Tag Archives: St Joseph Street

3 big digs on Yonge Street (Part 2: FIVE Condos)

FIVE Condos site Toronto

May 1 2012: A view of the FIVE Condos development site at the southwest corner of Yonge and St Joseph Streets, one block north of Wellesley Street

 

FIVE Condos Toronto

May 1 2012: Excavation is well underway for a condo tower that will rise at least 45 storeys behind the facade of the former Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building, seen here being held in place by a giant frame on St Joseph Street

 

FIVE Condos at 5 St Joseph

 

Much like the Nicholas Residences site a short walk up the street, the 5 St Joseph Street location for FIVE Condos poses some interesting challenges for excavation crews. They, too, have been digging directly behind a row of heritage buildings that front along Yonge Street. What makes their task even more complicated, however, is that they must work beneath the 4-storey brick facade of the historic Rawlinson Cartage building that formerly occupied the site — a huge structure currently held in place by a giant steel frame on St Joseph Street. The facade eventually will be incorporated into the condo tower podium, while the west wall of another brick building that once stood next door to it on St Nicholas Street also will be reconstructed as part of the FIVE Condos development.

 

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Pit stop: Crews dig deeper at FIVE Condos site

FIVE Condos Toronto

January 25 2012: Excavation has reached more than one level deep at the northeast corner of the FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

 

FIVE Condos

January 25 2012: Looking south from St Joseph Street across the excavation for the 45-storey FIVE Condos tower.  For more information about the project, see my December 22 2011 post

 

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In photos: A block of heritage buildings begins its transformation into FIVE Condos at 5 St Joseph

FIVE Condos site

April 9 2011: The FIVE Condos site viewed from Yonge Street, looking west along St Joseph Street. A 50-storey tower will ultimately dominate this scene

 

FIVE Condos site on Yonge Street

April 9 2011: Vacant retail premises in some of the heritage buildings at 606, 608, 610 and 612 Yonge Street that will become part of FIVE Condos

 

FIVE Condos Toronto site

April 9 2011: Vacant retail premises at 614, 616 and 618 Yonge Street that also will be restored and incorporated into the condo complex

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

April 22 2011: The Henry Turner building at 618 Yonge Street, left, and its tacky rear addition that once housed a sports bar on the second floor, plus coffee and fast food outlets with a small patio on the street level.

 

5 St Joseph Street

April 22 2011: The Rawlinson Cartage warehouse at 5 St Joseph Street once housed nightclubs on its street level, and fitness clubs on its upper floors

 

St Nicholas Street facade of the Rawlinson Cartage heritage buildings

April 22 2011: Looking south along St Nicholas Street at the west walls of the former Rawlinson Cartage buildings

 

St Nicholas Street Toronto

April 22 2011: Looking north along St Nicholas Street at the west walls of the former Rawlinson Cartage buildings

 

St Nicholas Street outside the FIVE Condos site

April 23 2011: St Nicholas Street is closed so crews can locate gas, hydro and water utility lines servicing the old buildings on the FIVE Condos site

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

May 11 2011: Demolition equipment arrives at 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

May 13 2011: Crews begin destroying trees outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

St Nicholas Street Toronto

May 13 2011: St Nicholas Street is closed to traffic between St Joseph Street and Phipps Street, and won’t reopen until the condo construction is complete

 

Hoarding outside 606 to 618 Yonge Street Toronto

May 31 2011: Hoarding outside the former retail shops at 606 to 618 Yonge Street

 

FIVE Condos site demolition

May 31 2011: The rear addition to the Henry Turner building at 618 Yonge has been torn down, and demolition continues on the rear of 616 Yonge Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

May 31 2011: Drilling and shoring equipment outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

June 18 2011: Demolition at the rear of 616 and 618 Yonge Street is complete

 

The west sides of 606 to 618 Yonge Street

June 21 2011: The west side of the heritage buildings at 606 to 618 Yonge Street, after their rear additions have been demolished

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

June 21 2011: Drilling and shoring equipment outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

June 30 2011: An excavator digs on the property between the Yonge Street heritage buildings and 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

June 30 2011: Drilling and shoring equipment outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

Phipps Street view of the FIVE Condos site

July 2 2011: Demolition of 15 St Nicholas Street viewed from Phipps Street


Demolition of 15 St Nicholas Street

July 2 2011: A demolition machine at work on a heap of debris

 

19 St Nicholas Street demolition

July 2 2011: Rubble is all that remains of the former Shred Central indoor skateboard park at 19 St Nicholas Street

 

Demolition of 15-25 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 2 2011: Demolition viewed from St Nicholas Street, looking north

 

Demolition of 19 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 2 2011: Shred Central had occupied 19 St Nicholas for over 13 years

 

Demolition of 15 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 2 2011: Demolition at the southwest corner of 15 St Nicholas Street

 

Demolition of 15 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 2 2011: The south wall of 15 St Nicholas Street is pulled down

 

19 St Nicholas Street Toronto demolition

July 9 2011: Demolition continues at 19 St Nicholas Street

 

Demolition of 19 and 25 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 15 2011: Ongoing demolition of 19 and 25 St Nicholas Street

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Demolition of 25 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 18 2011: A demolition machine pulls apart 25 St Nicholas Street 

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St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 21 2011: Looking north from the corner of Phipps & St Nicholas Streets

 

Demolition of 19-25 St Nicholas Street Toronto

July 24 2011: Demolition of 19-25 St Nicholas Street nears completion

 

Demolition of 15-25 St Joseph Street Toronto

August 6 2011: There is little left of the buildings at 15-25 St Joseph Street

 

FIVE Condos site demolition

August 6 2011: A demolition machine stirs up dust on the future tower site

 

5 St Joseph STreet Toronto

August 14 2011: Drilling work continues outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

St Nicholas Street Toronto

August 14 2011: Looking south along St Nicholas Street

 

FIVE Condos site

August 14 2011: St Nicholas Street view of the FIVE Condos site

 

FIVE Condos site

August 14 2011: Looking east across the site where the warehouse buildings at 15-25 St Joseph Street once stood

 

606-614 Yonge Street Toronto

August 19 2011: Marketing billboards for FIVE Condos on hoarding outside the Yonge Street heritage buildings

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

August 19 2011: Excavating equipment outside 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

August 19 2011: The red targets and holes in the brockwork mark the spots where steel supports will be installed to hold up the 5 St Joseph Street facade during construction of the condo tower

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

September 3 2011: Foundation building equipment on the empty lot where the buildings at 15-25 St Nicholas Street once stood

 

FIVE Condos site

September 12 2011: Crews will soon begin erecting the giant steel frame that will support the facade of 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

September 24 2011: The massive steel support starts taking shape

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

September 24 2011: The support structure will eventually extend the length of the building’s St Joseph Street facade

 

5 St Joseph STreet Toronto

September 24 2011: The huge frame extends halfway across St Joseph Street

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5 St Joseph Street Toronto

October 8 2011: The supports will hold the 4-storey brick wall in place while the condo tower is being built

 5 St Joseph Street Toronto

October 14 2011: The full support structure is now in position

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 20 2011: This wall along St Nicholas Street will be demolished soon

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 20 2011: A view of the east side of 5 St Joseph Street before the remaining rear section of the building is demolished

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 20 2011: The section of building with the windows will be demolished next, leaving only the front facade intact

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 25 2011: Demolition begins on the upper floor of 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 25 2011: The top three floors of the building were once home to gyms, including Epic Fitness, L3 Fitness, and Level Fitness

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

November 25 2011: Demolition viewed from the northwest along St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 8 2011: All that’s left of 5 St Joseph is the 4-storey brick facade

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 11 2011: Sunlight streams through windows and the former main entrance doorway to 5 St Joseph Street

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 11 2011: Shoring work continues along the east side of St Nicholas Street behind the wrapped warehouse building facade

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 11 2011: The south-facing side of the 5 St Joseph Street brick facade is being kept under wraps

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

December 22 2011: Excavation has begun for the 50-storey tower that will rise in the center of this site

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

December 22 2011: A construction crew works at the edge of the excavation behind the Yonge Street heritage buildings

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 22 2011: Passersby often ask construction workers if the steel support is permanent. It eventually will be removed, of course.

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 22 2011: Shoring activity at the northwest corner of the site

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 22 2011: The wrapped facade looms above excavation and shoring machines on the condo site

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 22 2011: This site will be excavated for five underground levels

 

Welders at FIVE Condos site

December 22 2011: Welders work on one of the I-beams that will be sunk into the ground to shore up the excavation site

 

5 St Joseph Street Toronto

December 22 2011: If only the facade could have been wrapped in festive colours for the holiday season!

Going …

FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: Demolition is underway at the FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street…

 

FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

… where this unsightly rear addition to a late 1880s-era Yonge Street heritage building is being destroyed…

 

Hariri Pontarini architectural rendering of FIVE Condos tower

… as part of the extensive FIVE Condos block redevelopment and condo tower building project at Yonge & St Joseph Streets, depicted in this illustration provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects in Toronto

 

Falling for FIVE: Wrecking crews have been busy on St Joseph Street, where this week they began knocking down parts of buildings that presently occupy a site where the 45-storey FIVE condo tower will ultimately rise. The structures being demolished sit to the rear of several 1880s-era historical buildings at the southwest corner of Yonge and St Joseph Streets, which will be preserved and restored as part of the FIVE Condos at 5 St Joseph redevelopment project.

First to go was a tacky two-storey rear addition to the charming building right at the corner of Yonge & St Joseph; a sports bar once occupied the upper level, while the ground floor was part of a Timothy’s coffee shop during the late 1990s and early 2000s and, most recently, a shawarma shop. Just to the immediate south, a boxy three-storey brick structure is also being pulled down. The good news is that six old brick buildings with storefronts along Yonge Street will be restored and incorporated into the FIVE Condos development, as will be the case with the facade of the former Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on the corner of St Joseph and St Nicholas Streets. A senior city planner, Michael Hynes, has publicly described the FIVE Condos development as “the largest heritage building protection project in the country.”

FIVE is a team project by MOD Developments Inc., Graywood Developments Ltd., Tricon and Diamondcorp, along with Hariri Pontarini Architects, Cecconi Simone Inc. interior design, and Janet Rosenberg & Associates landscape architects. FIVE was a bigger winner at the 2011 BILD Awards, presented in late April by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). It won four major awards, including High-Rise Project of the Year, Best High-Rise Building Design, Best High-Rise Sales Office, and Best Model Suite.

Below are several photos showing demolition activity at the FIVE Condos project site this week. Additional information, photos and architectural renderings of the project are provided in my April  28 2011 post, while there are a few more pics of demolition equipment at the site in my May 12 2011 post.

 

FIVE Condos site at Yonge & St Joseph Streets

May 31 2011: Hoarding extends along Yonge Street outside the old buildings that will be incorporated into the FIVE Condos development

 

Construction and demolition equipment on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: Construction and demolition equipment outside the former Rawlinson Cartage warehouse building on St Joseph Street

 

Demolition activity at the FIVE Condos site

May 31 2011: Demolition activity at the FIVE Condos site on St Joseph Street

 

Demolition activity on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: The structures being demolished sit at the rear of the historic buildings being preserved on the Yonge Street flank of the FIVE Condos site

 

Demolition activity on St Joseph Street

May 31 2011: This former warehouse is quickly being reduced to rubble

 

St Nicholas Street demolition derby revving up as wrecking machines arrive at FIVE Condos site

Link-Belt 290 excavating machine

May 11 2011: A Link-Belt 290 excavating machine parked outside what will soon be a massive construction site for  FIVE Condos

 

Ready to rumble: St Nicholas has long been one of my favourite downtown streets because it’s been a peaceful alternative to the hustle and bustle of Yonge Street whenever I have wanted to take a quiet walk north or south between Charles and Wellesley Streets. But that all changed last week. As I reported in a post yesterday, demolition crews have begun tearing down a building on the southeast corner of St Mary and St Nicholas Streets to make way for construction of  the Nicholas Residences condo tower. Yesterday evening, I noticed two demolition machines two blocks south, parked outside a heritage building at the corner of St Nicholas and St Joseph Streets where the 45-storey tower for FIVE Condos will be built. With security fencing erected to cordon off the south side of St Joseph, demolition on the FIVE site appears imminent. Looks like I’ll have to start walking the linear city parks on the east side of Yonge for the next three years if I want to escape noise and traffic on my north-south walks! Below are several more pics of the heavy machinery set to start smashing down walls at the FIVE site. My April 28 2011 post has more photos and information about FIVE Condos.

FIVE Condos site at 5 St Joseph Street

May 11 2011: A security fence has been erected and demolition machines parked outside 5 St Joseph Street at the corner of St Nicholas Street, where the 45-storey FIVE Condos complex will be built

Demolition equipment at 5 St Joseph Street

May 11 2011: Construction of the FIVE Condos complex, which will occupy one-third of the block between Yonge, St Joseph and St Nicholas Streets, is expected to take about three years

Demolition equipment at 5 St Joseph Street

May 11 2011: A Link-Belt 80 excavating machine outside the FIVE Condos location at the corner of St Joseph and St Nicholas Streets