. Winds were around 35 km/h.

Fortunately, no-one was injured. Nevertheless, as I reported in my July 21 2011 post about the incident, Toronto police closed part of the street and lane below the Murano tower to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic as a safety precaution. They also required north tower residents and visitors to access and exit the building through the south condo tower at 38 Grenville Street, even though scaffolding had already been installed over the Bay and Grosvenor Street sidewalks adjacent to the north tower after a balcony panel fell from the tower’s upper south side in late June.

After inspecting the north tower, staff from the City’s building division issued an order requiring that all glass balcony panels in that particular building be replaced. According to the Star, the order demanded that building management “remove the glass balcony panels from the building, remove all contents from all balconies and secure all points of access to all balconies until the remediation is complete.”

As of yesterday afternoon, work crews had removed most of the glass panels on the lower seven rows of balconies, and the sections of Grosvenor Street and St Vincent Lane alongside the building still remained off-limits to pedestrians and vehicles.

Below are photos showing balcony panel replacement activity yesterday and on Sunday.

 

Murano and Burano condo towers

July 24 2011: Plywood panels are visible on two of the upper floor balconies of the north Murano condo tower in this view from Wellesley Street West. A swing stage carrying a work crew also can be seen on the lower left side of the building.

 

Murano north condo tower

July 24 2011: A work crew inspects balcony panels from a swing stage near the northeast corner of the 37-storey tower

 

Murano north condo tower

July 24 2011: Two contractors look down from one balcony while another crew works on the balcony below them

 

Murano north condo tower balcony inspection

July 24 2011: The workers appear to be checking a glass balcony divider

 

Murano condo north tower balcony panel removal

July 27 2011: A crew ascends the building exterior where dozens of glass panels have already been removed from the balcony railings

 

 

Mid-August construction restart expected for 20-storey MaRS building at College & University

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 building rendering

From the MaRS Discovery District website, this rendering by B + H Architects suggests how the 20-storey Phase 2 building will appear to pedestrians at the southeast corner of College Street and University Avenue …

 

MaRS Phase 2 building location

… while this photo from July 27 2011 shows how the building location currently looks when viewed from the northwest corner of the intersection

 

MaRS relaunch coming: In a sure sign that Toronto is putting the global economic meltdown firmly in the past, construction work will resume next month on the MaRS Discovery District‘s long-awaited Phase 2 building at the southeast corner of College Street and University Avenue. With 770,000 square feet of rentable building space, the tower will more than double the size of the downtown innovation facility to 1.5 million square feet, “creating Canada’s largest science, technology and research centre,” the MaRS Centre Phase 2 webpage states.

The 20-storey tower designed by B + H Architects “will be a visual and architectural marvel,” the webpage adds, noting that the building will feature “avant-garde glass design” with “thermally broken high-performance unitized aluminum and double-glazed curtain wall with laminated glass accent fins.” Inside those glass walls will be “state-of-the-art laboratory and office space” boasting “advanced communications and information technology capabilities.” About 60% of the space will be laboratories, with offices occupying the rest.

The Centre will offer a direct connection to Toronto General Hospital next door, as well as to the TTC’s Queen’s Park subway station. An atrium with a 62-foot-high glazed skylight, stone flooring, and metal mesh and terracotta walls will link it to the adjacent MaRS heritage building and towers while, below ground, the Centre will have a two-level parking garage with dedicated parking spots and showers for cyclists.

The project will cost approximately $344.5 million, create 4,000 construction jobs, and more than double the number of people working at the MaRS Centre — from 2,300 now to 5,000. Construction is expected to commence in mid-August, with completion anticipated for September 2013. The provincial Crown corporation Infrastructure Ontario is giving MaRS a $230 million fully repayable loan to build its new facility, while the balance of the project cost is being borne by MaRS and its strategic partner Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., “the world’s leading life science developer and owner.” Leases have been signed with two key tenants: the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, which already has space in the South MaRS tower, and Public Health Ontario, which will move its central lab into the premises.

The return of construction cranes and workers to the site next month will cheer architecture and building buffs who’ve been anxious to see work resume on the Phase 2 tower. Construction had reached ground level when the global economic crisis struck in 2008, bringing work on the tower to a complete halt by November of that year. Many building enthusiasts were worried that completion of the partly-built structure could be delayed indefinitely, like the former Bay Adelaide Centre “stump” that sat as an eyesore in Toronto’s Financial District for 15 years. Things appeared hopeful in January when an online news story suggested that an announcement about a construction restart might be made sometime during the winter (for more details about that revelation, see my February 17 2011 post).  Although the announcement took several months longer than expected, architecture afficionados will be thrilled to watch once again when work continues on a new landmark building at the College & University corner.

Below are two more renderings by B + H Architects, along with several photos I shot yesterday of the Phase 2 building site. Extensive information about MaRS is available at this page on the Centre’s website.

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 building rendering

This rendering by B + H Architects appears on the MaRS Discovery District website. It suggests how the Phase 2 building could look at night when viewed from the University of Toronto campus to the northwest …

 

MaRS Phase 2 building location

… while this photo shows how the Phase 2 building location looked yesterday when viewed from the U of T campus

 

MaRS Phase 2 building location

 July 27 2011: A view of the building site, looking southeast from U of T

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 building rendering

Another B + H Architects rendering from the Mars Discovery District website. It depicts the Phase 2 building viewed from the south on University Avenue …

 

MaRS Phase 2 building location on University Avenue

 … while this photo from yesterday afternoon shows the Toronto General Hospital’s Clinical Services Building before construction resumes on its new neighbour

 

MaRS Phase 2 building location

July 27 2011:  Hoarding around the Phase 2 building site is visible from the sidewalk outside Toronto General Hospital’s 585 University Avenue entrance


MaRS Phase 2 building unfinished ground level construction

July 27 2011: This “stump” shows how far construction had progressed by the time work on the Phase 2 project was halted in 2008

 

Partially completed MaRS Phase 2 building

July 27 2011: College Street view of the partially completed MaRS Phase 2 building

 

Partially completed MaRS Phase 2 building

July 27 2011: Another view of the “stump,” this time from College Street

 

MaRS Phase 2 building site

July 27 2011: Previous construction progress viewed from the northeast

 

 

Neighbourhood Watch: Condo construction activity in downtown’s King & Bathurst area (Part 2)

Reve King West condo Toronto

July 17 2011: Rêve King West viewed from Bathurst Street. The building extends from Front Street all the way north to Niagara Street.

 

 

Three streets, five projects: Last week I profiled five different development projects in Part 1 of my Neighbourhood Watch focus on the King & Bathurst area:  Lofts 399 on Adelaide Street West, plus Victory Condos, Fashion House Condos, Six50 King West and Thompson Residences — all on King Street between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street. Today, Part 2 takes a look at another five projects on three separate streets in the same area.

 

Rêve King West

 

Construction is nearing completion on this midrise Tridel condominium project at 560 Front Street West between Bathurst and Portland Streets.  According to the Rêve King West website, occupancy has been tentatively scheduled for this fall. Many floorplans have sold out; however, the website indicates there is still availability for a $341,000 1-bedroom + den in 650 square feet, a 970-square-foot 3-bedroom priced from $535,000, and several “Dream Collection” suites offering anywhere from 1,030 to 1,55 square feet of living space, at prices between $590,000 and $890,000.

Even with construction winding down, I’m still ambivalent about the building’s design. Rêve does have some striking design features that I like — especially the red trim highlights on the black cladding, and the opaque white balcony panels which really make the building stand out. Yet that’s also what I don’t like about Rêve: it stands out too much.  The building’s sheer size seems completely wrong for the location since it totally dominates the block and overwhelms all of its next-door neighbours. It has an ominous, hulking appearance and, particularly when viewed from either the east or west side, looks far too big and way too black. I would hate to live in one of the townhouses at Portland Park Village and have that vast black building looming next door.

Photos of earlier stages of Rêve’s construction progress can be viewed in my April 14 2011 post and my January 21 2011 post.

 

Reve King West condo Toronto

June 21 2011: Workers install panels at the top of Rêve’s south side

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

 July 17 2011: Rêve dwarfs the Portland Park Village condo complex immediately to its east at 550 Front Street West

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Balconies on Rêve’s south facade above Front Street

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Bathurst Street view of the upper south and west walls

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Balconies along part of Rêve’s extensive west wall

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

 July 20 2011: A window on the upper south facade catches some sun

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011: A street-level view of Rêve’s south side

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011: This private driveway off Front Street leads to the lobby entrance

 

Reve King West condos and Portland Park Village condos

July 20 2011: Rêve rises only inches away from the Portland Park Village condos

 

Reve King West condos

July 20 2011:  Looking up the building’s south face

 

Reve King West condos

July 20 2011: Some balconies are still missing panels …

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

… while other parts of the exterior await their own finishing touches

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011 : Balconies on the south side of the building

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Looking up at the southeast corner of the building

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Ropes for swing stages dangle down the building’s south side

 

Reve King West condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Rêve’s upper northeast floors viewed from Niagara Street

Reve King West condos and Portland Park Village condos

July 20 2011: Rêve looms behind the Portland Park Village townhouses

 

Reve King West condos and Portland Park Village condos

July 20 2011: Rêve viewed from the driveway for Portland Park Village

 

Reve King West condos and Portland Park Village condos

July 20 2011: The Portland Park Village midrise building (left) and Rêve tower above the four-level townhouses nestled below

 

Reve King West condos

July 20 2011: Rêve rises above the townhouses at Portland Park Village in this view from Victoria Memorial Park

 

 

 

Condo development proposal for Front & Bathurst

 

578 Bathurst Street condo development site

July 17 2011: A proposed four-building condo development site on the northeast corner of Bathurst and Front Streets. The new Rêve King West condo building (right rear) stands immediately next door to the east.

 

A rezoning application was recently filed with the city to construct a four-building residential community with nearly 1,000 condos at the northeast corner of Bathurst and Front Streets, right next door to the new Rêve King West condos profiled above. The June 30 2011 redevelopment proposal for 578 Front Street West encompasses a group of properties with frontage on Niagara, Bathurst and Front Streets. The plan calls for a mixed-use development with 970 residential units in four buildings ranging in height from 4 to 22 stories. There would be street-level retail space, along with 960 parking spaces in an underground garage.

The site itself has an intriguing history going back more than 150 years. In the late 1800s, the land was used as a coal and wood yard, and then became home to the Doty Engine Works machinery-building plant. Bertram Engine Works subsequently acquired the property, where it manufactured engines and boilers for its nearby shipyard. For a time, it was the location of a brick press manufacturer, and during the First World War operated as a munitions factory. Over the decades that followed, the land and buildings were occupied by a variety of different businesses, including the Rock Oasis indoor climbing gym which operated there until it relocated in June. (The property’s history is outlined in extensive detail and photos in a June 21 2011 post by Toronto blogger Nathan Ng. A shorter account of Mr. Ng’s historical essay can be read in The Architourist column by Dave Leblanc in the July 15 2011 Globe and Mail.)

Below are pictures of the development proposal notice as well as recent photos of demolition activity on the site.

 

578 Front Street West condo proposal notice

 The development proposal sign on the property

 

578 Front Street West condo proposal site plan

Site plan illustration on the development proposal sign

 

buildings at 33 - 49 Niagara Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Hoarding surrounds buildings at 33 – 49 Niagara Street that will be demolished to make way for the condo development

 

buildings at 33 - 49 Niagara Street Toronto

July 17 2011: The buildings at 33 – 49 Niagara Street, viewed from Victoria Memorial Park looking west toward Bathurst Street

578 Front Street West condo development site

July 20 2011: Demolition activity at the 578 Front Street West condo development site, viewed here from Front Street looking northwest toward Bathurst Street.

 

578 Front Street West condo development site

July 20 2011: From the late 1890s until 1940, the buildings on this site were home to several different machinery manufacturing companies.

 

578 Front Street West condo development site

July 20 2011: This building was the downtown Toronto location of the Rock Oasis indoor climbing gym for 13 years until the business relocated in June.

578 Front Street West condo development site

July 20 2011: Four buildings will range from 4 to 22 storeys tall

 

former downtown Toronto Harley Davidson dealership

July 20 2011: The former downtown Toronto Harley-Davidson dealership occupies the eastern end of the proposed condo development site

 

 

Minto 775 King West

 

A project of Minto Group Inc., this development is currently under construction on a large site at the southwest corner of King and Tecumseth Streets. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the 16-storey building has a variety of floorplans for studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom suites that vary in size from 542 to 1,425 square feet and in price from $356,800 to $639,800. Suites in “The Penthouse Collection” range from an 821-square-foot 1-bedroom unit costing $580,800 to an 1,866 2-bedroom going for $1,288,800. Retail space will occupy the ground level of the five-storey podium along King Street. Below are recent photos showing construction progress on the site. Further information about the building design is available on the Harini Pontarini webpage for the Minto 775 King West project.

 

Minto 775 King West condo building artistic rendering

From the Minto 775 King West condo website, an artistic rendering of the Hariri Pontarini-designed building

 

Minto 775 King West condos location

 August 23 2008:  The Minto 775 King West location before construction commenced, looking southeast from King Street toward Tecumseth Street

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: West view toward the condo site at King & Tecumseth Streets

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011:  One of two cranes on the construction site, viewed here from the sidewalk on the north side of King Street

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Overlooking the L-shaped excavation from the NE corner

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Construction activity several levels below Tecumseth Street

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Underground levels take shape near the northeast corner

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Looking west from the Tecumseth Street side of the property

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Walls taking shape four levels below street grade

 

Minto 775 King West condo Toronto

July 20 2011: Concrete delivery at the King Str. construction entrance

 

 

400 Wellington

 

This midrise building on Wellington Street just west of Spadina Avenue is a project of DesignSorbara, a family-owned and operated design development company. It’s essentially two buildings in one, with a 10-storey wing in front and a 12-storey section in back. The complex also blends two distinct architectural styles: The front building was inspired by the  reddish-brown warehouses in the surrounding neighbourhood, while the rear structure features  “a mid-1900s-inspired horizontal layout of windows and masonry,” according to the 400 Wellington website.

Below are construction progress photos I snapped during June and July. Photos of earlier stages of construction can be viewed in my February 27 2011 post and in my January 17 2011 post.

 

architectural rendering of the 400 Wellington condos

This artistic rendering of the 400 Wellington condo buildings appears on the condo project website

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

June 21 2011: 400 Wellington viewed from the southeast end of the block

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

June 21 2011: The front wing (left) stands 10 storeys; the rear section 12

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

June 21 2011: A closer view of the five upper levels of the rear building section

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

June 21 2011: Construction progress on the southwest side of the building

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

June 21 2011: A yellow construction garbage chute stands out against the blue insulation on the exterior wall of the front wing

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Brickwork has been installed on much of the building’s exterior

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Brickwork on the building’s southwest corner

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Street level view from the south side of Wellington Street

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Upper levels on the south side of the 12-storey wing

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Construction viewed from Wellington Street, looking northwest

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: Brickwork on upper levels of the 10-storey front building

 

400 Wellington Street West condos

July 17 2011: 400 Wellington rises behind The Globe and Mail newspaper’s head office in this view from Concord CityPlace. The Globe site could become condos in several years’ time, too; the newspaper has announced it will begin construction in 2012 on a new building next door (at right, currently a Toyota dealership).

 

 

500 Wellington West

 

A project of Freed Developments, this 10-storey boutique condo building is nearing completion. Designed by Core Architects, 500 Wellington West has 17 luxury suites that occupy either half or full floors.  It’s just a short walk west of the 400 Wellington project site (above), and even closer to the Victoria Memorial Park at Portland Street.  Below are photos showing construction progress in June and July. Pictures of earlier stages of construction can be viewed in my February 27 2011 post and in my January 16 2011 post.

 

500 Wellington West condos

June 21 2011: A crew works on the exterior of the building’s south facade

 

500 Wellington West condos

June 21 2011: The building appears small from the outside, but offers incredible space inside. For example: Residence 6 offers 5,990 square feet of interior space on a full floor, along with a 975-square-foot terrace.

 

500 Wellington West condos

June 21 2011: A closer look at the crew working on the front windows

 

500 Wellington West condo

July 17 2011: Even the half-floor suites are spacious.  Residence 5 offers 3,515 square feet of interior space along with a 535-square-foot terrace.

500 Wellington West condo

July 17 2011: Glass panels will be installed on the 3 balconies seen here

 

500 Wellington West condo

July 17 2011: Floor-to-ceiling windows line three sides of the top-level suites

 

500 Wellington West condo

July 17 2011: Construction progress viewed from across Wellington Street

 

Police close street, lane and sidewalks after more glass rains onto road from Murano condo tower

Police tape on Grosvenor Street Toronto

July 21 2011: Police tape blocks access to Grosvenor Street outside the Murano North condo tower at Bay & Grosvenor Streets this evening

 

Murano North condo tower Toronto

July 21 2011: Plywood sheets indicate where glass balcony panels have broken on the north side of the Murano North condo tower. The lower piece of plywood has been in place for at least a week. The upper panel shattered this afternoon.

 

Shattered glass on Grosvenor Street Toronto

July 21 2011: Tiny pieces of shattered balcony glass litter the asphalt on Grosvenor Street outside the Murano North condo tower

 

Police car on Grosvenor Street Toronto

 July 21 2011: A Toronto police cruiser and yellow police tape block traffic outside the Murano North condo tower at 37 Grosvenor Street …


Police car in lane next door to Murano condos

… while another cruiser and more tape block access to the laneway that runs between Grenville and Grosvenor Streets on the east side of the Murano  towers

 

Murano glass rains again: Toronto police closed part of Grosvenor Street as a safety precaution today after at least one glass balcony panel on the North Murano condo tower shattered, raining thousands of pieces of tempered glass onto the road and sidewalk below. Police and building security guards also barred residents and visitors from entering and exiting the North tower’s front doors on Grosvenor, requiring them to use the South Murano tower entrance at 38 Grenville Street instead.

Today’s incident marks at least the fifth time that a balcony panel has broken and sprayed pieces of glass onto the streets and sidewalks below the two-tower complex on the east side of Bay Street, between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets. Exactly one month ago, I reported that the Bay Street sidewalk outside the Murano towers had been taped off after glass fell from a balcony on the upper south side of the North building. See my June 21 2011 post for full details and photos of that incident, along with links to other photos, posts and local news coverage reporting on previous incidents of balcony glass falling from the tower.

Early this evening I received word from Matt, a reader of TheTorontoBlog.com, that glass had fallen from the skyscraper yet again. “Another 2 panels fell out today, one in the alley way next to the condos and the other right on Grovesnor St from level 37,” he told me. (The Murano North tower is 37 storeys tall; the South tower has 45 floors.)

I grabbed my camera and walked over to take a look. Just as Matt had advised, police had completely blocked vehicular and pedestrian traffic on Grosvenor Street, from the west side of the YMCA building over to Bay Street, as well as along St Vincent Lane — an alley which runs between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets on the east side of the Murano complex. Tiny pieces of broken tempered glass littered the concrete sidewalks and asphalt road surface throughout the closed-off area. I saw people standing on several North Tower balconies, leaning against the railings while watching the police and pedestrians on the street below them.

Over at the northeast corner of Bay and Grosvenor, two security guards were busy looking up and warning people to get off their balconies and go back inside their condos. “Get inside! Get off the balcony! Get away from the balcony!” one of the guards screamed at a woman leaning over a balcony about 15 floors high.

When I approached a policeman and one of the security guards and asked if anyone had been hurt by the falling glass, the officer just shrugged and said he didn’t know. The security guard, pointing to scaffolding that covers the Grosvenor Street sidewalk outside the condo building, said he didn’t think there had been any injuries. (A work crew had been installing additional scaffolding over the sidewalk when I walked past Murano on Tuesday morning.)

I also asked if more than one balcony panel had broken, since I couldn’t see any signs of a broken panel on the east side of the condo complex above St. Vincent Lane. However, neither the security guard nor the police officer knew if more than one panel had shattered. (A story in tonight’s online edition of the Toronto Star says that glass from two separate balconies fell to the ground.) As well, neither man knew if the condo management or developer would be taking steps to inspect and/or replace every balcony panel on the building. They also didn’t know how long the street and sidewalks were expected to stay closed; however, the Star story says the road will be closed until Monday.

As a result of today’s incident, I’m willing to bet that scaffolding will remain on the sidewalks around the Murano buildings for the rest of the summer, if not longer, while the cause of the glass breakage is investigated.

Murano isn’t the only downtown highrise building that has experienced problems with breaking balcony panels. As I reported in a February 2 2011 post, at least one panel has broken on the 46-storey Casa condominium tower on Charles Street East. And just a couple of weeks ago I spotted a piece of plywood on a balcony at one of the new apartment buildings in Regent Park; photos of that appear below. Also below are additional photos of the Murano condo from this evening and recent weeks.

 

Murano Condos North tower

June 26 2011: A piece of plywood replaces a balcony panel on the upper south side of the Murano North condo tower

 

Missing balcony panel on Murano Condos North Tower

June 26 2011 : A closer view of the missing balcony panel on the north tower

 

Scaffolding on Bay Street outside the Murano condos

June 26 2011: Scaffolding on Bay Street outside the Murano condos

 

Scaffolding outside the Murano condos North Tower

 June 26 2011: Scaffolding on Grosvenor Street outside the Murano north tower

 

Murano condos North Tower

 July 15 2011: Plywood replaces a balcony panel on the Murano north tower

 

Murano Condos North Tower

 July 15 2011: Another view of the panel missing on the north tower’s north side

 

Murano North condo tower

July 21 2011:  Bay Street view of two missing panels on Murano’s north tower

 

Grosvenor Street Toronto

  July 21 2011: The closed section of Grosvenor Street outside the Murano tower

 

Murano North Tower residents

 July 21 2011: Curious Murano north tower residents looking off their balcony 

 

Shattered glass on Grosvenor Street

  July 21 2011: Shattered glass on Grosvenor Street

 

Shattered glass on Grosvenor Street

July 21 2011: More shattered glass on Grosvenor Street

 

Police tape on Grosvenor Street Toronto

July 21 2011:  Police tape blocks access to Grosvenor Street from Bay Street

 

Scaffolding above Bay Street sidewalk outside Murano

July 21 2011: Scaffolding and barricades along the Bay Street sidewalk outside the Murano condo towers

 

Toronto police officer at Bay and Grosvenor Streets

July 21 2011: A police officer and tape at the corner of Bay and Grosvenor

 

Murano condo towers

July 21 2011: Looking up at the Murano condo towers from Grosvenor Street

 

Regent Park apartment building

July 13 2011: Plywood replaces a glass balcony panel on the 252 Sackville Street apartment building in Regent Park

 

Regent Park apartment balcony

July 13 2011: A closer view of the missing panel on the Regent Park  balcony

 

 

L Tower adds another angle to lower Yonge Street

L Tower condo tower Toronto

July 1 2011: Concrete shaping forms obscure an intriguing angled structure at the north end of The L Tower being built at Yonge Street & The Esplanade …

 

L Tower condo tower Toronto

… but it’s fully visible to passersby on Yonge Street now that the forms have been removed (as seen in this photo from July 20 2011)

 

L Tower condo tower Toronto

July 20 2011: A closer look at the odd structure on the lower north side of The L Tower. I’m speculating, but think it’s where the condo tower’s swimming pool, fitness centre and other amenities will be situated.

 

A new twist on Yonge: I’ve heard more people criticize the design of The L Tower Condominium than say they like it. Detractors I’ve spoken to have described artistic illustrations of the Daniel Libeskind-designed condo tower as  “ridiculous,” “silly,” “corny,” “tacky” and “embarrassing.” I’m reserving my own judgment until the 57-storey tower is closer to completion, but so far I’m happy to see L Tower won’t be just another rectangular glass and steel box — at least, not at street level.

A unique six-storey “A” shape dominates the building’s southwest corner, while several more interesting angles recently were unveiled on a concrete structure at the north side of the tower’s podium — likely the future location of the condo pool and amenities area. Call The L Tower what you will but, if the lower-level features are any indication, I don’t think you’ll be able to call it “boring.”

Below are some photos showing both parts of the building. Pictures of earlier stages of construction can be viewed in my June 20 2011 post as well as my March 8 2011 post.

 

The L Tower condo tower Toronto

 July 1 2011: The “A”-shaped southwest corner of The L Tower condo tower at the northeast corner of Yonge Street and The Esplanade

 

The L Tower condo tower Toronto

July 20 2011: The L Tower viewed from the southwest corner of Yonge & Front Streets. The condo tower is a project of Fernbrook Homes, Cityzen Real Estate Group and Castlepoint Realty Partners.

 

The L Tower condo tower

July 20 2011: A worker assembles rods on the northeast corner of The L Tower, next to the west wall of the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts

 

The L Tower condo tower

July 20 2011: Lining up the steel bar reinforcements for a support pillar

 

Laying foundations: Building progress at Pier 27, 300 Front West, Fly, and Cinema Tower Condos

 

Cinema Tower condos Toronto

July 17 2011: A view of the Cinema Tower construction site, looking south from Adelaide Street West. Cinema Tower is a project of The Daniels Corporation.

 

Cinema Tower condos Toronto

From the Cinema Tower project website, an artistic rendering of the 43-storey condo designed by Toronto’s Kirkor Architects & Planners

 

Cinema Tower condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking across the east side of the Cinema Tower site at the corner of Widmer & Adelaide Streets. Construction is fast approaching grade.

 

Cinema Tower condos

July 17 2011: Cinema Tower is rising behind the TIFF Bell Lightbox (left) and the Hyatt Regency Toronto (right). Earlier construction photos can be seen in my February 17 2011 post about the project.

 

Cinema Tower condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Construction progress at the southwest corner of the site

 

Cinema Tower condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Along the east side of the property, the foundation has climbed close to little more than 1 meter below street level

 

Three Hundred Front West condo Toronto

July 17 2011: A white and orange crane rises from the excavation for the Three Hundred Front West condo tower. For earlier construction photos and information about this Tridel project, see my April 16 2011 post.

 

300 Front Street West condo Toronto

From the Tridel website, an artistic rendering depicting a night view of the 49-storey Three Hundred Front West condo tower designed by Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects

 

Three Hundred Front West condos Toronto

 July 17 2011: Foundation work observed from above the site’s southwest corner

 

Three Hundred Front West condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking to the northeast toward John Street

 

Three Hundred Front West condos Toronto

July 17 2011: A view of underground levels taking shape between the two construction cranes working the site

 

Fly Condos Toronto

 July 17 2011: Foundation progress on the east side of Fly Condos, a project by Empire Communities. Earlier construction photos appeared in my March 30 2011 post and my January 23 2011 post.

 

Fly Condos Toronto

A rendering of the 24-storey tower appeared on this Front Street billboard. Fly Condos was designed by Toronto’s Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc.

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Overlooking the southeast corner of the construction site

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking toward the crane near the center of the site

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: The bottom underground level is starting to take shape in the northeast corner of the excavation

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking toward the northwest corner of the property

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Machinery in the northwest corner of the excavation

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Wall forms on the south side of the site next to the crane

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking toward the northeast corner of the excavation from the west construction entrance on Front Street

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Excavation continues on the west side of the site

 

Fly Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Forms for supporting walls near the construction crane base

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

June 21 2011: Looking south from Queen’s Quay Boulevard across The Residences of Pier 27 waterside construction site, a project of Cityzen Developments and Fernbrook Homes

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

From the project website, a rendering of one of the buildings being constructed at The Residences of Pier 27 complex on the waterfront. The condos were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

June 21 2011:  Construction progress in the Pier 27 site’s southeast corner. Photos of earlier stages of construction can be viewed in my April 22 2011 post, my February 18 2011 post, and my January 4 2011 post.

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

June 21 2011:  Construction progress on the east side of the massive building site

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking south from Queen’s Quay Boulevard as the foundation continues filling in the east side of the Pier 27 site

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Underground levels are fast taking shape on the east side of the site, but excavation work still continues on the west end of the Pier 27 property.

 

The Residences of Pier 27 condos Toronto

July 17 2011: The supporting wall in the foreground rises close to street level

 

 

Neighbourhood Watch: Condo construction activity in downtown’s King & Bathurst area (Part 1)

Six50 King West condos Toronto

 July 17 2011: The 9-storey King Street facade of Six50 King West

 

Good fits?: They’re not skyscrapers, but the collection of low- and midrise condo buildings under construction on Adelaide, King and Wellington Streets, between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street, are significantly transforming the vibrant west downtown neighbourhood nonetheless. Rising above, between and behind the old brick warehouse buildings that are characteristic of the area, they’re adding contemporary style, colour and flair — along with expensive “to die for” designer penthouses — to the once-gritty and now hot & trendy district.

I manage to visit what some call the “Central King West” area about once or twice a season. I still enjoy its general look and and atmosphere, and find it’s still a comfortable area to walk around. Although some of the new buildings do appear to loom rather large next to their neighbours, they don’t seem overwhelming or out of scale for the streets. So far, at least, the area hasn’t developed the sterile and impersonal “condo canyon” feel or annoying wind tunnel conditions of Bay Street and other downtown streets that keep sprouting skyscrapers. But since some of the projects are only in early stages of construction (three are still below grade, while one is just beginning to break ground), and just as many more are in the development pipeline, it’s possible my impressions of the neighbourhood could change significantly  in several years’ time. Until then, I’m sure I’ll find it interesting to keep tracking the progress with each changing season. Below are photos I’ve taken recently of several different condo projects. Photos of additional neighbourhood projects will appear in Part 2.

 

Lofts 399 at 399 Adelaide Street West

 

A project of Cresford Developments, Lofts 399 is being built on the south side of Adelaide Street between the two Quad Lofts condos, and will sit back-to-back to the new Victory Condos on King West. My February 20 2011 post has several photos showing earlier construction progress at Lofts 399 and its proximity to the other condos.

 

artistic rendering of Lofts399 condos

From the Lofts 399 project website, an artistic rendering of how the 10-storey, 173-unit building will look when viewed from Adelaide Street.

 

Lofts 399 condo construction

July 17 2011: Looking from west to east across the Lofts 399 site

 

Lofts 399 condos on Adelaide Street West

July 17 2011: The Lofts 399 foundation begins to take shape

 

Lofts 399 condos on Adelaide Street West

July 17 2011: Looking along the south wall of the Lofts 399 site

 

Lofts 399 condos on Adelaide Street West

July 17 2011: A closer view of the bottom underground level. Lofts 399 will have four floors of below-grade parking.

 

Lofts 399 condos on Adelaide Street West

July 17 2011: Looking across the site toward Adelaide Street West

 

 Victory Condominiums on King

 

This project by BLVD Developments is approaching completion on the north side of King Street just west of Spadina Avenue. Designed by Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects, the L-shaped building is 12 storeys tall and has 175 units. My March 13 2011 post and my January 15 2011 post both include photos of Victory during earlier stages of construction.

 

Victory Condos on King Street West Toronto

From the Lifetime Developments website, an artistic rendering of the Victory Condominiums on King West building designed by Toronto architect Rudy Wallman

 

Victory Condos on King West  Toronto

July 17 2011 : A street-level view of Victory Condos on King West

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: The south side of Victory Condos, viewed from across King Street

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011:  Balconies, windows and brickwork on the south facade

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: Victory viewed from the southwest on King Street

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: Victory Condos offers six penthouse suites. The smallest is an 800-square-foot 2-bedroom unit with 80-square-foot balcony; it was priced at $706,900. The largest is a 2,545-square-foot residence with a 530-square-foot balcony. It carried the eye-popping pricetag of $2,219,900.

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: Victory rises behind the brick building at 500 King Street West

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: Victory viewed from the intersection of King & Brant Streets

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011:  Another view of Victory from Brant & King

 

Victory Condos on King West Toronto

July 17 2011: The upper four floors of south-facing balconies

 

 Fashion House Condos on King West

 

One of several Freed Developments projects in the popular Central King West neighbourhood, Fashion House Condos was designed by Toronto’s Core Architects Inc. Its red colour accents and striking design are definitely going to make a bold architectural fashion statement on the street.  As described on the project website: “a stunning 12-storey glass and steel staircase tower, the intricate platform design sets the stage for large terraces and balconies, while the glass showcases the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.” The 334-unit building is 85% sold. Photos of earlier construction progress at Fashion House can be seen in my April 2 2011 post and in my January 24 2011 post.

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

From the Fashion House Condos website, an artistic rendering of how the building will look when viewed from the south side of King Street

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: King Street view of excavation progress at the Fashion House site

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking down on the southeast corner of the construction site

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking northwest across the construction site

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Excavation progress viewed from Morrison Street to the northeast

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Overlooking the excavation from the northeast corner of the site

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Morrison Street view toward the south side of the excavation

 

Fashion House Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: A construction worker takes a rest on a woodpile in the pit

 

Six50 King West Condominiums at King & Bathurst

 

Another successful (80% sold) project by Freed Developments, Six50 King West is a 236-unit two-building complex with frontage on both King Street and Bathurst Street. The Bathurst wing will be the tallest, rising 15 floors, while the King section will have nine storeys. Like Fashion House, Six50 was designed by Core Architects Inc. Photos of earlier stages of construction can be viewed in my March 30 2011 post and in my January 20 2011 post.

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

From the Six50 King West condo project website, an artistic rendering of the two-building complex that will front on both Bathurst (left) and King Streets (right)

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

 July 17 2011: Street-level view of the King side of the two-building complex

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: The glass-fronted upper floors of the King Street building

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Northeast view of the building during streetcar track replacement work on King Street West

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Northeasterly view of the upper levels of the King Street wing

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011:  Bathurst Street view of construction progress on the west wing

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: West sides of the complex viewed from Bathurst Street

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The west wing will rise 15 storeys above Bathurst Street

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Adelaide Street view of the north and east sides of Six50 King West

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 17 2011: Balconies on the northeast side of the Six50 King complex

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Another view of balconies on the east side of the condo complex

 

Six50 King West Condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Balconies and windows at the northeast corner of the building

 

 Thompson Residences on King Street West

 

Freed strikes condo gold — again. Thompson Residences is yet another Freed Developments project on the Central King West strip, just a stone’s throw from its hip Thompson Hotel & condo complex that opened at 550 Wellington Street West in 2010  (and scored a coveted spot on Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s Hot List Hotels 2011). According to the project website, Thompson Residences will offer “hotel inspired living” in 314 luxury condos, lofts and penthouses “loaded with the amenities and services of a top-tier hotel” — along with access to the Thompson Hotel on the other side of Stewart Street to the south. As such, it will be the polar opposite to the former motor hotel that once occupied the site at 621 King Street West.

For this project, Freed chose Saucier + Perrotte Architectes of Montreal, whose design for the 12-storey Residences (actually, two separate buildings situated parallel to each other) is described at length in a February 18 2010 Globe and Mail column by John Bentley Mays. But Freed had to battle the City for approval to build as high as it planned. City zoning permitted a maximum height of 20 meters for the site, but the Thompson Residences buildings will stand 36 and 40 meters tall, respectively. The height dispute wound up at the Ontario Municipal Board, which sided with Freed, and now the project is proceeding.  (A short online story in the Toronto Star described the dispute and its outcome, as did a more extensive February 25 2011 Globe and Mail article available to online subscribers.)

Below are several photos showing the Thompson Residences site while the property was occupied by the condo project sales centre after the motel was demolished, and with recent pictures showing some preliminary site preparation and excavation activity.

 

Thompson Residences King Street West Toronto

From the Thompson Residences project website, an artistic rendering of the condominium, designed by Montreal’s Saucier + Perrotte Architectes

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

March 11 2010: The Thompson Residences site on King east of Bathurst Street. The Thompson Hotel complex at 550 Wellington Street stands at rear left.

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

November 23 2010: Sandwich board sign outside the showroom

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

January 14 2011: The Thompson Residences showroom reflects buildings on the north side of King Street in this view, looking east along King

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

January 14 2011: The old motel sign was re-purposed for the condo project

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

June 21 2011:  Looking west along King Street at the Thompson Residences site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

June 21 2011: Preliminary site preparation work is underway

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

June 21 2011: An excavating machine digging at the west end of site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

June 21 2011: Marketing signs on hoarding along the east end of the property

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking across King Street toward the Thompson Residences site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: Looking toward the west half of the construction site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: Excavation work continuing at the west end of the property

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: Two excavation machines at work on the site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: The Thompson hotel and condo complex on Stewart Street is visible across the Thompson Residences site

 

Thompson Residences Toronto

July 17 2011: A mound of demolition rubble at the east end of the property

 

 

Ripe for redevelopment: Will offices or condos rise from the demolition dust at 90 Harbour Street?

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Constructed in 1953 as the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board Building, 90 Harbour Street was headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police from 1975 to 1989. It has been vacant since then, apart from occasional short-term occupation for film productions.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

The five-storey stone frontispiece on 90 Harbour Street’s front (south) facade. The building is a blend of Art Deco, Art Moderne and Modern Classical styles.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

The building’s first floor base is clad in polished black granite, while the upper floors are clad in buff brick. The window trim is limestone.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Demolition of the building’s west wing gets underway 

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

 July 17 2011:  A mound of rubble beneath two holes smashed in the west wall

 

Prime location: A 2.5-acre piece of property being touted as one of the last major development sites available in downtown Toronto is up for grabs near Harbourfront.

The Ontario Realty Corporation is selling 90 Harbour Street, a building originally constructed in 1953 as offices for the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board and subsequently used as headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police. With frontage on Lake Shore Boulevard, York Street and Harbour Street, the five-storey structure occupies a prime piece of real estate in an area currently experiencing a massive building boom.

Just a short walk from Union Station, 90 Harbour is situated directly across Lake Shore Blvd. from the recently completed Maple Leaf Square office, condo, hotel, retail, and restaurant development. It also sits kitty-corner to York Centre, where four condo towers are currently under construction for two different building projects: ÏCE Condominiums and Infinity3 Condominiums. Immediately to the north of those is the Southcore Financial Centre, where the 26-storey PwC office tower at 18 York Street is nearing completion and where construction has commenced on two more highrise buildings: the 30-storey Bremner Tower and the 45-storey Delta Toronto hotel tower. And just south of 90 Harbour, a 30-storey office building has been proposed as Phase III of Waterpark Place across the street.

When I passed by 90 Harbour at the beginning of this month, Ontario Realty Corporation “for sale” signs were posted at several places on the property, but public parking lots were still operating on the east and west sides of the building. When I passed by this afternoon the signs were gone, the entire property was surrounded by blue security fencing, and a Progreen Demolition machine was working next to a large mound of rubble on the west side of the building, beneath two large holes that had been smashed into the brown brick wall.

The demolition work will disappoint any city heritage buffs who may have been hoping that the building might be retained as part of any new development project. The City of Toronto had intended to designate 90 Harbour as a heritage building several years ago because of its “cultural heritage value” as “a representative example of a mid-20th Century office building that blends features of the three prevalent styles of the period.” As a “reasons for listing” document explained: “While the symmetry, cladding and profile reflect Modern Classical styling, the stepped plan and vertical elements recall Art Deco and the band windows are identified with the Art Moderne. All three styles were introduced in the 1920s and remained popular until the International Style or Modern Movement gained acceptance in the 1960s.” However, the City could not proceed with the heritage designation because it did not have authority, under Ontario law, to impose such a designation on provincial government property. The City subsequently withdrew its notice of intention to designate, and issued a demolition permit on February 14 2011.

So what’s in store for 90 Harbour? I wasn’t able to find out today if any parts of the facade or other building elements will be saved, or if the building will be demolished completely. However, the ad on the Ontario Realty Corporation website does state that “Proposed development scenarios and designs have continued to retain heritage elements of the existing structure.” The website also points out that the property has “excellent” potential for commercial and residential development and is bound to “build off the success of established and proposed commercial and residential developments along the Harbourfront” as well as the new “office and residential projects immediately to the north.” I will follow up once I learn of any development plans for the site.

Below is an aerial photo that appears on the Ontario Realty Corporation website flyer for 90 Harbour, showing the property’s location in downtown Toronto, along with some of my own recent photos of the building.

 

aerial photo of 90 Harbour Street Toronto

 Ontario Realty Corporation website photo showing the location of 90 Harbour Street between Harbourfront and the Gardiner Expressway

 

90 Harbour Street

July 1 2011: 90 Harbour Street seen from the intersection of York Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, looking to the northeast

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

June 22 2011: A for sale sign posted outside the property on York Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

June 22 2011: Looking north from the parking lot on the west side of 90 Harbour Street toward the PwC office tower at 18 York Street (left) and the Maple Leaf Square condo/office/retail/restaurant/hotel development

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto parking lot

June 22 2011: To the south of 90 Harbour are the Waterpark Place office towers (left), the 33 Harbour Square condos (center) and the 55 Harbour Square condos

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

 July 1 2011: 90 Harbour viewed from York Street, looking east. The two condos in the background are the Pinnacle Success Tower and the 33 Bay Residences at the Pinnacle Centre, both on Harbour between Bay and Yonge Streets.

 

Toronto Harbour Commission building

February 18 2011: The Toronto Harbour Commission building at 60 Harbour Street on the east side of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street

July 1 2011: The CN Tower and Maple Leaf Square condo towers rise behind 90 Harbour, viewed here from the parking lot on the east side of the building

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking east along the front facade of 90 Harbour Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: The dilapidated condition of the front lawn and wheelchair entrance created an eyesore outside an otherwise attractive building

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: A “for sale” sign outside the building’s former main entrance

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Broken windows on the front facade of 90 Harbour Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: The building’s 3-storey west wing and the 5-floor center section.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: A view of the west wing from the Harbour Street sidewalk

 

90 Harbour Street parking lot in Toronto

 July 1 2011: Looking toward the CN Tower from the west parking lot

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: 90 Harbour viewed from the corner of York St. and Lake Shore Blvd.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Security fencing along the northeast perimeter of the property

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: Demolition activity at the west wing of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Demolition machine working beside the west wing of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Water sprays control dust during demolition activity at 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011:  Water sprays control dust from the huge pile of rubble

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: Only one demolition machine was working on the site today

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: A closer look at the two gaping holes in the wall of the west wing

 

 

Regent Park construction continues its quick pace

40 Oaks construction at Regent Park

June 21 2011: Brilliant green Securock glass-mat sheathing panels give 40 Oaks, the Toronto Christian Resource Centre’s 87-unit affordable housing project, a bold presence in the northwest corner of Regent Park …

 

40 Oak Street Regent Park

… but by July 13 2011, the green is beginning to disappear as insulation and cladding is applied to the building’s exterior

 

One Park West  condominiums Toronto Regent Park

June 21 2011: The front entrance to the One Park West condominiums at 260 Sackville Street is still cordoned off as exterior landscaping and sidewalk installation continues …

 

One Park West condominium Toronto Regent Park

… but by July 13 2011, the landscaping and sidewalks are complete, the front entrance is open (but awaiting some finishing touches), and One Park West residents have moved into their new condos

 

Regent Park aquatic centre construction

June 21 2011: The steel frame for the Regent Park aquatic centre takes shape at the northwest corner of Dundas and Sumach Streets …

 

Regent Park Aquatic Centre construction

… and has more than doubled in width by July 13 2011

 

Regent Park development site

June 21 2011: Demolition of low-rise apartments created this large empty plot of land, seen from St Bartholomew Street looking north to Dundas Street …

 

Regent Park development site

… which is right next door (to the west) of the Paintbox Condominium highrise currently under construction (right) …

 

Regent Park redevelopment site

… but by July 13 2011, the property is buzzing with work crews …

 

Regent Park redevelopment site

… as construction begins on another new Regent Park condo highrise

 

Paintbox Condominium at Regent Park

June 21 2011: The Paintbox Condominium tower has risen to 11 storeys behind the Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre on Dundas Street …

 

Paintbox Condominiums Regent Park

… by July 13 2011, Paintbox has climbed four storeys higher, with crews beginning to pour concrete for the 16th floor

 

Paintbox condominiums Regent Park

June 21 2011: A view of construction progress at Paintbox Condominiums from St Bartholomew Street to its southwest …

 

Paintbox condominiums at Regent Park

 … and another look at the building, standing four storeys taller, on July 13 2011

 

At last! Great Gulf breaking ground today for its 70-storey One Bloor condo tower at Yonge & Bloor

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

July 13 2011:  Construction equipment rises above the One Bloor condo tower construction site, viewed here from the west side of Yonge Street

 

Shovels ready: It only felt like it was taking forever, but it’s finally going to happen: According to a July 14 2011 article posted on the Toronto Star website, Great Gulf Homes will break ground tomorrow to officially launch construction of its 70-storey One Bloor condo tower at the southeast corner of at Yonge and Bloor Streets.

Frankly, it’s about time. Seven months ago — in a January 10 2011 post, to be exact — I publicly wondered when Great Gulf was going to get shovels in the ground and start building the One Bloor tower on what is often referred to as the “premier” piece of real estate in Canada. During the months that followed, heavy machines rolled on and off of the One Bloor site, hinting that a construction start was imminent. But they didn’t stay for long, and nothing appeared to change on the property. But after foundation building equipment arrived on the site in June, it seemed clear that preliminary construction work for the tower was set to start.

Initially, One Bloor was slated to be a 65-storey condo building with two floors of retail space fronting on the prestigious Yonge & Bloor intersection. However, thanks to strong buyer demand (the Star says 85% of the units in the 732-suite tower have been sold), One Bloor will now soar five storeys taller — topping off at 70 floors. Construction is expected to cost $450 million and last until the end of 2014.

Below are several One Bloor website renderings that suggest how the skyscraper, designed by Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects, will look, along with photos I’ve taken of the project site in recent months.

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower

Condo tower rendering from the One Bloor project website

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower podium rendering

Condo tower podium rendering from the One Bloor project website   

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower

Another tower rendering seen in this screen capture from the One Bloor website


One Bloor condo tower Toronto

May 1 2011: Trailers on the otherwise vacant south side of the One Bloor condo tower construction site, viewed from the west side of the Xerox Tower

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

May 1 2011: Looking west across the vacant One Bloor site

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower site

May 1 2011: Looking northwest toward the corner of Yonge & Bloor

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

June 22 2011: A shoring rig on the northern half of the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower site

June 22 2011: Yonge Street view of the shoring rig on the One Bloor property

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

June 22 2011: Bloor Street view of the shoring rig

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

July 6 2011: Two shoring rigs ready for action on the building site

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

July 6 2011: A closer look at the two rigs sitting idle on the site

 

One Bloor Toronto condo tower construction site

July 13 2011: More construction equipment and a tent have been brought in for the groundbreaking ceremony

 

Skyscrapers at Yonge & Bloor Streets in Toronto

July 14 2011: My balcony view at sunset of skyscrapers near Yonge & Bloor Streets. The 45-storey Casa condominium tower (center) currently dominates the skyline; however, in three or four years’ time, One Bloor — which will rise just to the right rear of Casa — will be the tallest building in the area

 

 

Glass cladding installation adds shape & sheen to new Bridgepoint Hospital being built in Riverdale

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: Glass cladding gradually encloses floors of the new Bridgepoint Hospital under construction in Riverdale (seen here looking to the northeast from the Gerrard Street bridge above the Don Valley Parkway)

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale

 July 13 2011: Cabbagetown view of cladding along the lower west wall

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: Closer view of cladding on the lower west wall

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011:  A glass wall segment on the west side of the building

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

 July 13 2011:  Cladding installation on the building’s southwest corner

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: Cladding along the south side of the building, facing Gerrard Street

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011:  Glass cladding installation in the southeast corner

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: A cloud reflects in a panel on the south side of the building

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: A construction worker appears to emerge from clouds as he works behind one of the newly installed glass wall panels

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

July 13 2011: Glass cladding installation along the east side of the hospital building

 

Glass goes on: One long-familiar city landmark is set to disappear while a notorious historical building under restoration close by is going to get a new lease on life serving a function completely different from its original purpose.  The Bridgepoint Health hospital building near the northwest corner of Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Streets has been a landmark for decades. Standing on a Riverdale hillside overlooking the Don Valley, the distinctive semicircular building has been seen daily by thousands of commuters driving up and down the Don Valley Parkway, or crossing over the valley and the Don River on either the Bloor Street Viaduct or one of the east-west bridges farther south that connects Riverdale to downtown. But construction of a new hospital building has been taking attention away from the curved structure for months — and in two years’ time, the old Bridgepoint building will disappear from the landscape altogether.

Originally established in 1860 as a House of Refuge for “incurables and the indigent poor,” Bridgepoint evolved into an institution renowned for specialized care, research and education for complex chronic disease and multiple lifelong illnesses. In the process, it outgrew its dated and inefficient building, and desperately needed to redevelop its facilities to better cope with steadily increasing demand for care and services.  In 2006, the City of Toronto approved a Community Master Plan that gave Bridgepoint the green light to construct a new 472-bed hospital facility as part of a comprehensive neighbourhood redevelopment program that will revitalize a vast swath of land northwest of the Broadview-Gerrard intersection, including the historic Don Jail and two heritage buildings nearby.

Converting the historic jail into part of a state-of-the-art health care facility is arguably one of the most intriguing elements of the Bridgepoint redevelopment. Built in 1864, the Don Jail was designed by William Thomas, the same architect who designed Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall on King Street East at Jarvis Street. The jail was closed in 1977; a “new jail” has been operating right next door ever since, but will itself be closed and then demolished once a new detention centre has been opened in Etobicoke.  Restoration work on the “old” Don Jail started last year and is currently in full swing. According to the Preserving the Historic Don Jail information page on the Bridgepoint website, the building exterior is being restored and preserved, and will be linked to the new hospital building by a modern glass bridge. Inside, the building’s rotunda will be restored to its original splendour. The rotunda once featured a glass floor, which at some point was covered over, along with a skylight, which was similarly tiled in. Both will be uncovered during the restoration process, and the rotundra will become a publicly-accessible space for community and hospital events. “On the second level, walkways run the circumference of the rotunda and are held up by wrought-iron gargoyles (dragons and snakes). The walkways, the gargoyles and the wrought-iron railings along the walkways will all be preserved. As well, a group of cells in the basement and the gallows will be retained in their original state for historical purposes,” the website states.

When complete, the Bridgepoint campus will include the new hospital, the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation,  Bridgepoint Family Health Team primary care services, and the Bridgepoint Health Foundation. Toronto firms Stantec and KPMB Architects developed the “design exemplar” for the Bridgepoint request for proposals process, while the project’s architects of record — HDR Architects and Diamond + Schmitt Architects — worked from that exemplar to develop a final design that met compliance requirements. Construction of the new  hospital commenced in 2009 and is scheduled for completion in 2013. Renovation of the Don Jail began last year and is expected to finish in 2012. Demolition of the existing hospital, along with the Toronto Jail facility to the east of the Don Jail building, is anticipated to take place between April and June of 2013.

Below are renderings of the new hospital building as they appear on the Bridgepoint website, along with photos I’ve taken showing construction progress at various stages.

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale Toronto

September 26 2010:  Riverdale Park view of the current Bridgepoint Hospital

 

How the new Bridgepoint Health campus in Riverdale will look

This architectural rendering from the Bridgepoint Health website offers an aerial view suggesting how the Bridgepoint campus in Riverdale will look in several years with the new hospital (left), and the restored historic Don Jail (right)

 

Architectural rendering of the new Bridgepoint Hospital

This architectural rendering from the Bridgepoint website suggests how the hospital will look when viewed from the southwest on Gerrard Street

 

Architectural rendering of the new Bridgepoint Hospital

Another architectural rendering, from the project website, showing a Gerrard Street view of the new hospital and restored Don Jail

Architectural rendering of the new Bridgepoint Hospital

 Also from the project website, a rendering that depicts how the hospital will appear when viewed from the northeast, in Riverdale Park

 

Architectural rendering of the new Bridgepoint Hospital

 Above is a rendering of the hospital viewed from the east, while below …

 

Architectural rendering of the new Bridgepoint Hospital

… is a rendering showing a view of the hospital from one of the footbridges that crosses the Don Valley to the northwest of the project site

 

Aerial view of Bridgepoint hospital construction on April 27 2010

April 27 2010: From the Bridgepoint website, an aerial view of the excavation underway immediately west of the present hospital and the Don Jail

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction site

 October 27 2010: A photo I took from Cabbagetown, to the west, of three construction cranes at the Bridgepoint hospital construction site …

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction

… and, from the Bridgepoint Health website, a photo showing an aerial view of the construction site on the very same day

 

Bridgepoint redevelopment proposal sign on Gerrard Street East

Bridgepoint redevelopment proposal sign posted on Gerrard Street East

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction sign on Gerrard Street

March 27 2011 : Bridgepoint hospital construction sign on Gerrard Street

 

Bridgepoint Hospital in Riverdale

March 27 2011: Riverdale Park view of the north side of the semicircular Bridgepoint Hospital. This building will be demolished — likely in early 2013 — after the new hospital is finished and occupied.

 

Bridgepoint Health old and new hospitals

March 27 2011: Riverdale Park view of the present hospital, left, and the new facility under construction next door to its immediate west

 

Bridgepoint Health hospital construction

March 27 2011: Riverdale Park view of construction of the hospital’s north side

 

Bridgepoint Hospital off Broadview Avenue

March 27 2011: The present hospital building, seen from Broadview Avenue

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011: Construction viewed from the southwest on Gerrard Street

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011: Construction progress viewed from the parking lot situated to the southeast of the building site

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011: View from the southeast of ground floor construction progress

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011:  Construction progress on the south side of the building

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011: Looking up at the southeast corner of the new hospital building

 

Bridgepoint Health new hospital construction

March 27 2011: Parking lot view of the southeast corner of the new building (left), the present hospital (center) and the west wing of the Don Jail (right)

 

Don Jail at Bridgepoint Health

March 27 2011: Looking northeast from the parking lot at restoration activity underway on the exterior of the historic Don Jail building

 

Don Jail at Bridgepoint Health

March 27 2011: Exterior restoration work on the Don Jail’s west wing

 

Don Jail at Bridgepoint Health

March 27 2011: The central rotunda section of the Don Jail

 

Don Jail at Bridgepoint Health

March 27 2011: The Don Jail’s main entrance and rotunda will be accessible to the public for community uses and public gallery space. it also will be used for hospital events and lectures.

 

Architectural detail on the Don Jail building

March 27 2011: Architectural details on the front of the Don Jail building

 

Father Time sculpture above the entrance to the Don Jail

March 27 2011: The “Father Time” sculpture above the Don Jail main entrance

 

Upper

March 27 2011: The upper southeast corner of the Don Jail, built in 1864

 

Don Jail and current Toronto Jail

March 27 2011: The east wing of the “old” Don Jail and the adjacent “new” jail, which will be closed and then demolished once a new detention centre has been constructed in the west end of the city

 

Gerrard Street view of the Don Jail

March 27 2011:  Gerrard Street view of the Don Jail and the “new” jail (right).

 

Historic houses to be restored on the Bridgepoint property

March 27 2011: Two historic houses will be retained on the Bridgepoint property along Gerrard Street. New park grounds will enhance this area.

 

Gatekeeper house outside the Don Jail

March 27 2011: The west side of the jail’s former gatekeeper house. The building will be retained and incorporated into the new park area.

 

Governors House on the Bridgepoint Health property

March 27 2011: The former Governor’s House at 562 Gerrard Street East will be retained and restored as part of the Bridgepoint redevelopment project

 

Toronto Public Library Riverdale branch

March 27 2011: The Governor’s House sits next door to the Riverdale branch of the Toronto Public Library. The library entrance, at the northwest corner of Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street East, is seen here.

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011:  Gerrard Street view of construction on the southwest corner of the hospital building

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction progress

March 27 2011: Bridgepoint hospital construction progress viewed from the Gerrard Street bridge above the Don Valley Parkway

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction

March 27 2011: Hospital construction viewed from the Gerrard Street bridge

 

Bridgepoint Hospital construction progress

March 27 201: Bridgepoint Hospital construction progress viewed from from a park below the Cabbagetown neighbourhood on the west side of the Don Valley

 

Bridgepoint Health present and new hospital buildings

June 21 2011:  Riverdale Park view of the Bridgepoint Health hospital buildings

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction progress

June 21 2011: Construction progress on the south end of the new building

 

Don Jail restoration at Bridgepoint Health

June 21 2011: Exterior restoration work on the Don Jail building

 

Exterior restoration work at the Don Jail

June 21 2011 The exterior of the Don Jail is being restored and preserved. The Jail will be connected to the new hospital by a modern glass bridge.

 

Don Jail restoration work

 June 21 2011:  Restoration activity on the east wing of the Don Jail

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction progress

June 21 2011: Hospital construction progress viewed from the southwest

 

Bridgepoint hospital construction progress

June 21 2011: Construction progress viewed from the Gerrard Street bridge

 

Bridgepoint Health new hospital construction progress

July 13 2011: The new hospital rises above Gerrard Street. Below is an online album containing dozens more photos of the hospital construction.

 

8-storey Trinity Lofts throws a curve into condo building boom in downtown’s Lower Eastside

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

This rendering of the curvelinear Trinity Lofts building appears on signage posted on hoarding at the condo construction site on Eastern Avenue

 

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking west toward the Trinity Lofts condo construction site and the skyscrapers of Toronto’s Financial District

 

Curved condo: The sharp bend in the road where Eastern Avenue meets Front Street is going to get a lot more visually interesting for passing motorists in just a few months’ time. Right now, all that passersby can see is a tall red crane soaring above the middle of a wedge-shaped piece of property on the north side of Eastern Avenue, between Trinity and Erin Streets. Behind the poster-covered wooden hoarding that surrounds the site, work is progressing three levels below grade on the foundation for Trinity Lofts, an eight-storey condo building with a dramatic curvelinear design that will match the bend on Eastern Avenue. As building progresses above street level, likely sometime in late summer, passersby will get to watch the curve take shape.

A project of Streetcar Developments, Trinity Lofts will have 81 loft condos in floorplans ranging from a 535-square-foot 1-bedroom (with prices starting at $329,900) to an 813-square-foot 2-bedroom + den with 101-square foot balcony (starting at $491,900). The building will have two townhomes; TH01 is a 1,697-square-foot 2-bedroom with den and 582-square-foot garden going for $809,900.  Occupancy is expected for around this time next summer.

Streetcar certainly picked a great location for this project, one of several small condo complexes it has either already built or is currently constructing in the downtown’s booming Lower Eastside (a July 9 2010 article from the Toronto Star describes the various projects). Located one block south of King Street, the building is just a short streetcar ride from the Financial District, only a two-minute walk from the Distillery District, and within reasonably short walking distance of furniture and grocery stores, including the St Lawrence Market. It’s also just a short walk from the new Don River Park that is being built to the southeast as one of the Lower Eastside developments underway for the 2015 Pan Am Games. Loft owners feeling too lazy to walk anywhere won’t have to go far to find wheels — there’s several car dealerships right across the street and around the corner. And the location should feel extra-safe and secure for anyone except fugitives on the lam: It’s right right across Erin Street from the Toronto’s 51 Division police headquarters.

I’ve walked and cycled past the Trinity Lofts site several times in recent months, but haven’t been able to see what’s happening behind the solid wall of construction hoarding. However, the photo below (a screen shot from the Trinity Lofts project website) shows construction progress as of last month. The others are photos I’ve snapped recently showing the condo location viewed from different perspectives on Eastern Avenue.

 

Trinity Lofts condo foundation construction

Foundation construction progress photo from the Trinity Lofts condo project website

 

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

July 1 2011: Eastern Avenue view of the construction site, looking north

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

July 1 2011: The Trinity Lofts condo building site extends along Eastern Avenue from Erin Street (left) to Trinity Street

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

July 1 2011: Northeasterly view of the site from Eastern Avenue

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

April 30 2011: Like most new condos, Trinity Lofts will have street-level retail

 

 

Clear Spirit condo tower continues upward climb over Distillery District’s southeastern corner

Clear Spirit condo construction at the Distillery District

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit condo tower construction at the Distillery District viewed from Cherry Street looking west toward the CN Tower (rear left)

 

River City and Distillery District condo construction

July 1 2011: Looking from the Queen Street bridge above the Don Valley towards the Distillery District (upper right). Clear Spirit (with crane) will rise 40 floors to overtake the 32-storey Pure Spirit condo tower (top right). The construction zone in the foreground is where the River City condominium complex is being built.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction at Distillery District

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit rises above the Gardiner Expressway in this view from the bike trail along Cherry Street near the Keating Channel in the port lands.

 

Rising higher: As the Clear Spirit condominium tower soars taller, it’s becoming a lot easier to spot Toronto’s historic Distillery District on the city skyline. Nearly one-third of the way toward its 40-storey peak height, the condo tower frame and construction crane are now clearly visible from many different parts of downtown and Riverdale. Clear Spirit is the second condo tower that Toronto’s architects Alliance has designed for the Distillery District. The first, Pure Spirit, was built at the northwestern corner of the district in 2009, and stands 32 storeys tall. The Distillery District’s master plan calls for yet another condo tower — the 35-storey Gooderham condominiums — to be constructed on the northeast corner of the property, right next to Clear Spirit, along with what the architects Alliance website describes as “a low ‘ribbon building’ with a planted roof.” Renderings of the various buildings can be viewed at the link I’ve provided to the aA website. Photos of recent Clear Spirit construction progress can be viewed below, while earlier photos can be seen in my March 20 2011 post and in my February 16 2011 post.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit seen from the bike path along Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: The south side of the Clear Spirit tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Supervisors checking out the construction

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from the parking lot along the southwest side of the Distillery District. The building in the foreground is the Pump House; the one in the middle is the Case Goods Warehouse, home of Artscape Studios

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Construction of the Clear Spirit condo tower climbs above The Case Goods Warehouse building

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Looking up the SE corner of the tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Distinctively angled floorplates on the tower’s south side

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011:  Clear Spirit and the Gooderham tower will transform a site that is approximately one-fifth the size of the entire Distillery District

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Construction forms protruding from the Clear Spirit tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011:  Entrance to the condo’s underground parking garage

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011 Clear Spirit condo tower construction viewed from Tank House lane near Trinity Street in the Distillery District

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance at Mill and Trinity Streets

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit (left) and Pure Spirit (right) viewed from the intersection of Cherry & Mill Streets. The 35-storey Gooderham condo tower will be built near the left of the area shown in this photo.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: The low-rise building on the corner is one of three Tank Houses now home to the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. The Gooderham tower will be built immediately south of the Young Centre.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit soaring above the Distillery District’s Tank House Lane entrance off Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking up from Cherry Street at the Clear Spirit and its crane

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Construction entrance off Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Project team poster and site plan map

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking up at the east side of the building

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: The east side of the tower and its podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Tall support pillars on the tower’s east side

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: One of the support pillars stands at a slight angle

 

New Casey House HIV/AIDS health care building will restore 1875 heritage mansion at Jarvis & Isabella

571 Jarvis Street mansion

July 6 2011: This city heritage-designated mansion at 571 Jarvis Street — the William R. Johnston House from 1875 — will be restored and incorporated into the Casey House redevelopment proposed for the corner of Jarvis & Isabella Streets …

 

119 Isabella Street Toronto coach house

… however, this coach house at 119 Isabella Street (seen on March 1 2011) would be demolished during construction of the new HIV/AIDS care facility.  A city heritage-listed property, the coach house was built in 1889.


Casey House: The city has scheduled a community consultation meeting for tomorrow evening (July 7) to obtain neighbourhood input on a redevelopment proposal that would see a new Casey House HIV/AIDS health care facility constructed along the south side of Isabella Street, between Jarvis and Huntley Streets. The new building would include a five-storey structure rising behind and attached to the William R. Johnston House at 571 Jarvis Street, a brick mansion built in 1875. Used as offices for decades, the grey-painted mansion (affectionately called “The Grey Lady” by neighbourhood residents) would be restored as part of the Casey House redevelopment. From its 22.7-metre peak height behind the mansion, the new building would terrace down to three storeys toward Huntley Street, where the entrance to an underground parking garage would be situated — directly across the street from the existing Casey House hospice at the southeast corner of Huntley & Isabella.

Although Toronto heritage building enthusiasts will be relieved that the historic mansion will be saved and incorporated into the new facility, they undoubtedly will be dismayed that a handsome 122-year-old coach house at 119 Isabella Street will be destroyed during construction. Built at the southwest corner of Huntley & Isabella in 1889, the coach house is currently used by Casey House for administration and training space. Since it couldn’t be included in the new building design, its demise appears likely — unless an individual or organization with property to which the coach house could be relocated steps in to save it.

Established as Canada’s first free-standing HIV/AIDS hospice in 1988, Casey House is a 13-bed specialty hospital funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Community programming initiatives, including a Home Hospice Program, counselling, nursing and outreach services, are funded primarily through donations to Casey House Foundation.

The new building will enable Casey House to double its capacity to meet increasing needs for its services, and to develop a Day Health Program that the Casey House website says will be “a centre of excellence in HIV/AIDS clinical care, education and research.” To this end, Casey House is undertaking a capital redevelopment campaign to raise $10 million.  (Final renderings aren’t publicly available yet because Casey House needs approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care before it proceeds with detailed building designs, CEO Stephanie Karapita told me today.)

Below are photos I’ve taken in recent months of the Casey House redevelopment site, including the mansion at 571 Jarvis and the coach house on Isabella Street, along with the present Casey House facility at 9 Huntley Street. The community consultation meeting about the Casey House project is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Wellesley Community Centre.

 

571 Jarvis Street Toronto mansion

July 6 2011: The 571 Jarvis Street mansion which will become part of the new Casey House facility, seen here from the west side of Jarvis this morning.

 

571 Jarvis Street Toronto mansion

July 6 2011: Lush foliage obscures street views of the front entrance to the William R. Johnston House at 571 Jarvis Street

 

571 Jarvis Street mansion in Toronto

April 7 2011: The 571 Jarvis Street mansion viewed from the southwest corner of Jarvis and Isabella Streets. The new Casey House facility would rise above “The Grey Lady” mansion and extend east to Huntley Street.

Jarvis Street near Isabella Street Toronto

April 7 2011: A view from the west side of Jarvis Street toward the Casey House development site. The new health care building will rise in the area that appears in the middle of this photo (behind the tall evergreen tree).

 

Rogers Communications head office on Jarvis Street Toronto

April 7 2011: The enormous Rogers Communications office building looms large above the 571 Jarvis Street mansion (right)

 

571 Jarvis Street Toronto mansion

April 5 2011: A spring look at The Grey Lady mansion from Jarvis Street, before seasonal greenery obscures much of it from view

 

571 Jarvis Street and 10 Huntley Street

April 30 2011: A rental apartment building at 10 Huntley Street rises behind the 571 Jarvis Street mansion.

 

571 Jarvis Street

April 30 2011: Looking toward the south side of 571 Jarvis Street from the parking lot behind the 10 Huntley Street apartment building. The highrise building at right rear is the James Cooper Mansion Condos, a project noteworthy for having incorporated a restored historic mansion into the new building.

 

571 Jarvis Street Toronto

April 30 2011: A closer view of the south side of The Grey Lady mansion

 

571 Jarvis Street mansion

April 30 2011: Southeast view of The Grey Lady mansion from the 10 Huntley Street apartment building parking lot next door

 

571 Jarvis Street Toronto

April 30 2011:  Two 11-storey rental apartment buildings face the Casey House building site from the west side of Jarvis Street.

 

571 Jarvis Street

March 1 2011: The north side of The Grey Lady mansion along Isabella Street

 

571 Jarvis Street mansion Toronto

March 1 2011: A view of The Grey Lady from the north side of Isabella Street

 

571 Jarvis Street mansion Toronto

March 1 2011:  Windows overlooking Isabella Street. The exterior of The Grey Lady will get a much-needed sprucing up when the new Casey House is built.

 

parking lot behind 571 Jarvis Street

March 1 2011: The property between 571 Jarvis Street (right) and the 119 Isabella Street coach house (partially visible at left) is presently used for parking. The new Casey House building will occupy this entire area.

 

parking lot between 119 Isabella and 571 Jarvis

March 1 2011: Pedestrians will access the new building from Isabella Street

 

Casey House Hospice expansion project site on Isabella Street

April 30 2011: The east side of The Grey Lady mansion

 

Casey House Hospice expansion project site on Isabella Street

April 30 2011: Looking towards The Grey Lady mansion from the east side of the parking lot near the coach house that will be demolished

 

Looking north from the Casey House parking area

April 30 2011: Besides the huge Rogers Communication headquarters, several townhouses and a 110-year-old building (far right) sit on the north side of Isabella Street, directly opposite the Casey House development site.

 

119 Isabella Street

February 28 2011: The west side of the 119 Isabella Street coach house

 

119 Isabella Street Toronto

April 30 2011: Another view of the west side of the coach house

 

119 Isabella Street

February 28 2011: The courtyard entrance to the coach house, off Isabella Street

 

119 Isabella Street

March 1 2011: A view of the coach house from the northeast corner of Huntley & Isabella Streets

 

Samuel R Wickett House at 122 & 124 Isabella Street

March 1 2011: The Samuel R Wickett House sits at 122 & 124 Isabella Street, directly across the street from the coach house. It was constructed in 1901.

 

Casey House Hospice at 9 Huntley Street Toronto

March 1 2011: The present Casey House hospice building at the southeast corner of Huntley and Isabella Streets. No decision has yet been made as to what will be done with this property once the new Casey House facility has been built.

 

Casey House Hospice at 9 Huntley Street Toronto

April 2 2011: The north side of Casey House hospice, facing Isabella Street

 

Casey House Hospice at 9 Huntley Street

April 2 2011: The west side of Casey House Hospice at 9 Huntley Street

 

119 Isabella Street Toronto

April 2 2011: A Huntley Street view of the coach house that will be demolished when the new Casey House building is constructed. This will be the location of the entrance to the underground parking garage.