U’s Turn: In just a few short years, things will really be looking up for the St. Michael’s College campus at the University of Toronto. Way up. From the old ivy-clad stone and brick bastions of academia to the shiny new glass and steel towers of luxury condo living 45 and 50 storeys up. That’s how high the two towers of U Condos, currently starting construction, will soar above the college campus from their perch at the southeast corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets near Yorkville. It’s going to be a huge and dramatic change for a wedge-shaped piece of property that previously contained an unremarkable asphalt parking lot and a wide field of green grass. For people who were lucky to buy in when the buildings initially went on sale, U Condos undoubtedly will prove to be an incredibly wise investment. I’m willing to bet a substantial number of buyers are real estate- and personal finance-savvy parents who scooped up suites so their kids will have accommodations when they attend U of T; after graduation day, mom and dad will sell the units at a tidy profit, perhaps even paying off the kids’ substantial university tuition bills and other education expenses in the process.  Contractors have been preparing the site for excavation since December; heavy machinery has been moving mounds of earth, while pile drivers have been punching away at several different places on the U Condos property.  Below is an architectural rendering of the U Condos podium, along with photos I’ve taken in the U Condos neighbourhood at various times since 2008.

Architectural rendering of U Condos towers and podium

Billboards along U Condos Bay Street location November 14 2008

View towards Bay Street from west end of U Condos site November 1 2010

U Condos site viewed from St. Mary Street on November 1 2010

U Condos site viewed from Bay Street on November 11 2010

Billboard on U Condos site November 11 2010

View towards U Condos site from west end of St Mary Street on December 4 2010; in two years, the new towers will totally dominate this view towards Bay Street

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010

Last glimpse of green: This lawn, seen December 4 2010, will soon be dug up

All quiet on the U Condos site on Sunday January 9

Snow-covered excavation machinery at the U Condos site January 9

U Condos site under a blanket of snow on January 9

Pile driving machinery on January 24 after a light snowfall

Pile driving machinery on January 24

U Condos billboards along Bay Street on January 29

Early stages of excavation at U Condos on January 29

Grass has been completely cleared from the western half of the site

U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29

U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29