Monthly Archives: February 2011

Will City’s fear of heights trim plans for 39-storey condo tower at King & Spadina?

The LCBO store at the corner of King Street West and Spadina Avenue on Jan. 14 2011. A developer wants to build a 39-storey condo tower here.

Goldilocks planning principles?: The bizarre attitudes that City Hall sometimes displays toward building development proposals in the downtown core can be enough to drive a guy to drink. Thank God the big liquor store at the southeast corner of King & Spadina should be staying put for at least a few more years!

The one-storey LCBO outlet occupies part of a prime piece of property on which a developer has unveiled plans to build a 39-storey condo tower featuring high-tech windows that would harness solar energy. The proposed building would have fewer floors than the Theatre Park tower I wrote about yesterday — the condo building that Lamb Development Corp. got the go-ahead to build just three blocks east, next door to the Royal Alexandra Theatre, after initially getting double thumbs-down from city planners and politicians. (Lamb appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board; ultimately, the parties settled the case and the Theatre Park project is now being marketed to purchasers.)

Councillor advocates block-by-block development

Yesterday I mentioned a November 11, 2010 National Post story that described the Theatre Park planning ruckus. The article quoted Ward 20 City Councillor Adam Vaughan as saying Theatre Park “may be the last tall building on this block.” According to the National Post, Vaughan “wants to move away from site-by-site development, and toward block-by-block development, so that neighbourhoods retain a certain scale, and residents can count on keeping the view they purchased.”

Protecting precious views sounds like a great idea, but it’s totally unrealistic for a city that’s expecting its population to increase by hundreds of thousands of people in the decades ahead. Toronto certainly won’t be able to pack all those people into low-rise accommodations (which wouldn’t have views in any event). And while it seems completely reasonable for the city to oppose highrise construction in certain places, such as established, low-rise residential neighbourhoods, it doesn’t make sense to object when towers are proposed for downtown locations totally suitable for tall structures.

Is developer “aiming too high?”

That’s the case with the LCBO site, over which Vaughan is up in arms because the developer is aiming too high with its condo plans. “We’ve got a building there that’s too short. They’re coming in with a building that’s just a bit too tall,” Vaughan told The Globe and Mail earlier this week. He “would like to see the developers shave at least 50 metres off the proposed height — and throw in some community benefits like supportive housing or family-centred units,” the Globe reported in a story published on Tuesday.

Okay, so a one-storey building is “too short,” 39 storeys is “too tall,” but something 50 metres shorter would be just right? Sounds to me like the city is purporting to apply Goldilocks’ porridge and furniture preferences to city development planning! Given Vaughan’s strenuous objection, you’d think that the developer, Cabo Three Investments Inc., was proposing to plunk its tower smack in the middle of a historic residential district with streets of distinguished one- and two-storey houses. But that’s not the situation with the liquor store location.

Neighbourhood already has condo towers

Spadina is one of the city’s widest and busiest streets and there’s already several condo towers in the immediate vicinity, with more under construction and even more being marketed for sale. And just two blocks south, the mammoth Concord CityPlace condo development is a dense urban canyon of enormous tall towers, with even more on the way. I have walked around the King & Spadina area three times in the past six weeks, and think Cabo Three’s tower would suit the site perfectly. Heck, an even taller one would, too! To me, Vaughan’s height complaint seems ridiculous. Besides, the tower won’t be going up until the end of this decade at the earliest, because the LCBO’s lease runs until 2019. Moreover, the solar-energy gathering glass windows the developer would like to install in its tower are still in the development stage, but should be a viable technology by the time Cabo Three wants to sink its shovels into the ground.

Residential plus office and retail space

By the end of this decade, tens of thousands more people will be living downtown, and the King & Spadina area will be substantially more busy and dense than it is now. In those circumstances, building tall makes sense and is realistically the only way to go. So I’m hoping that this project, like Theatre Park, gets the green light and ultimately comes to fruition. By the way, as proposed, the tower would house 443 residential suites atop two floors of commercial office and retail space (the LCBO has said it would be interested in acquiring space in the new building, no doubt because the neighbourhood’s population is forecast to grow by nearly 11 per cent in the next five years). The tower would have five underground parking levels with 311 spaces, and the brick heritage building next to the LCBO on King Street would be incorporated into the complex. Below are photos I’ve taken recently of the project site and immediate vicinity.

Development proposal sign on the LCBO store at King & Spadina

The LCBO store at King & Spadina seen here on February 3 2011

This 6-storey heritage building at 401 -409 King St. W. would be incorporated into the 39-storey condo complex proposed for this prime corner location

Upper floors of 401 – 409 King St. W. seen February 17 2011

Street level view of 401 – 409 King St. W. on February 17 2011

Site viewed from the NW corner of King and Spadina on February 17 2011

Spadina Avenue view of the LCBO store, left, and some of condo skyscrapers at the massive Concord CityPlace development two blocks south on Spadina

Site viewed from west side of Spadina Avenue, just north of King Street

Site viewed from the NW corner of Spadina Ave. and Adelaide St. W.

LCBO store seen from west side of Spadina Avenue on Feb. 17 2011

Intersection of King and Spadina viewed from the west side of Spadina

Oh the horror! The proposed condo would completely dwarf the Winners store and the Petro Canada gas station to its south, seen here on February 17 2011

These townhouses on Clarence Square, one block south, are the nearest low-rise houses. Although highrises already overlook their back decks, including the M5V condo tower at center, they face charming tree-lined Clarence Square, so residents can’t complain about losing nice views.

City Scene: Wellington Street’s glass curtain wall

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Joined at the hip?: When viewed from certain angles to their north, the RBC Centre (left), Simcoe Place (center) and Ritz-Carlton Toronto towers (right) appear to form one huge H-shaped mass of glass and steel. When seen from some spots to their south (below), the Ritz-Carlton, Simcoe Place, RBC Centre and the Intercontinental Toronto Centre on Front Street West (foreground) all look fused together, too.

47-storey Theatre Park condo tower will bring architectural excitement to Entertainment District

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Tower rendering from the Theatre Park condo project website

Planning drama: I suppose it was only fitting that high drama ensued when an application to built a condo tower next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre was filed with city hall back in early 2009. Especially since the rapid pace of condo development in Toronto’s popular Theatre/Entertainment District has become a hot-button topic with area businesses, residents and City Hall.

It just wouldn’t have seemed right if the city had simply told Lamb Development Corp. and its partner Niche Development to go ahead and “break a leg” with its plans to build a striking 45-storey point tower at 224 King Street West, a site which has been occupied by a parking lot for the past 40 years. Just as one might have expected, though, city planners balked at the Theatre Park proposal. They were concerned that the building would be far too tall for the neighbourhood, and they feared that approving the project could set a dangerous precedent that ultimately could encourage other developers to demolish historical low-rise buildings in the area and construct towers in their place.

It didn’t seem to matter that a handful of highrise buildings already were under construction within a two-block radius, including the 53-storey Ritz-Carlton and 65-storey Living Shangri-La hotel/condo towers, and the Boutique and Festival Tower condos (35 and 41 storeys tall, respectively).

When the city rejected the application, the developers decided to challenge the decision at the Ontario Municipal Board. However, the parties reached a settlement allowing construction of a tower that would be slightly shorter, but would have 47 floors instead of 45.

Background about the planning and political drama behind the project, as well as some details about the proposed tower, were outlined in a November 11 2010 story in the National Post. Less than two weeks later, the Theatre Park project received rather robust attention during an advance sales event for VIP agents and brokers.

The building design, by Toronto’s architectsAlliance, is destined to get plenty of attention, too, though it remains to be seen if it will receive rave reviews from the critics once it is finally constructed. The Theatre Park website heralds the tower design as “audacious” and “iconic,” and I think those descriptions are apt. The slender tower will have a dramatic, bold presence on the Entertainment District skyline, while its open street-level plaza next to the Royal Alex should enhance the King West streetscape (particularly since the sidewalk along the north side of King always feels too narrow, and gets claustrophobically crowded both before and after performances at the Royal Alex and the Princess of Wales Theatre a few doors west).

Below are several architectural renderings that appear on the Theatre Park website, along with some photos I snapped recently of the condo project site and its famous next-door neighbour. The website has additional renderings, floorplans, and a four-minute animated video that suggests how Theatre Park will look on the skyline.

Artistic rendering of the Theatre Park penthouse

A website rendering of the tower podium and plaza on King Street West

Artistic impression of how Theatre Park will appear at street level

Another website illustration of the condo plaza fronting on King Street

Promotional billboard at 224 King Street West last November

Theatre Park site viewed from the south side of King Street on January 3 2011

A billboard with a tower rendering, seen here January 3, replaced the first sign

The Theatre Park billboard was gone when I passed the site on Thursday

The Royal Alexandra Theatre, seen here on Thursday afternoon

View toward the Theatre Park condo tower site on February 18 2011. Only one block to the north are the Boutique condo tower, left, and the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel/condo complex, with the pink signs and construction crane.

City Scene: Adelaide Street keeps growing taller

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Towers rising: This view of Toronto’s Financial District — seen yesterday from the intersection of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street — will change considerably in the next few months as the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel and condo tower and Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto climb taller.

This particular block of Adelaide will look drastically different in a couple of years, too. The 43-storey Cinema Tower condo is under construction behind the red hoarding at right; another 43-storey condo, the Pinnacle on Adelaide, will be going up beside it, where the white billboard stands.

Meanwhile, a developer is seeking city approval to build a 37-storey condo and office tower where the building with the yellow awnings is situated at left. That’s currently the location of the Entertainment District’s ever-popular Alice Fazooli’s Italian Grill. Mamma Mia! Where’s poor Alice going to go?

Taking a peek at Pier 27’s construction progress

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From The Residences at Pier 27 project website, an illustration of the condo complex under construction on Queen’s Quay Blvd. E.

This truck was pumping concrete into the Pier 27 excavation today

Crane coming?: Thanks to the spring-like thaw in the weather over the past couple of days, the excavation at the Pier 27 condo development on the waterfront has become one enormous muddy hole in the ground. But construction work continues nonetheless, and today I saw a concrete pumper truck at the northeastern end of the massive waterfront excavation. Since it looks to me — from the street and sales centre parking lot, at least — that the lion’s share of digging has been done, I suspect that concrete was being poured to build the base on which a construction crane will be installed sometime very soon.

I hope my assumption is correct, because I’m eager to see this development shake up the shape of the city’s lacklustre Lake Ontario shoreline. Right now, the waterfront is crowded with far too many tall buildings that share an unfortunate but common character trait: disappointing, dull designs. Whether they’re shiny glass and steel cylinders, or glass and concrete or brick boxes, most are boring, bland buildings that look like something you’ve seen somewhere else many times before. Some are downright ugly. What’s worse: they’re clustered in pairs and threesomes of lookalike towers. Most of the harbourside highrises would look drab enough individually, but as a long line of homely twins and triplets, they collectively give the city skyline a repetitive cookie-cutter appearance from the water.

Though they are basically just pairs of mid-rise glass and steel boxes themselves, it’s the dramatic rooftop “skybridges” linking the 12-storey Pier 27 condo buildings that will give this project an interesting flair and unique bold style that should finally break the decades-old pattern of architectural monotony along Queen’s Quay boulevard.

I also like the refreshing low scale of the development, which thankfully won’t create another wide, tall wall blocking the rest of the city from the water, like so many of the condos built in the last 30 years.

A project of Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Developments, The Residences of Pier 27 were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are photos I have taken of the condo sales office and excavation, along with several artistic building renderings that appear on the project’s website. (Some pics I’ve published previously can be viewed in this construction progress post from early January.)

Additional renderings and six construction photos, along with an animated project video, can be viewed at the Pier 27 website.

From the Pier 27 website, an aerial lake-view illustration of the condo complex

From the website, an artistic waterside view of one of the condo buildings

Side view rendering of one of the condo buildings and its rooftop “skybridge”

Pier 27 sales office next to the construction site

Another view of the Pier 27 sales centre

The southwest side of the Pier 27 excavation on February 18 2011

Another view of the west end of the giant excavation

Break time? Idle earth movers at the top of the excavation

Several huge mounds of dirt still must be removed

Pier 27 residents with east-facing units will get to enjoy this view of the Redpath sugar refinery (along with the peculiar, syrupy odour that permeates the air)

Concrete pumper working at the Pier 27 site February 18 2011

A solitary excavating machine digs away at the south side of the enormous hole

This is the east side of the excavation, next to the Redpath property

On the edge: the concrete truck pumps away

Another view of the concrete pumper truck

City Scene: Reflections of the CN Tower

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Two towers in one: The CN Tower reflects in the west wall of the RBC Centre office building on Wellington Street West, in these photos taken this afternoon.

From Days Inn to Holiday Inn: Popular Carlton St. hotel gets a main entrance facade makeover

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Workers install signs on the renovated hotel facade February 17 2011

This photo, posted on TripAdvisor.com by TA member Kloetzchen, shows the former building facade when the hotel was still a Days Inn

Happier holidays ahead?: The Days Inn on Carlton Street was a popular hotel, particularly with bus tour groups, but in recent years travellers regularly complained online that the place was tired, worn, and in sore need of major renovations. I never saw any of the rooms myself, but friends who stayed there said the the accommodations were only “okay” — not great. They liked the hotel’s convenience to Yonge Street, downtown shopping and attractions, and the nearby Church-Wellesley gay village area, but that was about it. I did walk through the Days Inn main floor lobby about two years ago, though, and thought it looked extremely dated.

I’ll be keen to see how much the interior has changed when the hotel re-opens next month as the Holiday Inn Downtown Centre. The Days Inn closed last year and the hotel has been getting a makeover inside and out in preparation for its launch as a Holiday Inn on March 15.

For months the building’s facade along Carlton Street was hidden behind scaffolding and hoarding while workers gave the exterior an entirely new look. The old facade sported sloping glass canopies above the two Carlton Street entrances, as well as above the hotel restaurant, sports bar and coffee shop that used to occupy main floor. The recessed areas above the canopies always gave the front of the hotel a brooding, dark appearance, even on sunny days, while the glass was usually streaked with dirt, dust and city grime.

The hoarding was taken down several weeks ago, but the entrances remain boarded up. The new facade is sleek glass and steel; the canopies have been removed and replaced with vertical panes of glass that sit flush against the building wall. The result is a crisp, clean and neat front face, but the new look hasn’t grown on me yet. I used to walk past the Days Inn several times a week, and preferred how the old facade related to the street — it had a pleasant street presence that was friendly to pedestrians. By comparison, the slick Holiday Inn facade has a cold office-building-like feel that isn’t as comfortable to walk past. Maybe that will change once restaurants and coffee shops or hotel facilities have been set up inside, and there is actually something to see through the big front windows. So I’ll reserve final judgment on the renovations until then.

Below are some pics I snapped yesterday; when I walked past, workers were installing two Holiday Inn signs above the entrances.

Holiday Inn signage installation on the new facade

Finishing touches to the new facade February 17 2011

The new Holiday Inn’s next-door neighbour, Maple Leaf Gardens, is getting a massive makeover of its own. It is being converted into a multi-purpose facility featuring a Ryerson University Sports centre and a Loblaws grocery store.

Construction crane going up at Cinema Tower site

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Partially assembled crane viewed from Adelaide Street on Feb. 17 2011

Lights, camera, crane!: A work crew was busy assembling a crane in the Cinema Tower excavation when I walked past the condo construction site at the southeast corner of Widmer and Adelaide Streets this afternoon.

A project of The Daniels Corporation and a design of Toronto’s Kirkor Architects & Planners, Cinema Tower will rise 43 storeys on a site formerly occupied by a parking lot. It will be a new next-door neighbour for another Daniels condominium project, Festival Tower, and the adjacent TIFF Bell Lightbox on King Street West. And in just a few more years, it will have yet another condo tower neighbour when the 43-storey Pinnacle on Adelaide gets built on the parking lot right next door.

With three tall condo buildings crowded together on just one city block, will Cinema Tower be able to distinguish itself and stand out, or will it just blend into the skyline with its neighbours?

“The challenge for each of the neighbouring buildings,” the Kirkor architects explain on their website, “is their response to the TIFF building, especially the height, massing and scale as the City of Toronto defines the Festival Tower as the anchor to the site. The response was to create a tower that provided a facade centred towards Adelaide Street with sheer curved curtain glass resting on a podium that evokes a modern interpretation of the warehouse streetscape of the existing neighborhood.”

I’m anxious to watch Cinema Tower go up; though I’ve seen only one architectural rendering of the tower so far, I think it brings substantially more class, style and interest to the area than the boring, boxy Festival Tower.

Below are some photos of workers preparing to assemble a crane segment today, along with other pics I’ve taken at the Cinema Tower site in the past three years. There also are two excavation photos from the condo project’s website.

Cinema Tower rendering on a billboard next to the construction site

September 22 2008: CN Tower view of the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower under construction on King Street West. The Cinema Tower site is the parking lot in the upper left corner (the two buildings have since been demolished); the Pinnacle on Adelaide will rise on the separate parking lot to the right.

September 3 2008: The parking lot that used to occupy the Cinema Tower site

Cinema Tower development proposal sign

October 20 2010: Early stages of excavation at the Cinema Tower site

October 20 2010: Widmer Street view of the Cinema Tower site. When finished, the condo building will block most of this view of the Financial District.

Cinema Tower website photo of excavation activity on the condo property

Another Cinema Tower website photo of excavation progress. The building in the bottom left corner is the Champs Food Supplies store. The parking lot on the right is the Pinnacle on Adelaide condo tower site.

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Cinema Tower excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards on hoarding next to the condo excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards along the sidewalk on Adelaide Street West

November 23 2010: Billboards along Adelaide Street

November 29 2010: The Champs Food Supplies Ltd store on Widmer Street will be dwarfed by the 43-storey Cinema Tower and Pinnacle condos

November 29 2011: Billboards at the Cinema Tower sales office on Adelaide Street

January 14 2011: Cinema Tower excavation viewed from Widmer Street

February 17 2011: Widmer Street closed for Cinema Tower crane installation

Work crew prepares a crane segment for assembly

Crane segment to be hoisted for assembly above the Cinema Tower excavation

Operator of the crane that will hoist the segment onto the construction site crane

Crane installation viewed from south end of Widmer Street

The partially assembled construction crane above the excavation

Waiting for the relaunch of the MaRS building mission … Phase II construction announcement coming soon?

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The mothballed MaRS Phase II building site, seen on Jan. 18 2011

Will construction resume?: Downtown’s MaRS Discovery District — the bustling charitable research and innovation centre on College Street, next to the Toronto General Hospital campus — gets mentioned in the news quite regularly. It got some media attention slightly more than a week ago, when the provincial government announced Feb. 9 that MaRS “is now part of the Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE), a network of 14 regional innovation centres across the province that help local entrepreneurs bring innovative ideas to market.” And almost every week or two, MaRS makes the news with proud announcements that clients have secured financing for new ventures, launched new technology products, or won major awards.

But the really big news I’m anxiously awaiting is word that MaRS is finally going to resume construction of its Phase II development at the corner of College and University Avenue — the building site that has been mothballed since November 2008.

That news could be coming soon, according to a recent story on OpenFile, the collaborative online news site. The January 24 OpenFile Toronto story by Tim Alamenciak says MaRS and its real estate partner have been discussing terms for resuming construction, with a formal announcement expected shortly — possibly within just a few weeks. No details were available, but Alamenciak said a MaRS rep “confirmed that there have been no changes to the original building plan, which called for a twenty-storey tower that would add 750,000 square feet of space to MaRS.” The official also confirmed that “the existing foundation will still be used,” Alamenciak reported.

MaRS Phase II was the city’s first high-profile construction project to fall victim to the global economic crisis. When the plug was pulled and construction crawled to a halt, the building foundation — with a two-level underground parking garage and a direct connection to the College station on the University subway line — had already reached ground level. A National Post story from November 2008 described why building activity was stopped. I’ll be thrilled if the Post (or any other local paper) soon publishes a story reporting that construction activity has resumed on the dormant property, but I’m not holding my breath. Word on the street early last fall was that construction would restart by the end of October, but of course nothing happened.

The site has been sitting eerily empty and silent, reminiscent of the infamous Stump that sat next to Adelaide Street in the heart of the city’s Financial District for nearly 15 years after an office building project fell victim to the economic recession of the early 1990s (the Stump ultimately got demolished when the Bay Adelaide Centre office tower was constructed several years ago). I’d hate to see the MaRS stump languish for that long, but suspect we will see workers back on the site in the near future.

The OpenFile story suggests that MaRS will continue with the Bregman + Hamann Architects building designs originally revealed for the project. Below are some artistic renderings of the MaRS building design that appear on the website of curtain wall engineering company Sota Glazing.

I’ve also posted some pics I took at the building site in 2008 while construction of the foundation was underway, along with a couple of pics of the site taken earlier this week.

Artistic rendering of the MaRS Phase II tower design

Artistic rendering of a street-level view of the Phase II building

Illustration suggesting how the MaRS building will appear on University Avenue

MaRS Phase II building construction site seen on Sept 3 2008

Site viewed from a construction gate on University Avenue on September 3 2008

Queen’s Park Crescent view of two cranes on the MaRS site on November 7 2008

MaRS site construction gate on College Street viewed November 7 2008

Another November 2008 view of the site from College Street

Ground level floor ready for concrete pour on November 7 2008

One of the cranes on the MaRS site November 7 2008

Elevator core taking shape on November 7 2008

MaRS Phase II building construction progress viewed on November 7 2008

Another November 7 2008 view of construction progress

MaRS Phase II building site viewed from College Street on February 15 2011

The elevator core “stump” is the most visible sign of construction progress at the site before building activity was stopped in mid-November 2008

Keeping tabs on … podium construction progress at the Distillery District’s Clear Spirit condo tower

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Building progress viewed from Stone House Walk on February 3 2011

That’s the spirit: Tourists and Toronto residents visiting the Distillery District can finally see progress on the Clear Spirit condominium complex now that podium construction has climbed higher than the Paint Shop and Rack House buildings at the historic neighbourhood’s east end. There isn’t much to see so far, but that will change quickly once the condo tower starts climbing towards its full height of about 40 storeys.

Until a few weeks ago, it was difficult to see any of the construction unless you peered through a chain link fence at the far east end of Stone House Walk, next to the south parking lot. Even from there, you can see only a small section of the building taking shape.

Hoarding blocks views of the construction area from almost everywhere in the Distillery District itself, while Cherry Street isn’t a safe viewing area because of all the traffic from heavy construction vehicles going to and from the Clear Spirit site as well as to and from the massive West Don Lands development across the street where the 2015 Pan Am Games athletes’ village will be situated.

The Clear Spirit tower was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are several building renderings from the architectsAlliance and Clear Spirit websites, along with photos I’ve taken of construction progress since early 2010.

Clear Spirit condo building rendering from the architectsAlliance website

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building lobby

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building podium and tower

Podium construction rising above Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit condo excavation viewed from Stone House Walk March 17 2010

Another view of the excavation from the end of Stone House Walk

Foundation construction viewed from Stone House Walk on November 9 2010

Another view of Clear Spirit condo construction on November 9 2010

Podium construction obvious from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Podium rising above the Mill Street Brewery on February 3 2011

Podium progress viewed from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit crane and construction viewed from Cherry Street on February 3 2011

Crane viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance on Mill Street on February 3 2011. The architectsAlliance-designed building will dominate this view once construction of the 40-storey glass tower is well underway.

Clear Spirit condo tower rendering on a billboard in the Distillery District

Yonge St. site ready for excavation … but when will Ryerson reveal student learning centre design?

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Ryerson University sign at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets

Site’s all set: It was a year ago this week that Ryerson University announced it had selected the architecture team for the new 10-storey Student Learning Centre (SLC) it plans to build at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets on the former site of the famous Sam The Record Man store.

During the past couple of months, I have seen small contracting crews on the SLC site, clearing rubble and doing what appeared to be minor pre-construction site preparation work. This afternoon, the property was empty, virtually clear of debris, vehicles and heavy machinery. The site looks like it’s all set for excavation, so I’m wondering if the university may soon reveal the SLC design, and start digging.

I’m sure the whole process has been held up by events during the last two months on the south side of Gould Street, where the historic Empress Hotel building at 335 Yonge Street burned down in a fire that investigators determined was caused by arson. I’m pissed that 335 Yonge was neglected and allowed to languish, and I’m even more angry that the building had to be demolished because of the irreparable damage it suffered both from the fire and subsequent investigation procedures. Now that the beautiful heritage building is gone forever, I hope the property lands in Ryerson’s hands, so the site can be developed into an impressive Yonge Street gateway to the university’s downtown campus. (I definitely don’t want to see 335 Yonge’s owners get city approval to build a condo tower there.)

It was on February 10 last year that the university said it had picked Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City to be co-architects for the 160,000 square foot learning centre, a high-tech library and learning environment connected to the university’s existing library building. Ryerson is hoping the SLC can also be linked to the Yonge subway line by its own on-site entrance to the Dundas subway station.

According to the university, “[t]he state-of-the-art Student Learning Centre will provide the latest technology and will be designed to accommodate different learning styles and teaching practices. The SLC will feature bright, open, technologically rich, barrier-free spaces for individual and collaborative study. A variety of learning environments, digital support and academic services will promote student learning success and help foster a culture of collaboration and creativity.”

Below are pics I’ve taken of the SLC site over the last few years, followed by a couple of photos showing how the site looked this afternoon.

September 26 2008: The iconic Sam the Record Man store seen shortly before its demolition. The building to its left once housed a popular A&A record outlet; after it closed, a Future Shop store occupied the spot for several years.

Another view of the famous Sam the Record Man store before its demolition

September 26 2008: The future SLC site viewed from south of Gould Street

February 15 2009: Demolition of Sam the Record Man store is almost complete

A graffiti-covered wall along O’Keefe Lane is all that remains of the Sam’s store

May 2 2010: Sam’s is long gone, but demolition hasn’t begun on the A&A site

November 23 2010: The former A&A/Future Shop building is finally coming down

December 21 2010: A light layer of snow covers the cleared SLC site

December 21 2010: Site viewed from O’Keefe Lane, looking west to Yonge St.

December 21 2010: The SLC site, looking southwest from O’Keefe Lane

January 5 2011: Site viewed during demolition at the 335 Yonge St. fire scene

January 8 2011: Gould Street during the 335 Yonge fire investigation

February 15 2011: The SLC site viewed from the west side of Yonge at Gould St.

February 15 2011: Vacant SLC site viewed from the corner of Yonge & Elm Streets

Brick heritage houses on Sultan Street will be included as part of office/retail project

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Development proposal sign on St Thomas Street February 12 2011

Heritage houses will stay: In a post early last month, I noted that a nine-story office building was being proposed as part of a redevelopment of the south block of Sultan Street near Yorkville, a site on which six charming brick heritage houses are situated. At the time, there was no word on whether or not the developer planned to demolish the buildings, or work them into the redevelopment. The good news is that the buildings will be staying. Since my last walk through the neighbourhood, a development proposal sign has been posted outside the heritage houses, with an illustration and text explaining that the office structure will be built at the rear of the houses — an area presently used for parking. I’m not thrilled with the office building design, which I think resembles a cloudy chunk of ice. But of course that’s just an artistic illustration; hopefully the finished product will be more appealing and attractive.

The heritage houses on Sultan and St Thomas Streets, seen today

The 9-storey office building would rise on the parking area

Space looks tight, but apparently there’s room to add more than 7,000 square meters of office space behind the heritage houses.

Artistic illustration of the proposed office building redevelopment

77 Charles West condo gets a street presence as its first two floors begin to take shape

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Architectural building rendering from the 77 Charles West condo website …

..and a photo of construction progress on the first two floors February 15

Going Up: Passersby can finally see the Seventy Seven Charles West luxury condo building taking shape, now that construction is reaching above ground on the first two floors.

This is an interesting and unique project, and not just because its 77 Charles Street West address occupies an enviable prime location with the sprawling University of Toronto campus to its west and south, and the posh Yorkville neighbourhood to its north. Seventy Seven actually is two completely different buildings in one: a 13-storey condominium complex with very expensive large suites up top (prices start at a mere $1.2 million dollars), and Kintore College, a three-storey residence and educational facility for devout female Catholic university students down below, each with their own private entrance.

A project of Aspen Ridge Homes, the dual-purpose complex at 77 Charles West was designed by Yann Weymouth of international architecture firm HOK. You can read exactly how Weymouth has integrated two separate buildings into one mixed-use structure in this informative March 16 2007 column by John Bentley Mays of The Globe and Mail, so I won’t repeat those details here. Will Weymouth’s design vision for this unusual building combination succeed? We should be able to tell if he’s managed to pull it off once Seventy Seven’s glass curtain wall starts taking form, likely later this year.

But I’m more curious about something else: How do people who have bought suites at Seventy Seven feel about other new condos that will be built nearby?

Impressive views across the University of Toronto campus

The Seventy Seven Charles condo website touts all the wonderful sightlines that its residents will enjoy from their posh pads; in fact, you can click on a rendering of the building to see views in eight directions from several floor levels. Most impressive are the unobstructed west views overlooking the U of T campus, and the south views extending beyond the university all the way to the Financial District and the CN Tower. But the 45- and 50-storey towers of U Condos (currently in early stages of site excavation) at the corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets might block some southeast views, while The St. Thomas, a 23-storey luxury condo planned for the northwest corner of Charles and St. Thomas Streets, will block some sightlines to the northwest. Of course, One St. Thomas Residences, the stylish black and white 29-storey luxury condo tower designed by New York architect Robert A. M. Stern, already blocks views immediately to the north of Seventy Seven.

However, what’s probably peeving some purchasers is the prospect of a slightly taller building going up right next door, obscuring many views entirely. Loretto College, a six-storey women’s residence that is part of St. Michael’s College at U of T, sits on St. Mary Street about 50 or so feet south of the Seventy Seven construction site. Last year, the college filed an application with the city for zoning approval to redevelop its site into a new 19-storey mixed-use building with office space, 90 student residence rooms, and 87 condominium units. If that proposal gets the green light, the new Loretto College will stand three floors taller than Seventy Seven. [Editor’s Note: A revised development application was subsequently filed with the City, proposing a 40-storey institutional and residence building. The new complex would have a 2-storey podium and 38-storey tower, and would include 115 student dormitory units, a chapel, 8 1-bedroom apartment units for chapel members, and 220 apartment units. As of January 2013, the application had not gone before Toronto City Council for approval.]

I’d feel mighty miffed myself if I forked out a fortune expecting to see skylines, old university buildings and greenery from my new designer digs at Seventy Seven, only to get views into student dorm rooms and other condos close by instead. (Residents with southwest corner suites would still get a bit of a view — through the double-driveway-width space between Loretto College and U of T’s Rowell Jackman Hall to its west.)

But maybe Seventy Seven’s buyers won’t mind. They might be too busy exploring nearby museums and cultural institutions or passing their time shopping and dining. As the condo website proudly points out, “trendy Yorkville, with its cornucopia of galleries, fashion, glamour and cuisine, is just minutes from 77 Charles.” I suppose that, for some people, gazing at the U of T grounds from a luxury balcony just couldn’t compare to window shopping at Prada and Chanel or peering into the glass jewellery display cases at Cartier. Below are several more architectural renderings from the Seventy Seven Charles West website, along with some of my pics of construction progress and the building’s current and future neighbours, which I mentioned above. More photos can be viewed in the “Bloor-Yorkville condo projects” album on the Photo Sets page of the blog.

Rendering of curved upper floors and balconies at 77 Charles West

Rendering of glass walls and terraces at 77 Charles West

August 6 2008: 77 Charles sales centre and the old Kintore College building

November 22 2009: Clearing rubble from the site before excavation

November 22 2009: Clearing rubble from the site before excavation begins

November 22 2009: 77 Charles West site viewed from St. Thomas Street

Building illustration on the hoarding around 77 Charles West

November 22 2009: Construction site viewed from the east, on Charles Street. The building to the west of the site is U of T’s Rowell Jackman Hall.

November 11 2010: construction crane on 77 Charles West site

November 11 2010: Cement truck at the east end of the site

November 11 2010 view of construction activity from the east end of the site

December 3 2010: Building illustration on the hoarding along Charles Street

December 4 2010: foundation construction has reached ground level

December 4 2010: another view of foundation construction progress

December 4 2010: Construction viewed from west side of 77 Charles West site

December 4 2010: workers repairing the construction crane

Another building illustration on the hoarding along the Charles Street sidewalk

December 4 2010: Site viewed from the east on Charles Street

December 4 2010: Crane on the 77 Charles West site viewed from St Mary Street through the driveways between Rowell Jackman Hall, left, and Loretto College

January 9 2011: construction of first floor underway

January 9 2011: another view of first floor construction progress

January 29 2011: construction progress viewed from west end of the site

January 29 2011: another view of first floor construction progress

January 29 2011: first floor kept under wraps during the cold weather

January 29 2011: The driveway in the foreground leads into the underground parking garage of Rowell Jackman Hall next door to 77 Charles

January 29 2011: building progress viewed from Charles Street

January 29 2011: round support columns for first and second floors

January 29 2011: another view of construction progress above ground

February 12 2011: construction site viewed after a light snowfall

February 12 2011: construction progress viewed from east end of the site

February 12 2011: a little more progress on the second floor

February 12 2011: construction progress viewed from the east on Charles Street

February 15 2011: Construction activity viewed from Charles Street

February 15 2011: Building activity at the east end of the condo site

February 15 2011: Construction viewed from parking lot behind Loretto College

Another view of the construction from the parking area behind Loretto College

This pic shows just how close 77 Charles West sits to the rear of Loretto College

Loretto College on St. Mary Street, immediately to the south of 77 Charles West

Loretto College site redevelopment proposal sign on St. Mary Street

Loretto College viewed from St Mary Street on December 4 2010

Rowell Jackman Hall is 77 Charles’s next-door neighbour to the west

77 Charles’s easterly neighbours are two semidetached brick houses built in 1885. They are the Charles Bird House at 63 Charles, left, and the John Briggs House at Number 65. To their left are the Bay Charles apartment towers.

The St Thomas condo highrise site and sales office on the northwest corner of Charles and St Thomas Streets, right across the road from 77 Charles West

October 3 2010 view from St Thomas Street of 77 Charles West, left, and the site for The St Thomas luxury highrise condo building now on sale

Another December 4 2010 view of The St Thomas condo site directly across the street from the 77 Charles West condo location

The One St Thomas condo highrise on Charles Street across from 77 Charles West

February 15 2011: View of 77 and its neighbours on Charles Street West. The cement truck is at 77 Charles, while One St. Thomas is the building at right. The sales office for The St Thomas condos is visible on the next block.

Keeping tabs on … Market Wharf condos

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How the southeast corner of the Market Wharf Condos podium looked back on January 3 (left) and how the building appeared one month later.

Bricks & windows: What a difference a month makes for a building under construction! When I walked past the Market Wharf condo building site on the dreary, overcast afternoon of January 3, the concrete forms of the podium-top townhouses had been poured, and brickwork had been installed along large sections of the podium’s exterior walls. The podium looked considerably more finished off when I walked by the site about 10 days ago. Almost all of the windows had been installed on the east-side townhouses, while most of the podium brickwork had also been completed. Meanwhile, crews were busy building the base for the 25-storey condo tower that will rise at the south end of the podium. Below are pics from my latest Market Wharf walkby; my photos from January can be viewed in this post.

Construction underway for Market Wharf condo tower base

Concrete forms for tower base taking shape above Jarvis Street

Condo tower base viewed from east side of Jarvis Street

Another view of the condo tower base rising above Jarvis Street

Almost all the windows are installed on the townhouses atop the podium

Another view of the townhouses cantilevered above Jarvis Street

Looking up at the southeast corner of the podium and townhouses

Brickwork and windows along the podium’s Jarvis Street facade

Another view of the brickwork and windows on the podium’s east face

Windows and brickwork at the northeast corner of the podium

St Lawrence Market view of Market Wharf

Mt. Sinai adds six floors for women & infant care

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McCaul Street view, Jan’ 14, of six new floors atop Mt Sinai Hospital

Growing up: Hundreds of Toronto construction workers have been collecting healthy paycheques lately, courtesy of several downtown hospitals.

SickKids is is going full-throttle constructing a 21-storey Research & Learning Tower on Bay Street. Toronto Rehab has just built a new 13-storey rehabilitation hospital wing on Elm Street. University Health Network is starting to demolish a former nursing residence on Gerrard Street so it can built a high-tech lecture centre. And Mt. Sinai Hospital on University Avenue has been busy doing some building of its own.

Under a multi-year program called Renew Sinai, the hospital has been undertaking major structural upgrades to its main University Avenue facility, while at the same time adding six brand-new floors to the top of its west tower, overlooking McCaul Street. According to the Renew Sinai webpage, the extra floors will accommodate “the Lawrence and Frances Bloomberg Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health and other patient programs.”

At the same time, more private family spaces are being created, while “state-of-art technology” is being installed “to care for the more than 1,000 infants a year in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).”

Meanwhile, major structural upgrades — such as reinforcement of the hospital’s concrete stairwell walls, required by the building permit for the rooftop extension — are underway to strengthen the building and bring it up to date with provincial building code standards.

Below are pics I’ve taken of the new floors being built atop the west Mt. Sinai tower.

New floor construction on Mt. Sinai’s west tower on Sept. 3 2008

Elm Street view of new floor construction on September 3 2008

McCaul Street view of construction progress November 9 2008

April 17 2009: most windows and exterior panels have been installed

March 9 2010: All windows are in place on the tower’s west side…

…but two exterior elevators are back on the wall (seen January 14 2011)

January 14 2011 view of an elevator near the north end of the tower

Close-up view of the external elevator on January 14 2011

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.

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Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing Building Boom.

Monthly Archives: February 2011

Will City’s fear of heights trim plans for 39-storey condo tower at King & Spadina?

City Scene: Wellington Street’s glass curtain wall

47-storey Theatre Park condo tower will bring architectural excitement to Entertainment District

City Scene: Adelaide Street keeps growing taller

Taking a peek at Pier 27’s construction progress

City Scene: Reflections of the CN Tower

From Days Inn to Holiday Inn: Popular Carlton St. hotel gets a main entrance facade makeover

Waiting for the relaunch of the MaRS building mission … Phase II construction announcement coming soon?

Keeping tabs on … podium construction progress at the Distillery District’s Clear Spirit condo tower

Yonge St. site ready for excavation … but when will Ryerson reveal student learning centre design?

Brick heritage houses on Sultan Street will be included as part of office/retail project

77 Charles West condo gets a street presence as its first two floors begin to take shape

Keeping tabs on … Market Wharf condos

Mt. Sinai adds six floors for women & infant care

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.