Tag Archives: Sol Wassermuhl

Ground floor construction underway at 210 Simcoe condo highrise near Queen West & University Ave

210 Simcoe Street condo

April 4 2013: Construction crews assemble forms into which concrete will be poured to build ground-floor walls and support structures for the No 210 Residences on Simcoe condo highrise

 

210 Simcoe condo

This artistic illustration depicts a view of the 210 Simcoe condo building from street level at the corner of Simcoe Street and Michael Sweet Avenue. The rendering appears on the website for Toronto developer Diamondcorp, which has partnered with Sorbara Development Group on the project.

 

210 Simcoe Street

This was how the condo site looked in July 2011, viewed from the same perspective as the rendering above.

 

 

Ready to rise: Construction of a new condo tower in the AGO-Grange District near Queen Street West & University Avenue will soon climb as high as the ugly low-rise parking garage that formerly occupied the narrow, block-long property.

Work on the No 210 Residences on Simcoe has reached street level, and yesterday construction crews were assembling building forms for the building’s ground floor walls and supports.

A joint project of Diamondcorp and Sorbara Development Group, No 210 Simcoe Residences will rise 25 storeys when finished, and contain 290 condo units. The building was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects.

 

 

 

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Construction crane installation underway at ChazYorkville condo tower site on Charles St E

ChazYorkville crane installation

February 12 2013: Already standing in place at the ChazYorkville condo construction site are the mast, operator’s cab, and machinery & counterweight arm of the tall white crane being installed today. The long boom that extends diagonally toward the upper right corner of the photograph …

 

 

ChazYorkville crane installation

… is part of this portable crane, parked on Charles Street. It hoists segments of the construction crane off flatbed delivery trucks …

 

 

ChazYorkville crane installation

… and maneuvers them into position so crews can assemble the jib (working arm) that will eventually be lifted and attached to the fixed-place crane. 

 

Chaz gets its crane: The block of Charles Street between Yonge and Church Streets is closed to traffic today as crews from Total Crane Rental install a tall white construction crane on the building site for the ChazYorkville condo tower.

The crane’s arrival appeared imminent in recent days as construction crews created a concrete pad for the crane’s base at the bottom of the 5-level-deep excavation for the 47-storey condo tower.

 

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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.

 

New condo tower’s sky lounge, social amenities and limestone podium bring all that Chaz to Charles St.

Chaz on Charles condos

Architectural rendering of 2-storey sky lounge at Chaz on Charles condos


Watch me watch you: It’s been about five years since a developer announced plans to build a residential tower on the site of a Brutalist-style office building at 45 Charles Street East.  Since then, I’ve been waiting patiently to see what  the highrise that will replace it will look like. My wait is over.

Designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Toronto’s Page + Steele IBI Group Architects, Chaz on Charles will be 39-storey condo tower featuring a five-storey limestone-clad podium topped by a sleek glass tower with recessed balconies. To fit nicely on the current streetscape, the podium will be “synched” with that of the 46-storey Casa condo tower right next door (to its west).

Chaz will be so packed with appealing amenities, its residents probably won’t want to spend much time in their own units. Heck, they won’t need to. According to the Chaz on Charles website, the main floor will boast not one but two lobbies “literally brimming with activity.” One will be “a living room-style lobby lounge,” while the other will offer “a series of smaller spaces” that include a living room, wet bar, dining room with full catering kitchen, and a billiards room — all of which will open onto an outdoor landscaped terrace.

Chaz will have top of the line fitness and recreation facilities, of course, along with not one but two theatres  (a movie screening room and sports viewing room), meeting room facilities, guest suites for overnight visitors, and a pet spa. Yes, no longer will you have to endure the embarrassment and humiliation of leading your muddy, smelly mutt through the lush lobby and elevators anymore, since there will be a special wash and blowdry room where you can give Fido a quick freshening-up after a walk in the grimy neighbourhood streets.

But wait, there’s more! What’s really going to put Chaz on the map — and instantly make it a midtown “landmark” (according to the website’s copywriters) — is the  signature architectural detail that will appear three-quarters of the way up the south side of the tower. I’ll let the people at Chaz describe it in their own words: “Jutting out from the 31st and 32nd levels on the south side of the building is a two-storey cantilevered box, framed in white concrete and illuminated at night. This is the Chaz Club, a lounge and dining space for the building’s residents, and it is a dazzling architectural gesture. From miles around, Torontonians will look up to see residents of Chaz, and their guests, enjoying cocktails on the club’s spacious terrace or relaxing inside this glass box in the sky.”

Yes, without a doubt, jealous people throughout downtown Toronto and from points miles afar will spend their evenings staring at the lucky, privileged few who will get to call Chaz home. If they can even see them, that is. With all the other highrises and towers planned for the immediate vicinity, views of the Chaz Club will likely be blocked from most sightlines. But not from mine! So in just a few years’ time, I’ll be able to sit back, relax and enjoy a nice glass of wine on my balcony while watching Chaz residents looking back at me while they sip cocktails in their chic, comfy glass box in the sky. Some things are worth waiting for, n’est-ce pas?

Below are some photos I’ve taken of the Chaz location during the past four years.

 

Chaz on Charles condos

Chaz on Charles development zoning sign outside 45 Charles St. E. in late 2007; the city subsequently approved a tower with six more floors.


Chaz on Charles condos

This office building at 45 Charles East will be demolished to make way for the Chaz condo tower


Chaz on Charles condos

Chaz condo sales office on August 29 2010


Chaz on Charles condos

Chaz condo sales office on August 29 2010


Chaz on Charles condos

Chaz condo sales office on August 29 2010


45 Charles Street East

45 Charles St. E. and the Casa condominium tower next door


45 Charles Street East

45 Charles St. E. and the Casa condominium tower next door


The Bromley apartments

Chaz on Charles will tower above The Bromley apartment building to its south on Isabella Street, seen here on January 29 2011


Chaz on Charles condos

Isabella Street view of Chaz on Charles condo site on January 29 2011


Chaz on Charles condos

Another Isabella Street view of the site where Chaz on Charles will rise