Monthly Archives: August 2013

5th floor work brings FIVE condo tower into view

Construction of FIVE Condos as seen from the east along Dundonald Street

 August 25 2013: Construction of the tower component of the FIVE Condos project at Yonge & St Joseph is now visible from the east along Dundonald Street.

 

Five floors up: Now that construction of FIVE Condos at Yonge and St Joseph Streets has reached the fifth floor, residents to the east are beginning to see how significantly the 48-storey tower will change the look and feel of their neighbourhood.

Until last week, it was difficult to monitor construction progress on the tower. Nestled behind a row of 3.5 to 4-storey heritage buildings along Yonge Street, as well as a 4-level heritage building facade propped up by giant steel supports on St Joseph Street, the construction could be seen at street level from only a couple of places. The Yonge & St Joseph intersection has been the best vantage spot, while the corner of Phipps Street and St Nicholas Street on the west side of the project site has offered an alternative but awkward view of the building activity.

However, construction is now visible to people approaching from Dundonald Street on the east side of Yonge. Work on the tower’s fifth floor can clearly be seen behind the row of historic buildings at 606 to 618 Yonge that will be restored as part of the redevelopment project. The tower is also starting to come into view from part of Wellesley Street one block to the south, and within just a few weeks should be obvious from the intersection of Yonge & Wellesley Streets as well as farther up and down Yonge.

 

FIVE Condos tower construction viewed from the east side of Yonge Street at St Joseph Street

August 30 2013: Construction of the FIVE Condos tower is now rising above the heritage buildings along Yonge Street  (left) and the retained facade of the Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on St Joseph Street (right).

 

 

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Theatre Park condo climbing higher on King Street

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: Nearly 1/3 of its way to 47 storeys, the Theatre Park condo tower already dwarfs Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre

 

Stealing the show: When I last posted photos of the Theatre Park condos back in the spring (see my April 18 2013 post), construction was just beginning to overtake the height of neighbouring heritage buildings, including the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Three-quarters of the way through summer, the tower has now grown to about one-third of its ultimate 47-storey height. And as it continues climbing higher, Theatre Park undoubtedly will keep stealing attention from the 106-year-old landmark next door.

A project of Lamb Development Corp, Niche Development and Harhay Construction Management Ltd., the Theatre Park condominium tower was designed by architectsAlliance.

The slender point tower still has some suites available for purchase — at prices starting from $489,900, according to the condo website.

Below are several more construction progress photos I shot recently. The Theatre Park Condos album on TheTorontoBlog’s Flickr page contains several dozen photos of construction activity since December 2012.

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: Tower podium viewed from the south side of King Street

 

 

Theatre Park condos

August 19 2013: Tower construction has climbed past the 16th level

 

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: The Theatre Park tower continues to rise higher above the 106-year-old Royal Alexandra Theatre

 

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: The 66-storey Living Shangri-la Toronto hotel and condo tower (right) looks on as Theatre Park continues its climb above the Entertainment District

 

 

 

A peek at the Pier 27 waterfront condos

August 19 2013 view of the two buildings on the east side of the Pier 27 Condos site

August 19 2013: Most windows have been installed on the two east buildings at The Residences of Pier 27 condo site, but installation hasn’t yet begun on the SkyBridge linking them. The steel frames for the SkyBridge were built a year ago.

 

Waterfront wonders: Judging by the positive reaction of passersby, The Residences of Pier 27 prove that imaginatively-designed midrise condo buildings can be just as attention-grabbing and impressive as soaring 70-storey skyscrapers.

I don’t get down to the lakefront as often as I would like to monitor progress on the Pier 27 project, but each time I do I’m amazed by the number of people who are captivated by the construction.

In particular, passersby are fascinated with the 3-storey-tall SkyBridges than span the tops of the four towers currently under construction on Queen’s Quay Boulevard East, near the foot of Yonge Street.

“Wow” is the most common comment, while many people say how much they would “love” to live in one of the lake-facing SkyBridge penthouses and enjoy the fabulous views of the Toronto Islands. People I chat with — many of whom are tourists — think the building design is striking, and a refreshing change from the skyscraper condos that have been rising throughout the downtown area. I can’t recall any negative or highly critical comments about the buildings, which were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

The Residences of Pier 27 is a project of Cityzen Developments and Fernbrook Homes.

Below is a link to the Pier 27 Condos album from TheTorontoBlog’s Flickr page. It contains more than 60 recent pics of construction progress.

 

Above is a link to dozens of recent photos showing construction progress at The Residences of Pier 27 condo construction site. Click twice on the image to view the photos in full-size format.

 

Ripley’s Aquarium aims for September opening

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

August 19 2013: Construction work continues on the building exterior as Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada gears up for its September opening. Below is an artistic rendering that shows how the building will look once complete.

 

Ripley's Canada Aquarium rendering

 

 

Buy now: The wait to see Toronto’s newest tourist attraction is nearly over.

With its public opening set for September, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is now selling advance admission tickets on its website. The “pre-opening” passes, which cost $29.98 for adults and $19.98 for seniors over 65 and kids aged 4 to 13, will be valid for entry to the aquarium for up to one year after date of purchase.

The aquarium, which has been under construction since August 2011, has long targeted a “summer of 2013” opening. Thousands of Canadians eager to view sharks from the Dangerous Reef’s underwater tunnel had been hoping they could visit the aquarium during the summer school break, but construction didn’t finish in time. The precise opening date in September still hasn’t been announced.

Extensive information about the attraction is available on the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada website.

I posted construction photos in reports published on August 18 2011, August 17 2012, and October 14 2012.  Pictures showing how the aquarium site (on Bremner Boulevard at the base of the CN Tower) looked prior to construction can be viewed in my February 3 2011 report about the project.

More than 200 photos showing the various stages of construction during the past two years can be viewed in the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada album on TheTorontoBlog’s Facebook page.

 

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

August 19 2013: Work continues on the aquarium’s main entrance as well as the new pedestrian plaza it will share with the CN Tower.

 

 

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

August 19 2013: A view of the aquarium from the pedestrian walkway on the east side of the nearby Rogers Centre.

 

 

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

August 19 2013: “Pre-sale” tickets are available from the aquarium’s website

 

Phoenix mural brightens St James Town skyline

Phoenix mural on 200 Wellesley East

August 24 2013: It’s only partly complete, but the phoenix mural being painted on the south wall of 200 Wellesley Street East has already brightened the building — and the St James Town skyline. I shot this photo from three blocks to the southwest at the corner of Homewood Avenue and Maitland Place.

 

 Phoenix mural on 200 Wellesley Street East

August 24 2013: A view of the phoenix mural from one block east of the building at the intersection of Wellesley and Ontario Streets

 

 

Neighbourhood youth initiative: On September 24 2010, thousands of people in the northeast downtown area watched and worried as flames and smoke billowed from windows and a balcony at 200 Wellesley Street East, a Toronto Community Housing rental apartment highrise in St James Town. The intense six-alarm fire destroyed a 24th-floor apartment on the tower’s west side, and displaced more than a thousand building residents from their homes — some for many months.

The damage was repaired and residents returned to their apartments ages ago, but 200 Wellesley is once again attracting attention from people across northeast downtown. This time it’s a colourful giant mural, rather than smoke and flames, that has been turning heads and making people take a close look at the 43-year-old building.

Rising the entire 250-foot length of 200 Wellesley’s 29-storey south wall, the multicoloured painting of a bird soaring skyward will be the tallest public art installation in Toronto, and might even be the tallest in the world.

 

phoenix mural on 200 Wellesley Street East

This rendering provided by The STEPS Initiative shows how the phoenix mural will look once painting is complete.  A July 31 2013 report on the Torontoist website features another rendering that includes details from the base of the mural.

 

 

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One Bloor condo building progress finally in view

One Bloor condo construction is now visible above the sidewalk hoarding

August 17 2013: Work on the 75-storey One Bloor condo tower finally comes into view as podium construction climbs above the sidewalk scaffolding …

 

 

Buildings at the SE corner of Yonge & Bloor being demolished in August 2008

… five years after demolition machines razed the low-rise retail, restaurant and office buildings that had occupied the southeast corner of Yonge & Bloor

 

 

Show time: It has taken five years, but people passing through the bustling Yonge & Bloor intersection can once again see a building structure (albeit one still in the very early stages of construction) standing on the southeast corner.

Five years ago this month, the southeast corner of Yonge & Bloor was surrounded by scaffolding, above which passersby could see demolition machines razing the upper floors of several low-rise retail, restaurant and office buildings that had occupied the corner property for decades. They were clearing away the old structures — and the pedestrian-friendly Roy’s Square lane behind them — to make room for construction of a highly-hyped 80-storey condo, hotel & retail complex that developer Bazis International called 1 Bloor.

With a promised “iconic” design, 1 Bloor would become a striking new landmark for the Yonge & Bloor area, and claim bragging rights to the title of tallest residential building in Canada. Prospective purchasers lined up for days before the presentation centre opened and, once it did, units sold like hot cakes.

By mid-September of 2008 the old buildings on the 1 Bloor site were completely demolished, leaving nothing but a big empty lot for passersby to see through security fences set up around the property. Architecture and building buffs — not to mention all the people who had bought condos at 1 Bloor — anxiously awaited word that construction was about to start.

 

1 Bloor promotional billboard November 13 2007

November 13 2007: This billboard advertised the original 1 Bloor condo tower that developer Bazis International had planned for the site.

 

 

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Construction worker dies in fall from 70th floor of Aura condo tower; body found on nearby rooftop

Aura condo tower Toronto

August 16 2013: Construction progress on the Aura condo tower, viewed from the northwest corner of College Park

 

[Editor’s note: This post was updated on August 25. See below.]

 

55-floor plunge: Tragedy struck the Aura condo building site at lunchtime this afternoon when a 29-year-old male construction worker plunged to his death from the 70th floor of the tower.

Local media reports say that the man fell around noon, tumbling about 181 meters (55 floors) onto the roof of a 15-storey building nearby. News reports quote a Toronto Fire Department official as saying that the worker’s body was found about 24 meters away from the Aura tower.

A report by CTV News Toronto said the firm that is building Aura, Reliance Construction Group, had no comment on the incident. But in a report posted later on the Toronto news page of the CBC website said Reliance had issued a statement in which it noted that the worker had been an employee of an on-site contractor.

“This is a very sad and difficult time for all involved,” Reliance said in its statement. “Our thoughts today are with the people involved in this incident as well as their families, friends and colleagues. Health and safety is an utmost priority for our company. Our team is cooperating fully with local police and authorities to investigate this matter.”

The accident is under investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

 

Worker’s safety harness broke, news report says

A Global News Toronto report on August 24 identified the construction worker as Hamilton, Ontario resident Kevin Raposo, and said he was an employee of Verdi Alliance. The report says the tragic accident occurred when the metal clasp that secured Mr. Raposo’s safety harness broke. He fell onto the roof of the College Park Suites apartment building at 424 Yonge Street immediately to the north of Aura.

“The force of the impact caused structural damage to the gravel rooftop. Raposo’s body remained at the scene, covered by an orange blanket, for more than seven hours before crews laid down support beams and pieces of plywood so investigators could examine it. His body was removed after dark,” the Global News report states.

Aura will be the tallest residential building in Canada once construction is complete. The tower will be 78 storeys high.

Below are screen captures from local television news reports about the horrific accident, followed by a photo of Aura that I shot last week from the northwest corner of College Park.

 

Aura condo tower construction worker fatality

This image from a Global Toronto television news video show the roof of the College Park Suites building at 424 Yonge Street (center), onto which a young construction worker fell after his safety harness broke while he was working on the Aura condominium tower (upper right) on Friday.

 

 

Aura condo tower construction worker fatality

This image from the Global Toronto news video report shows emergency personnel standing on the roof of the College Park Suites apartment building, several meters from the tarp-covered body of the construction worker who fell from the adjacent Aura condominium tower construction site.

 

 

Aura condo tower construction worker fatality

This image, from a CTV Toronto News video report, shows the roof of the College Park Suites, as viewed from a nearby building on the east side of Yonge Street

 

 

Aura condo tower Toronto

 

U Condos townhouse & tower construction asserts strong visual presence along Bay & St Mary Streets

U Condos construction viewed from Bay Street

August 17 2013: Above-ground construction is still in relatively early stages, but the U Condos condo tower and luxury townhouse complex … 

 

U Condos site viewed from Bay & Irwin Streets

… has already drastically transformed the southwest corner of Bay and St Mary Streets, seen here on September 26 2008 when a surface parking lot still occupied part of the development site

 

 

Strong presence: Construction of the U Condominiums complex is really beginning to turn heads on Bay Street now that one of its two towers is climbing steadily higher above its 3-storey podium and the concrete shells for luxurious townhouses that will wrap around three sides of the property.

Although passersby have been able to see above-ground construction activity since January, it has been only in recent weeks that the huge scale of the project — and the tremendous visual impact it will have on the neighbourhood — have become apparent.

The project’s  townhouse component has noticeably changed the pedestrian experience on Bay Street, while the west tower — which has climbed more than six storeys on its way to 45 — already hints at how drastically it and the even taller east tower will change the neighbourhood skyline. (Construction of the east tower has so far reached only as high as the townhouses.)

 

U Condos at Bay & St Mary Streets in Toronto

This artistic illustration, from an online promotional brochure that had been available on the U Condos website, shows how the completed towers will look when viewed from the same perspective as the two photos above.

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