Tag Archives: PCL

Demolition underway at Chaz.Yorkville condo site

Chaz on Charles condo site

December 8 2011: An excavator loads a dumpster with rubble collected from inside the entrance to 45 Charles Street East. The mid-1960s-era office building is being demolished to make way for construction of the Chaz.Yorkville condo tower

 

Chaz condo site Toronto

December 8 2011: Sections of windows and concrete walls have been removed from the north side of the office building

 

Coming down: Demolition crews have begun dismantling a distinctive Modernist office building on Charles Street East to make way for a sleek glass condo tower — the third new skyscraper to rise on the block between Church and Yonge Streets in the past several years.

The angular concrete building at 45 Charles East was designed by architect Macy Dubois, who died in 2007 at age 77. The 8-storey office complex, which was built 45 years ago, will be replaced by a condo that could be anywhere from 39 to 47 storeys tall.  I say “could” because the final height is literally still up in the air. The project developers, 45 Charles Ltd. and Edenshaw Homes Limited, initially obtained city approval to build a 33-storey condo. Two years ago, City Council approved a request for permission to add six more floors, for a total of 39. In July, the developer sought approval to construct 8 more storeys, for a total of 47. As I reported in a November 8 2011 post, Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) ordered city planners to hold a community consultation meeting last month to get public feedback about the proposal. The planners are expected to report back to TEYCC early in 2012.

The final floor tally for the tower isn’t the only part of the project that has changed — so has its name. Initially marketed as Chaz on Charles, the condo is now being sold as Chaz.Yorkville, reflecting its proximity to the tony Yorkville neighbourhood just two blocks to the north. The Chaz sales centre also has changed, recently moving from 45 Charles to 101 Yorkville Avenue.

Chaz.Yorkville was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele IBI Group Architects. The tower, however tall it winds up, will be built by PCL Constructors Inc., the developers revealed in a November 28 2011 annoucement.

Below are some building illustrations from the revamped Chaz.Yorkville website, along with several photos I shot this afternoon of demolition activity at 45 Charles.

 

Chaz condo site

December 8 2011: A portable crane stands outside 45 Charles, where crews have begun interior demolition work

 

Chaz condo site Toronto

December 8 2011: Another view of the crane and sections of the building where windows have been removed

 

Chaz condo site Toronto

  December 8 2011: The Chaz condo sales centre has been relocated from this building to 101 Yorkville Avenue

 

Chaz condo site Toronto

 December 8 2011: An excavating machine enters the former front door of the building to collect another load of rubble

 

45 Charles Street East Toronto

This was how the building entrance, seen here on February 28 2011, used to look

 

Chaz condo site Toronto

December 8 2011: A closer view of one of the floors where demolition crews have begun dismantling the building

 

Chaz.Yorkville condo Toronto

This rendering of the tower’s 5-storey, limestone-clad podium appears on the recently-revamped Chaz.Yorkville website

 

Chaz.Yorkville condo rendering

This rendering, also from the Chaz.Yorkville website, depicts the 2-storey Residents’ Private Chaz Clubon the 36th and 37th levels of the tower’s south side

 

Chaz.Yorkville condo tower rendering

Also from the Chaz.Yorkville project website is this illustration of the condo tower, which was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele IBI Group Architects.

 

Exclusive images of (construction) life on MaRS!

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Overlooking the MaRS Centre Phase 2 construction site at the corner of University & College on a rainy Wednesday morning

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Workers walk on rebar two levels above University Avenue

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Workers assemble a form to prepare for a concrete pour

 

MaRS rising: People passing through the intersection of University Avenue and College Street have been able to get glimpses of life on MaRS, now that construction of the MaRS Centre Phase 2 building has risen above hoarding around the southeast corner site.

Since PCL resumed construction on the project in August after a nearly 3-year-long hiatus, workers have poured concrete for most of the second level, and have been making fast progress as they prepare to add the third floor of what will ultimately be a 20-storey tower.

Below are two building renderings by B + H Architects, followed by a photo comparing the mothballed construction site — as it appeared after a snowstorm in January — to the progress that had been reached as of this morning. Those pics are followed by a series of photos tracking construction progress since early September.

Earlier photos can be viewed in my July 28 2011 post and in my February 17 2011 post.

 

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 building rendering

This illustration by B + H Architects depicts a southeast view of the MaRS Centre Phase 2 building from the corner of University & College

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 building rendering

This rendering by B + H Architects suggests how the Phase 2 building could look at night when viewed from the University of Toronto campus to the northwest

 

MaRS Alexandria Phase II

Work on Phase 2 stopped in November 2008 not long after construction had reached grade. This is how the vacant site looked back on January 18 …

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

… while this photo, shot this morning, shows how much progress has been made since work resumed in late August

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Construction rises above hoarding at the site’s NE corner

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Construction viewed from College Street to the northeast

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: One of the construction entrances on College Street

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Work has started on the third level of the 20-storey structure

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Forms for supporting walls and columns being readied for concrete pouring

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Overlooking the southeast corner of the site from the top floor of Toronto General Hospital

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Looking down on the southern half of the Phase 2 site

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: When complete, the building will add 750,000 square feet of space to the MaRS Centre Discovery District

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: The property sat vacant for nearly three years before building resumed this past summer. Three cranes and dozens of construction workers are now active on the site.

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Support columns for the 3rd level soar above University Ave.

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 30 2011: Workers assemble steel bars as another floor takes shape

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Phase 2 construction viewed from the southwest, from the University Avenue median

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: A view of two of the three cranes operating on the site

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: The south side of the building, next to Toronto General Hospital. Construction in the southeast corner has reached the third floor.

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: The second level and support columns for the third floor seen looking northeast from the University Avenue median

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: The view through the construction entrance at the site’s southwest corner off University Avenue

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: The second level takes shape above hoarding along the University Avenue sidewalk

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Another construction entrance off University Avenue

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Construction progress near the northwest corner of the site

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Looking southeast from the University Avenue median toward the Toronto General Hospital building next to Phase 2

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Progress at the northwest corner of the building

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

November 25 2011: Phase 2 construction progress viewed the University Avenue median on the north side of College Street

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

October 29 2011: Phase 2 construction is more visible to passersby as the building begins to rise above the hoarding

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

October 29 2011: Building activity above a University Avenue entrance

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

October 29 2011: The main floor takes shape near the southwest corner of the site, along University Avenue

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

October 29 2011: Phase 2 viewed from the University Avenue median, looking northeast.  The Burano condo, under construction three blocks away on Bay Street, is visible behind the crane.

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

October 29 2011: Construction progress at the northeast corner, viewed from the north side of College Street

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

September 3 2011: Looking northeast from the intersection of Gerrard Street & University Avenue, soon after work resumed and cranes were re-installed

 

MaRS Discovery District Phase 2 Toronto

September 3 2011: Construction resumed in August, and is expected to finish sometime in 2013. The building will have direct links to the subway, Toronto General Hospital and the rest of the MaRS Centre

 

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