Tag Archives: One St Thomas Residences

In Photos: Summer construction activity in north downtown and the Bloor-Yorkville area (Part 1)

77 Charles West condo Toronto

August 13 2011: Newly-installed glass curtain wall cladding on the 77 Charles West luxury condo building, seen (above and below) from St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condo Toronto

 

 

77 Charles West condos reaches 12 floors; cladding installation begins

 

Going green: Construction on the 77 Charles West luxury condo midrise could be topping off later this month, now that 12 of the building’s 13 floors have been built. Meanwhile, down at street level, the facade is beginning to reflect some of its nearby condo neighbours as its striking green-hued curtain wall cladding gradually gets installed.

I was surprised when I saw some of the first panels being put in place five days ago because the glass is turquoise green rather than blue, as renderings on the project website suggested it would be. Nevertheless, I like how it looks — and think it makes 77’s neighbours look good, too. Depending upon where I stood while looking at the new windows this morning, I saw sharp reflections of the One St Thomas Residences condo tower across the street, the Residences of the Windsor Arms at 22 St Thomas Street one block north, and other buildings in the Bloor-Yorkville area.

So far, the cladding encloses just three storeys around what will be the Charles Street entrance to the condominium homes (the 13 floors of luxury condos rise above Kintore College and Cultural Centre, a three-storey residence and educational facility for female Catholic students attending University of Toronto). I’m anxious to see how the cladding will look on the rest of the floors, especially on the curved south side of the building.

77 Charles West is a project of Aspen Ridge Homes, and was designed by Yann Weymouth of HOK.

Below are more photos of the new cladding and recent construction progress. Previous construction updates can be found in blog posts on July 5 2011, April 7 2011, and February 15 2011 —  my first report on the 77 Charles West project.

 

77 Charles West condos

August 6 2011: 77 Charles West condo construction viewed from St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: New promotional signage on the building’s north side

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Floors on the northwest corner of the building

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: St Mary Street view of the building’s curved southwest corner

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

 August 8 2011: Crews install the first 3-storey section of glass cladding

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

 August 8 2011: Workers put the green-hued glass curtain wall panels in place

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 8 2011: A closer look at the cladding over the second and third storeys

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: New cladding viewed from Charles Street, looking west

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Cladding above the entrance that faces north up St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: The cladding reflects several nearby buildings including the Residences at the Windsor Arms, the One St Thomas Residences, 155 Cumberland Street condos, and The Colonnade apartment building on Bloor Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Street-level view of the cladding’s neighbourhood reflection

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 16 2011: Reflection of the nearby Residences of the Windsor Arms

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: One of the construction entrances on Charles Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: A closer look at a corner section of the glass curtain wall

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: New cladding viewed from the west end of the building

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Cladding reflects the One St Thomas Residences across the street

 

«»

 

Enormous excavation for U Condominiums keeps getting deeper & wider

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Excavation progress along the Bay Street side of the U Condos site, where the 50-storey east tower will rise


Digging down:  Whenever I checked out excavation activity at the U Condominiums site back in the spring, it always seemed like the earth was moving at a snail’s pace. I thought it might take until the end of the year before the digging would reach anywhere near the 15-metre depth required for construction of the foundation for the project’s two condo towers, which will rise 45 and 50 storeys tall.  Excavation work appeared to be moving well along the east, south and west perimeters of the property, but a  vast amount of earth remained in the center and along the north perimeter.  Since June, however, the excavation has progressed at an amazing pace, and the big hole in the ground at Bay and St Mary Streets is now more than two levels deep across most of the property.

U Condos is a project by The Pemberton Group. Its two condo towers, along with 3-storey townhouses that will flank the north, east and south sides of the development, were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are photos showing summer excavation progress at the U Condos location.  Earlier construction photos can be viewed in my blog posts on May 7 2011, April 2 2011, March 18 2011, and February 4 2011 — my first report on the U Condos project.

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: Looking southeast toward Bay Street from the U Condos construction entrance off  St Mary Street

 

U Condos Toronto

 June 21 2011:  Looking towards the eastern side of the site along Bay Street

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: A construction supervisor watches excavation activity about 20 feet below. Bay Street is on the other side of the hoarding behind him.

 

U Condos Toronto

 June 21 2011: The southeastern corner where the 50-storey condo tower will rise

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: Excavation on the south side of the site next to St Basil’s Church

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: Excavation progress at the location for the east condo tower

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: Excavation equipment and machines near the ramp off Bay Street

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: An excavator on the south side of the site near St Basil’s Church. A row of 3-storey townhouses will be built along that edge of the U Condos property.

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: The southwest corner of the U Condos property near Brennan Hall on the University of Toronto campus

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: A substantially wider and deeper area has been excavated at the southwest corner in the past three weeks

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: An excavator sits roughly where the east tower will be constructed

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011:  Another view of the excavator from the St Mary Street entrance

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: Looking toward the southeast corner of the property from a security fence along St Mary Street

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Significant excavation progress on the eastern third of the site

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Looking toward St Basil’s Church across the center of the site

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: The 45-storey west tower will be built at this location

 

 

«»

 

Foundation work begins on north section of the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: Foundation drilling equipment on the One Bloor condo tower site

 

Drilling starts: One of Toronto’s biggest construction events took place in the middle of July when the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the much-awaited One Bloor condo tower at the southeast corner of the city’s premier Yonge & Bloor intersection. Drilling equipment had arrived on the site weeks earlier, but it wasn’t until July 15 that executive shovels turned soil to officially kick off construction of the 70-storey tower.

A project of Great Gulf Homes, One Bloor was designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto.  My previous coverage of this condo project includes posts on July 15 2011, May 4 2011, and January 10 2011 — my first report on One Bloor.

Below are several recent photos of construction equipment on the One Bloor property. Numerous tower renderings and a full architectural description of the building can be viewed at this page on the Hariri Pontarini website.

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

 July 13 2011: Pedestrians walk on Yonge Street south of Bloor Street, passing foundation drilling machines on the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

 July 13 2011: Yonge Street view of the One Bloor site, looking east toward the Xerox Tower at 33 Bloor Street East

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

July 13 2011: A man walks along the temporary subway station access path next to the north side of the One Bloor condo tower location

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: Foundation building equipment on the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: A ground level view of the north half of the tower site

 

 

Neighbourhood Watch: Photos of Bloor-Yorkville area condos and construction activity (Part 2)

Casa condominium tower on Charles Street West

May 5 2011: The 46-storey Casa condo on Charles Street West, viewed from a driveway between the Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo (left) and the St Charles Court apartment building (right)

 

Bloor Street Neighbourhood condos

May 5 2011: looking up at the L-shaped Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower

 

Bloor Street Neighbourhood condos

May 5 2011: Balconies on the west side of Bloor Street Neighbourhood

 

driveway betwen Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower and Charles Court apartments

May 5 2011: South view toward the Casa condo tower from a driveway linking Hayden Street and Charles Street between the Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower and Charles Court apartments

 

walkway between Charles Court apartments and Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower

May 5 2011: Pedestrians take a short-cut north to Hayden Street along the driveway between the Charles Court apartments (left) and the Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower

 

Uptown Residences and Crystal Blu condo towers

May 6 2011: A driveway just two vehicles wide is all that separates The Uptown Residences (left) and Crystal Blu Condos, new condo towers on Balmuto Street

 

Uptown Residences condo tower

May 6 2011: Construction on the exterior of The Uptown Residences is complete — except for the condo tower’s main entrance on Balmuto Street

 

Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences

May 6 2011: Construction of the Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences, viewed from outside The Uptown Residences

 

Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences

May 6 2011: Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences viewed from Balmuto Street

 

Four Seasons Toronto hotel + residences

April 30 2011: Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences tower viewed from the northwest corner of Bloor and St Thomas Streets

 

Four Seasons Hotel + Residences Toronto

May 5 2011: Four Seasons Hotel + Residences Toronto construction viewed from Church Street near Park Road

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

April 23 2011: Looking south at the excavation progress for the Milan condo tower under construction at Yonge & Church

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

April 23 2011: View toward the southeast corner of the Milan condo tower excavation site, from the Canadian Tire store parking lot next door

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

April 23 2011: Deep excavation in the site’s southeast corner on Church Street

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

April 23 2011: Excavation activity near the Yonge subway line at the north side of the Milan condo tower construction site

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

April 23 2011: The Milan condo tower excavation entrance ramp off Church Street

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

May 5 2011: A view of the Milan excavation from the site’s southeast corner on Church Street, as a subway train passes the east side of the construction area.

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

May 5 2011: Church Street view through security fencing toward the northeast corner of the Milan condo tower construction site

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

May 5 2011: Looking north from Church Street toward the Canadian Tire store next to the Milan condo construction zone

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

May 5 2011: view toward the east side of the Milan site from the Church Street construction entrance ramp

 

Milan condo tower at Yonge & Church

May 5 2011: Church Street view of the Milan site, looking northeast

 

Seventy Seven Charles West condos

April 30 2011: Construction progress at the Seventy Seven Charles West condos viewed from Charles Street

 

Seventy Seven Charles West condos

April 30 2011: Seventy Seven Charles West condos viewed from the corner of St Thomas and Charles Streets

 

Seventy Seven Charles West condos

April 30 2011:  Looking south on St Thomas Street at the Seventy Seven Charles West condos

 

One St Thomas condo tower

April 22 2011: A window washer descends the south side of the 29-storey One St Thomas condo tower, which sits directly across Charles Street from the Seventy Seven Charles west condo construction site

 

One St Thomas condo tower

April 22 2011:  The cleaner works his way down the limestone-clad wall

 

One St Thomas condo tower

April 22 2011: His job perk is a view inside some of the city’s most exclusive luxury condos

 

One St Thomas condo tower

April 22 2011: The tower, which evokes highrise buildings from 1920s and 1930s-era New York City, was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects

 

Nicholas Residences condo construction site

May 6 2011: Hoarding is installed along St Nicholas Street and heavy machinery positioned on St Mary Street as crews prepare to demolish buildings where the Nicholas Residences condo tower will be constructed

 

Nicholas Residences condo tower construction site

May 6 2011: This building was formerly home to Regis College, the Jesuit Graduate Faculty of Theology at the University of Toronto. The interior has been gutted, and demolition of the brick exterior is imminent

 

Nicholas Residences condo tower construction site

May 6 2011: Nicholas will rise 35 storeys next to the Church of Scientology Toronto building, left, at the corner of Yonge & St Mary Streets

 

U Condos construction site

April 30 2011: Bay Street view of excavation progress at the U Condos construction site, looking northwest toward hoarding along St Mary Street. The construction crane for the Seventy Seven Charles West condo building rises behind Loretto College, the 6-storey brick building toward the upper left of the photo.

 

U Condos construction site

April 30 2011: Looking from Bay Street toward excavation machinery at the northwest corner of the U Condos construction site

 

A shoring machine on the U Condos construction site

April 30 2011: A shoring machine on the U Condos construction site

 

U Condos foundation construction

April 30 2011 A steel I-beam sunk into the ground to help shore up the huge U Condos site for excavation and foundation construction

 

U Condos construction site excavation

April 30 2011: Southward view from St Mary Street of excavation progress on the U Condos construction site

 

U Condos construction site excavation

April 30 2011 St Mary Street view toward the southeast corner of the U Condos construction site

 

U Condos construction site

April 30 2011 St Mary Street view toward the southwest corner of the U Condos construction site

 

U Condos construction site

April 30 2011 St Mary Street view toward the southwest corner of the U Condos construction site

 

U Condos construction site

April 30 2011: A shoring machine in the SW corner of the U Condos site