Category Archives: Entertainment District

Charlie condos catching attention on King West

With construction up to its second level, Charlie Condos on King West is no longer hidden from view by the hoarding around the building site.

Name blame: When I was snapping some pics of construction progress at Charlie Condos on King Street West a few weeks ago, a bicycle courier rushed toward me, a furious look on his face. I thought he was angry at me, perhaps thinking I’d been taking his photo (I wasn’t; he was standing far off to the side of the construction gate I was photographing at the time). Turned out he was actually pissed at Charlie’s developer, Great Gulf Homes, and its builder, Tucker HiRise Construction, instead.

Jabbing his index finger toward signs on the construction site hoarding, the courier yelled: “These guys should get their asses sued off for copyright infringement!” Totally surprised and confused, I asked, “What guys? Why?” Face turning beet red, he bellowed: “Tucker HiRise! They have no right to use Chris Tucker’s name for their company! And they have no right to use Charlie Sheen’s name for their condo, either! I happen to know a thing or two about copyright law, and I know for a fact that Charlie and Chris could take these guys to the cleaners for trying to make money off their name!”

He proceeded to explain that the developer and builder were running afoul of civil law because, in his expert legal opinion, they were misleading people into purchasing condominiums in the belief the two Hollywood actors were somehow connected to the building. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing; this fellow was dead serious, yet he knew absolutely diddly-squat about trademark law.

Just as quickly as he had come running towards me, he flew into another tirade, this time raging about the fact Charlie is being built on a site that used to be a parking lot. “Where are all the cars supposed to park now?” he shrieked. “I guess they’ll have to buy a condo if they want to park here,” I replied. “That’s exactly what those bastards want!” he exclaimed, once again gesturing toward the hoarding signs before quickly stomping away.

Below are some pics I took of Charlie after receiving my Trademark Law 101 lecture on the street corner.

To view pics of the parking lot that once occupied the site, as well as building renderings and photos of the early stages of Charlie’s construction, check out my first Charlie progress post on January 31.

Construction forms rise above the hoarding on February 17 2011

A construction worker atop one of the ground-level wall forms

Arranging the rebar rods before concrete is poured in the form

Charlotte Street view of the construction on February 17 2011

Charlie Condos construction viewed from a laneway to the north

Laneway view of Charlie Condos construction, looking to the southeast

M5V Condos on King is the tower with the bold red stripe behind Charlie

This way to the next level of construction

The crane lifts a bucket of concrete into place for pouring

40-storey condo tower proposed for nightclub site at corner of Peter St. and Adelaide St. W.

Leave a reply

A 40-storey condo tower will replace the two-storey warehouse-style nightclub, pub and office buildings that occupy this corner location

Sayonara, supper club: An Entertainment District corner perhaps best known as the location of the upscale Roosevelt Room Supper Club could be the site of a 40-storey condo tower in several years.

The northeast corner of Peter and Adelaide Streets presently is home to the Adelaide Street pub, at 340 Adelaide Street West. The Roosevelt Room is right next door, occupying the main floor of the two-storey Art Deco-style warehouse building at 328 – 338 Adelaide Street West. Upstairs is the Launch Pad “workspace hub” of office rental space. But the street-level pubbing and high-end dining will have to give way to high-up condo wining and dining instead.

A developer has plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-use building with an 11-storey podium topped with a 29-storey tower. The ground floor would be retail space, while the second and third floor would be offices. The rest of the tower would be condo, with 330 residential units. According to the ONE Development website, the tower “will include many innovative ‘green’ design features, targeting a LEED Gold rating. At-grade retail will reinforce the street front; office uses will complement the neighbourhood’s converted ‘brick and beam’ warehouses; and a slim residential tower will rise above a mid-level landscaped roof garden to provide light-filled open units with stunning city views.”

Although work on the building design continues, ONE Development says “[m]odern open space with high ceilings, generous natural daylight and high quality finishes will distinguish the building.”

The project application was originally filed with the city last August; full details were outlined in a November 4, 2010 preliminary report from the city planning department to Toronto and East York Community Council. The condo tower plan got positive feedback during community consultation meetings held last July and in January. When the Community Council failed to deal with the application within the required four-month period (things were delayed because of summer break and the municipal election that followed), the developer appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

But at its February 8 meeting, Toronto City Council adopted a motion supporting the project application, based on a settlement proposal that had been reached with the developer. Under that agreement, the developer will pay the city $1.5 million to be used for various public benefits, including improvements to John Street, parks and public housing, along with 500 square feet of “community space” in the new tower for the Toronto Arts Council. In addition, the developer has agreed to design at least 10% of the units in the condo building as three-bedroom suites.

Below are some photos I’ve taken of the tower location, along with elevation and site plan drawings that appeared in the planning department reports. The ONE Development website says “construction is slated to begin in 2014.”

The Adelaide Street pub seen on January 14 2011

Condo development proposal sign on the wall of the Adelaide Street Pub

South view from Peter Street of the proposed condo tower location

Southeast view from Peter Street of the proposed condo tower location

East view of The Adelaide Street pub building at 340 Adelaide Street West

Condo site viewed from the south side of Adelaide Street West

Northwest view of the Roosevelt Room and Launch Pad office location

A laneway called Drummond Place runs to the east and north of the condo site

South and west elevation drawings for the proposed condo tower

Site plan drawing for the proposed condo tower

Keeping tabs on … M5V condos on King West

Leave a reply

M5V condo tower viewed from Clarence Square Park January 14 2011

Big Red Box: I have to be honest: I keep confusing the M5V Condominium tower on King Street West with Boutique Condo at the corner of Simcoe and Nelson Streets, a few blocks to the east. In fact, I have nearly mislabelled photos of the two towers while organizing my pictures. Though they’re products of completely different designers, builders and developers, they’re both tall glass boxes with what I consider quite similar designs — particularly up top.

What does distinguish them, however, are the splashes of colour on the north and west facades of M5V’s tower and podium. And I never mistake M5V when viewing the tower from the north or the west: there’s just no way to miss the distinctive big red box that sits nearly halfway up the 34-storey tower’s northwest corner. (It houses the building’s mechanical room and rainwater retrieval system.)

M5V is drawing closer to completion, and the project website says that building occupancy is scheduled for June. I’m anxious to see the hoarding come down from the front of the tower, so I can see and feel how the building contributes to the King West streetscape. Shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for that.

M5V is a project of Lifetime Developments and TAS DesignBuild. There’s more information and photos of M5V on the project website as well as on the M5V section of the TAS website.

Below are some photos I’ve taken of M5V at different stages of construction in recent months; there are more pics in the M5V album on the Photo Sets page of the blog.

The big red box that houses the M5V condo tower’s mechanical room

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of M5V Condominium building

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of M5V’s upper floors and roof

November 29 2010: Charlotte Street view of the CN Tower and M5V Condo tower

November 29 2010: Coloured window panels on north wall of M5V condo tower

November 29 2011: Another Charlotte Street view of M5V

November 29 2011: Looking up from corner of King & Charlotte Streets

November 29 2011: Tower viewed from the north side of King Street

November 29 2011: A view of the 8-storey podium above King Street

November 29 2011: Looking up at the big red box mechanical room

January 14 2011: M5V viewed through the bare trees at Clarence Square park

January 14 2011: The upper floors of the tower’s west side

January 14 2011: M5V condo tower viewed from the southwest on Front Street

February 17 2011: The street level hoarding I can’t wait to see dismantled

February 17 2011: Another view of M5V, this time looking west along King Street

February 17 2011: The M5V tower on a dull, overcast afternoon

Excavation getting deeper for Lofts 399 condos

2 Replies

Website rendering of Lofts 399 condo currently under construction

Lofts 399 excavation activity on February 17 2011

Digging away: Looks like a condo building is slowly but surely getting constructed, at last, at 399 Adelaide Street West.

A condo project called Mode Lofts originally had been planned and sold for the site west of Spadina Avenue, but never materialized. Mode ultimately got cancelled, but Cresford Developments resurrected plans for a loft project on the same location, and now there’s finally a big hole in the ground.

Now named Lofts 399, the 10-storey building will have 173 units. It will become a new neighbour to the two Quad Lofts buildings that will flank its east and west sides, as well as the Victory condos building which is nearing completion to its immediate south.

Once Lofts 399 has finished construction, it will enclose a landscaped contemporary square between the four condo buildings — the so-called “Hidden Garden” pictured on the Lofts 399 website.

Below are several photos I took Thursday of the ongoing excavation work at the project site.

The two Quad Lofts buildings bookend the Lofts 399 excavation while Victory Condos on King St., nearing the end of construction, sits to the southeast.

Quad Lofts, left, and Victory condos behind the excavation site

Lofts 399 excavation viewed from the east side of the property

The construction vehicle ramp from Adelaide Street into the pit

Only three or four construction workers were on site

Excavator digging at southwest corner of the pit

The pit is more than two levels deep so far

One worker watches the backhoe dig

Making the mucky earth move

Will City’s fear of heights trim plans for 39-storey condo tower at King & Spadina?

1 Reply

The LCBO store at the corner of King Street West and Spadina Avenue on Jan. 14 2011. A developer wants to build a 39-storey condo tower here.

Goldilocks planning principles?: The bizarre attitudes that City Hall sometimes displays toward building development proposals in the downtown core can be enough to drive a guy to drink. Thank God the big liquor store at the southeast corner of King & Spadina should be staying put for at least a few more years!

The one-storey LCBO outlet occupies part of a prime piece of property on which a developer has unveiled plans to build a 39-storey condo tower featuring high-tech windows that would harness solar energy. The proposed building would have fewer floors than the Theatre Park tower I wrote about yesterday — the condo building that Lamb Development Corp. got the go-ahead to build just three blocks east, next door to the Royal Alexandra Theatre, after initially getting double thumbs-down from city planners and politicians. (Lamb appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board; ultimately, the parties settled the case and the Theatre Park project is now being marketed to purchasers.)

Councillor advocates block-by-block development

Yesterday I mentioned a November 11, 2010 National Post story that described the Theatre Park planning ruckus. The article quoted Ward 20 City Councillor Adam Vaughan as saying Theatre Park “may be the last tall building on this block.” According to the National Post, Vaughan “wants to move away from site-by-site development, and toward block-by-block development, so that neighbourhoods retain a certain scale, and residents can count on keeping the view they purchased.”

Protecting precious views sounds like a great idea, but it’s totally unrealistic for a city that’s expecting its population to increase by hundreds of thousands of people in the decades ahead. Toronto certainly won’t be able to pack all those people into low-rise accommodations (which wouldn’t have views in any event). And while it seems completely reasonable for the city to oppose highrise construction in certain places, such as established, low-rise residential neighbourhoods, it doesn’t make sense to object when towers are proposed for downtown locations totally suitable for tall structures.

Is developer “aiming too high?”

That’s the case with the LCBO site, over which Vaughan is up in arms because the developer is aiming too high with its condo plans. “We’ve got a building there that’s too short. They’re coming in with a building that’s just a bit too tall,” Vaughan told The Globe and Mail earlier this week. He “would like to see the developers shave at least 50 metres off the proposed height — and throw in some community benefits like supportive housing or family-centred units,” the Globe reported in a story published on Tuesday.

Okay, so a one-storey building is “too short,” 39 storeys is “too tall,” but something 50 metres shorter would be just right? Sounds to me like the city is purporting to apply Goldilocks’ porridge and furniture preferences to city development planning! Given Vaughan’s strenuous objection, you’d think that the developer, Cabo Three Investments Inc., was proposing to plunk its tower smack in the middle of a historic residential district with streets of distinguished one- and two-storey houses. But that’s not the situation with the liquor store location.

Neighbourhood already has condo towers

Spadina is one of the city’s widest and busiest streets and there’s already several condo towers in the immediate vicinity, with more under construction and even more being marketed for sale. And just two blocks south, the mammoth Concord CityPlace condo development is a dense urban canyon of enormous tall towers, with even more on the way. I have walked around the King & Spadina area three times in the past six weeks, and think Cabo Three’s tower would suit the site perfectly. Heck, an even taller one would, too! To me, Vaughan’s height complaint seems ridiculous. Besides, the tower won’t be going up until the end of this decade at the earliest, because the LCBO’s lease runs until 2019. Moreover, the solar-energy gathering glass windows the developer would like to install in its tower are still in the development stage, but should be a viable technology by the time Cabo Three wants to sink its shovels into the ground.

Residential plus office and retail space

By the end of this decade, tens of thousands more people will be living downtown, and the King & Spadina area will be substantially more busy and dense than it is now. In those circumstances, building tall makes sense and is realistically the only way to go. So I’m hoping that this project, like Theatre Park, gets the green light and ultimately comes to fruition. By the way, as proposed, the tower would house 443 residential suites atop two floors of commercial office and retail space (the LCBO has said it would be interested in acquiring space in the new building, no doubt because the neighbourhood’s population is forecast to grow by nearly 11 per cent in the next five years). The tower would have five underground parking levels with 311 spaces, and the brick heritage building next to the LCBO on King Street would be incorporated into the complex. Below are photos I’ve taken recently of the project site and immediate vicinity.

Development proposal sign on the LCBO store at King & Spadina

The LCBO store at King & Spadina seen here on February 3 2011

This 6-storey heritage building at 401 -409 King St. W. would be incorporated into the 39-storey condo complex proposed for this prime corner location

Upper floors of 401 – 409 King St. W. seen February 17 2011

Street level view of 401 – 409 King St. W. on February 17 2011

Site viewed from the NW corner of King and Spadina on February 17 2011

Spadina Avenue view of the LCBO store, left, and some of condo skyscrapers at the massive Concord CityPlace development two blocks south on Spadina

Site viewed from west side of Spadina Avenue, just north of King Street

Site viewed from the NW corner of Spadina Ave. and Adelaide St. W.

LCBO store seen from west side of Spadina Avenue on Feb. 17 2011

Intersection of King and Spadina viewed from the west side of Spadina

Oh the horror! The proposed condo would completely dwarf the Winners store and the Petro Canada gas station to its south, seen here on February 17 2011

These townhouses on Clarence Square, one block south, are the nearest low-rise houses. Although highrises already overlook their back decks, including the M5V condo tower at center, they face charming tree-lined Clarence Square, so residents can’t complain about losing nice views.

47-storey Theatre Park condo tower will bring architectural excitement to Entertainment District

1 Reply

Tower rendering from the Theatre Park condo project website

Planning drama: I suppose it was only fitting that high drama ensued when an application to built a condo tower next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre was filed with city hall back in early 2009. Especially since the rapid pace of condo development in Toronto’s popular Theatre/Entertainment District has become a hot-button topic with area businesses, residents and City Hall.

It just wouldn’t have seemed right if the city had simply told Lamb Development Corp. and its partner Niche Development to go ahead and “break a leg” with its plans to build a striking 45-storey point tower at 224 King Street West, a site which has been occupied by a parking lot for the past 40 years. Just as one might have expected, though, city planners balked at the Theatre Park proposal. They were concerned that the building would be far too tall for the neighbourhood, and they feared that approving the project could set a dangerous precedent that ultimately could encourage other developers to demolish historical low-rise buildings in the area and construct towers in their place.

It didn’t seem to matter that a handful of highrise buildings already were under construction within a two-block radius, including the 53-storey Ritz-Carlton and 65-storey Living Shangri-La hotel/condo towers, and the Boutique and Festival Tower condos (35 and 41 storeys tall, respectively).

When the city rejected the application, the developers decided to challenge the decision at the Ontario Municipal Board. However, the parties reached a settlement allowing construction of a tower that would be slightly shorter, but would have 47 floors instead of 45.

Background about the planning and political drama behind the project, as well as some details about the proposed tower, were outlined in a November 11 2010 story in the National Post. Less than two weeks later, the Theatre Park project received rather robust attention during an advance sales event for VIP agents and brokers.

The building design, by Toronto’s architectsAlliance, is destined to get plenty of attention, too, though it remains to be seen if it will receive rave reviews from the critics once it is finally constructed. The Theatre Park website heralds the tower design as “audacious” and “iconic,” and I think those descriptions are apt. The slender tower will have a dramatic, bold presence on the Entertainment District skyline, while its open street-level plaza next to the Royal Alex should enhance the King West streetscape (particularly since the sidewalk along the north side of King always feels too narrow, and gets claustrophobically crowded both before and after performances at the Royal Alex and the Princess of Wales Theatre a few doors west).

Below are several architectural renderings that appear on the Theatre Park website, along with some photos I snapped recently of the condo project site and its famous next-door neighbour. The website has additional renderings, floorplans, and a four-minute animated video that suggests how Theatre Park will look on the skyline.

Artistic rendering of the Theatre Park penthouse

A website rendering of the tower podium and plaza on King Street West

Artistic impression of how Theatre Park will appear at street level

Another website illustration of the condo plaza fronting on King Street

Promotional billboard at 224 King Street West last November

Theatre Park site viewed from the south side of King Street on January 3 2011

A billboard with a tower rendering, seen here January 3, replaced the first sign

The Theatre Park billboard was gone when I passed the site on Thursday

The Royal Alexandra Theatre, seen here on Thursday afternoon

View toward the Theatre Park condo tower site on February 18 2011. Only one block to the north are the Boutique condo tower, left, and the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel/condo complex, with the pink signs and construction crane.

City Scene: Adelaide Street keeps growing taller

Leave a reply

Towers rising: This view of Toronto’s Financial District — seen yesterday from the intersection of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street — will change considerably in the next few months as the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel and condo tower and Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto climb taller.

This particular block of Adelaide will look drastically different in a couple of years, too. The 43-storey Cinema Tower condo is under construction behind the red hoarding at right; another 43-storey condo, the Pinnacle on Adelaide, will be going up beside it, where the white billboard stands.

Meanwhile, a developer is seeking city approval to build a 37-storey condo and office tower where the building with the yellow awnings is situated at left. That’s currently the location of the Entertainment District’s ever-popular Alice Fazooli’s Italian Grill. Mamma Mia! Where’s poor Alice going to go?

Construction crane going up at Cinema Tower site

1 Reply

Partially assembled crane viewed from Adelaide Street on Feb. 17 2011

Lights, camera, crane!: A work crew was busy assembling a crane in the Cinema Tower excavation when I walked past the condo construction site at the southeast corner of Widmer and Adelaide Streets this afternoon.

A project of The Daniels Corporation and a design of Toronto’s Kirkor Architects & Planners, Cinema Tower will rise 43 storeys on a site formerly occupied by a parking lot. It will be a new next-door neighbour for another Daniels condominium project, Festival Tower, and the adjacent TIFF Bell Lightbox on King Street West. And in just a few more years, it will have yet another condo tower neighbour when the 43-storey Pinnacle on Adelaide gets built on the parking lot right next door.

With three tall condo buildings crowded together on just one city block, will Cinema Tower be able to distinguish itself and stand out, or will it just blend into the skyline with its neighbours?

“The challenge for each of the neighbouring buildings,” the Kirkor architects explain on their website, “is their response to the TIFF building, especially the height, massing and scale as the City of Toronto defines the Festival Tower as the anchor to the site. The response was to create a tower that provided a facade centred towards Adelaide Street with sheer curved curtain glass resting on a podium that evokes a modern interpretation of the warehouse streetscape of the existing neighborhood.”

I’m anxious to watch Cinema Tower go up; though I’ve seen only one architectural rendering of the tower so far, I think it brings substantially more class, style and interest to the area than the boring, boxy Festival Tower.

Below are some photos of workers preparing to assemble a crane segment today, along with other pics I’ve taken at the Cinema Tower site in the past three years. There also are two excavation photos from the condo project’s website.

Cinema Tower rendering on a billboard next to the construction site

September 22 2008: CN Tower view of the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower under construction on King Street West. The Cinema Tower site is the parking lot in the upper left corner (the two buildings have since been demolished); the Pinnacle on Adelaide will rise on the separate parking lot to the right.

September 3 2008: The parking lot that used to occupy the Cinema Tower site

Cinema Tower development proposal sign

October 20 2010: Early stages of excavation at the Cinema Tower site

October 20 2010: Widmer Street view of the Cinema Tower site. When finished, the condo building will block most of this view of the Financial District.

Cinema Tower website photo of excavation activity on the condo property

Another Cinema Tower website photo of excavation progress. The building in the bottom left corner is the Champs Food Supplies store. The parking lot on the right is the Pinnacle on Adelaide condo tower site.

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Cinema Tower excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards on hoarding next to the condo excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards along the sidewalk on Adelaide Street West

November 23 2010: Billboards along Adelaide Street

November 29 2010: The Champs Food Supplies Ltd store on Widmer Street will be dwarfed by the 43-storey Cinema Tower and Pinnacle condos

November 29 2011: Billboards at the Cinema Tower sales office on Adelaide Street

January 14 2011: Cinema Tower excavation viewed from Widmer Street

February 17 2011: Widmer Street closed for Cinema Tower crane installation

Work crew prepares a crane segment for assembly

Crane segment to be hoisted for assembly above the Cinema Tower excavation

Operator of the crane that will hoist the segment onto the construction site crane

Crane installation viewed from south end of Widmer Street

The partially assembled construction crane above the excavation

Tableau turns the table on its condo competition

1 Reply

Website renderings of Tableau condos, designed by Rudy Wallman

Great gams: With so many condo highrise projects either already on the market or being proposed for the Entertainment District, there’s a lot of competition for buyers. How do developers and architects make sure their own projects have more appeal to potential purchasers than the others on sale just around the corner or down the block?

Offering trendy building amenities and features might help, but I find every new condo project seems to offer the same stuff: posh pilates and yoga studios, luxurious city-view lounges, rooftop terraces with bars and BBQs, multimedia entertainment rooms, and stunning entrance lobbies conceived by top international interior designers. For me, it gets difficult distinguishing between them all: Which condo has the sky club? The infinity pool on the rooftop skyline terrace? The party lounge with the DJ recording studio?

9-legged base will make condo tower stand out

Maybe the key is a memorable building design — something unique and markedly different from the typical glass and steel box towers that keep popping up everywhere else. Something that will catch someone’s eye because it’s unusual and unforgettable. That’s what works for me, and it’s what I think will make Tableau condos at Richmond & Peter Streets a huge sales success. With an attention-grabbing design by Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects, Tableau literally stands out in the Entertainment District and definitely gets a leg up on its nearby competition. Nine legs, actually. Nine long, slender, in-your-face legs that will be noticed by everyone who walks or drives through the neighbourhood.

Tableau is a 36-storey, 410-suite mixed-use condo tower planned for the southeast corner of Richmond and Peter, on the block where Richmond turns a bend as it continues west to Spadina Avenue. In what the Tableau website describes as the building’s “signature” architectural element, the condo residences will sit on a “structural table” built strategically above the four-storey warehouse building presently situated on the site. “The front of this building is being reinterpreted and reconstructed and will accommodate the commercial office space, ground floor lobby and retail. The table structure also creates a large, four-storey colonnaded public plaza on Richmond Street.”

Will Tableau look better than the artistic illustrations?

I have absolutely no doubt that the colonnade will command attention from passersby. I used to work just around the corner from the Tableau site, and still can’t even imagine just how a tower on a giant table is going to look and feel in that location. The words “shock and awe” come to mind, but not in a bad way. I’m just hoping the finished product will look better — much, much better — than the artistic renderings. Sometimes when I view the drawings I think the building looks striking, and will be even more impressive and perhaps even breathtaking to see in person. It has nuances of X Condos on Jarvis, and the TD Centre towers, all of which I really like. Other times, the Tableau base reminds me of the $7.99 Lack table advertised on the back cover of the 2011 IKEA catalogue (though Lack has fewer legs, of course). From my experience, most of IKEA’s products look great in the catalogue, but appear tacky and cheap when you inspect them in-store. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that this won’t be the case with Tableau’s table.

(Speaking of X Condos: it will share something in common with Tableau. “Nova,” the sculpture that will be incorporated into the Tableau colonnade, is the work of Kingston, Ont. artist Shayne Dark, who created the “Double Vision” sculpture standing outside X. I’ve included a pic of it, below.)

Here are some more renderings from the Tableau website, along with photos I’ve taken recently of the Tableau location.

Website rendering of the Tableau colonnade along Richmond Street

Another depiction of Tableau’s four-storey colonnade

Artistic impression of Tableau frontage along Peter Street

Kingston, Ont. artist Shayne Dark’s sculpture “Nova” will grace the streetscape at Tableau, left. Dark also created the “Double Vision” sculpture at X Condos, right.

Tableau condos location seen on Nov. 29 2010

Tableau condos sign on the warehouse building where the condo tower will eventually rise

Peter Street view of the warehouse on the Tableau condos site

Another view of the warehouse site where Tableau will rise

Peter street facade viewed November 29 2010

View of the Richmond Street block which the Tableau tower will dominate

The southeast corner of Richmond & Peter Street where Tableau will rise

The southeast corner of Richmond & Peter Street

Another view of Tableau’s location on the wedge-shaped corner lot

Original zoning sign (seen here Nov. 29 2010) called for a 29-storey building with condos and a hotel, plus street level restaurants and retail.

New proposal sign (seen here Feb. 3 2011 on Richmond Street) drops reference to a hotel and calls for a taller tower with condos plus retail and office space.

Checking in on Charlie

Leave a reply

Architectural rendering from the Charlie Condos website

From Chaz to Charlie: Yesterday I posted about Chaz on Charles Street. Today I’m taking a look at Charlie on Charlotte Street. (Far as I can tell, they’re not siblings — their names and street locations might be similar, but they’re separate projects by totally different developers.)

Now that she’s finally got an above-ground presence, passersby are starting to notice Charlie Condos in the Entertainment District. Up until late last year, you couldn’t see much of her. Hoarding hid Charlie from public view on King Street West, so construction of her parking garage and underground levels could be seen only through a tall chain-link fence along a back lane off Charlotte Street. Work on Charlie’s below-ground floors reached street grade in early December, and now the building is beginning to rise above the bold blue hoardings that shield the sidewalk on the north side of King.

Designed by Toronto’s Diamond + Schmitt Architects, and a project of Great Gulf Homes, Charlie will “define mile-high style” (according to her website) — even though she’ll stand only 32 stories tall. But with her clear glass windows, aluminum frame, and heritage brick foundation, Charlie will look “elegant and evocative … classic and contemporary.” We’ll have to wait until at least several floors of windows and exterior finishing treatments have been installed to judge if that’s in fact the case. But by taking the place of what used to be a parking lot, Charlie is classing up the corner and already helping to boost property values in her immediate vicinity.

A friend of mine made a very handsome profit selling his Charlotte Street condo late last year, thanks to the interest that Charlie and other nearby condo projects, including M5V across the street on King, have stirred up in the area.

Below are some of my pics of construction progress at the Charlie site.

Charlie billboard at King & Charlotte Streets on September 26 2008

Charlie location at King and Charlotte Streets on September 26 2008

Charlie construction approaching street grade on November 23 2010

Charlie construction approaching street level November 23 2010

Charlie construction approaching street grade November 29 2011

Charlie underground levels approach street grade while the M5V condo tower nearby on King Street (left) is almost finished construction.

Charlie construction progress on January 14 2011

Charlie will block views from Charlotte Street of these nearby buildings

Backed by TV and radio ads, The Mercer is latest condo project to launch in Entertainment District

Leave a reply

Architectural rendering of The Mercer tower, from the condo website

Ad vantage?: For months, I have seen ads for The Mercer practically every other time I’ve passed a TV tuned to the CP24 news and informational channel. I’ve heard spots for The Mercer almost every time I’ve turned on the radio, too. The ads always catch my attention, and it’s not just because they feature three long-legged female models imitating the Beatles crossing Abbey Road while a singer croons “Mercer Mercer Me” in a retooled version of the Marvin Gaye hit record. They stand out because I never see or hear TV and radio ads for any other condo projects. I find plenty of condo ads in local newspapers and magazines, of course, and receive condo brochures and postcards in the mail regularly, but I can’t think of a single other downtown building project that has advertised so heavily on radio and TV. (If there have been others, I’ve missed them.)

With The Mercer holding its grand opening tomorrow morning, I’ll be keen to see if the ads draw lineups of eager buyers outside their sales office at the corner of John & Mercer Streets. One of many condo projects either recently launched or being proposed for the rapidly-growing Entertainment District, The Mercer will be a 33-storey condo tower (down from the 38 floors originally planned) with 299 units, street-level retail, and four underground parking levels.

The building will rise on a site currently occupied by two parking lots and a small four-storey brown brick office building on Mercer Street, and will become a new neighbour to the trendy Le Germain boutique hotel.

The Mercer is designed by architect Brian Brisbin of Toronto’s BBB Architects. Full project details are available on The Mercer’s website.

Below are some recent photos of the condo project’s location, along with a website rendering of the building’s frontage on Mercer Street.

The Mercer Condos location at Mercer and John Streets January 14 2011

The Mercer Condo tower will rise on this site along Mercer Street

Original development application sign for The Mercer Condos

The Mercer Condos will rise above this parking lot on Mercer Street

Rendering of The Mercer Condos frontage on Mercer Street

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.

www.TheTorontoBlog.com

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing Building Boom.

Category Archives: Entertainment District

Charlie condos catching attention on King West

40-storey condo tower proposed for nightclub site at corner of Peter St. and Adelaide St. W.

Keeping tabs on … M5V condos on King West

Excavation getting deeper for Lofts 399 condos

Will City’s fear of heights trim plans for 39-storey condo tower at King & Spadina?

47-storey Theatre Park condo tower will bring architectural excitement to Entertainment District

City Scene: Adelaide Street keeps growing taller

Tableau turns the table on its condo competition

Checking in on Charlie

Backed by TV and radio ads, The Mercer is latest condo project to launch in Entertainment District

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.