Category Archives: 90 Harbour Street

Underground floors filling in fast for 1 York Street office building & Harbour Plaza condo towers

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Artistic rendering of the One York Street office tower and 90 Harbour Street condo towers by Menkes Developments

This artistic rendering depicts a view from the southwest of the One York Street office building and the Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers that Menkes Developments Ltd. is constructing in the south downtown core

 

 

1 York Street office tower

January 18 2013: So far, only cranes and hoarding are visible at the construction site, as seen here from the southwest corner of York and Harbour Streets…

 

 

1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street

… but what passersby can’t see is that, behind the hoarding, construction of the underground levels for the office & condo complex is nearly at street level

 

 

Approaching grade: It won’t be long before the landmark Menkes condo and office tower development at 1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street begins to rise from the ground and significantly transform the entire look and feel of the southeast downtown core.

Hidden behind hoarding and not readily visible to most people passing by, work has been progressing quickly on the underground parking levels for the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

Only 13 months ago, excavation was just getting underway on the building site — a long, rectangular parcel of land awkwardly situated between several major traffic arteries — the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard to the north, York Street to the west, and Harbour Street and the elevated York/Bay/Yonge offramp from the Gardiner to the south. The property was formerly occupied by a 5-storey brown brick building originally constructed for the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board in 1953, and subsequently used as headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police. The building was demolished during the summer of 2011 (see my July 17 2011 post for photos showing how the site looked before it was acquired by Menkes Developments Ltd.).

By late summer of 2013, work had started on the office tower’s bottom underground level, even though hundreds of truckloads of soil remained to be excavated from the easterly two-thirds of the block-long site.

But by the beginning of December 2013, the below-ground parking floors were steadily taking shape across the entire length of the property.

Now, within weeks, the One York Street office tower will start to climb above the hoarding, finally bringing the construction activity into clear view of passersby.

 

1 York Street

December 13 2012: A crew works on the western perimeter of the future One York Street office tower location. This is a view looking south across the building site from the southeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard and York Street.

 

 

1 York Street

August 19 2013: A crew works on the bottom underground level of the One York Street office tower as excavation continues on the eastern two-thirds of the building site where the Harbour Plaza condo towers will ultimately rise

 

 

1 York Street

December 3 2013: Underground levels are quickly taking shape

 

 

 1 York Street

January 18 2014: Rebar for several support columns on the west side of the office tower building site extend almost to street level

 

 

Please turn to page 2 of this post to view additional construction photos and see more than a dozen artistic renderings of the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

 

 

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Office & condo tower complex would revitalize under-used ‘island’ site at York & Harbour Streets

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1 York/90 Harbour Street

City planners have suggested the City give an official thumbs-up to a massive multi-use development project Menkes Developments Ltd. has proposed for a 1-hectare site at 1 York Street/90 Harbour Street. Their report recommends approval of a 37-storey office building, one 62-storey condo tower, and one 66-storey condo skyscraper — a significant revision from the original plan described in the development proposal sign posted on the property.

 

1 York Street office & condo site

October 4 2012: Looking east from York Street. The development site extends to the property line near the historic 6-storey Toronto Harbour Commission building at 60 Harbour Street. The heritage building was constructed in 1917.

 

1 York Street / 90 Harbour Street

September 25 2012: CN Tower view of the 1 York/90 Harbour development site, presently a surface parking lot (near center of photo).  To its right is the construction site for the 30-storey RBC WaterPark Place office building. Visible in the bottom right corner of the photo are the two ÏCE Condo towers and the Infinity3 condo complex under construction between York and Lower Simcoe Streets. At left are the 50- and 54-storey condo towers of Maple Leaf Square. Click on the photo to view a larger-size image.

 

Island bridge: City planners are recommending approval in principle of a proposal to develop a piece of prime real estate on Harbour Street into an office and condo complex with three towers ranging in height from 37 to 66 storeys.

The planners’ September 21 2012 report to Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) says redevelopment of the 1-hectare parcel at 1 York Street/90 Harbour Street — essentially an “island” of property between the Financial District and the Central Waterfront area — would “contribute to the City’s economic base, enhance the public realm of the Central Waterfront and help connect a key site in the downtown to its local context.”

The property already has been identified, in the City’s Official Plan as well as a Secondary Plan, as being “underused and in need of revitalization from its present use as parking lots and surrounded by highway ramps to something more vibrant and contributory to the community,” the planners observed in their 67-page report.

 

 

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Ripe for redevelopment: Will offices or condos rise from the demolition dust at 90 Harbour Street?

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90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Constructed in 1953 as the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board Building, 90 Harbour Street was headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police from 1975 to 1989. It has been vacant since then, apart from occasional short-term occupation for film productions.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

The five-storey stone frontispiece on 90 Harbour Street’s front (south) facade. The building is a blend of Art Deco, Art Moderne and Modern Classical styles.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

The building’s first floor base is clad in polished black granite, while the upper floors are clad in buff brick. The window trim is limestone.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Demolition of the building’s west wing gets underway 

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

 July 17 2011:  A mound of rubble beneath two holes smashed in the west wall

 

Prime location: A 2.5-acre piece of property being touted as one of the last major development sites available in downtown Toronto is up for grabs near Harbourfront.

The Ontario Realty Corporation is selling 90 Harbour Street, a building originally constructed in 1953 as offices for the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board and subsequently used as headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police. With frontage on Lake Shore Boulevard, York Street and Harbour Street, the five-storey structure occupies a prime piece of real estate in an area currently experiencing a massive building boom.

Just a short walk from Union Station, 90 Harbour is situated directly across Lake Shore Blvd. from the recently completed Maple Leaf Square office, condo, hotel, retail, and restaurant development. It also sits kitty-corner to York Centre, where four condo towers are currently under construction for two different building projects: ÏCE Condominiums and Infinity3 Condominiums. Immediately to the north of those is the Southcore Financial Centre, where the 26-storey PwC office tower at 18 York Street is nearing completion and where construction has commenced on two more highrise buildings: the 30-storey Bremner Tower and the 45-storey Delta Toronto hotel tower. And just south of 90 Harbour, a 30-storey office building has been proposed as Phase III of Waterpark Place across the street.

When I passed by 90 Harbour at the beginning of this month, Ontario Realty Corporation “for sale” signs were posted at several places on the property, but public parking lots were still operating on the east and west sides of the building. When I passed by this afternoon the signs were gone, the entire property was surrounded by blue security fencing, and a Progreen Demolition machine was working next to a large mound of rubble on the west side of the building, beneath two large holes that had been smashed into the brown brick wall.

The demolition work will disappoint any city heritage buffs who may have been hoping that the building might be retained as part of any new development project. The City of Toronto had intended to designate 90 Harbour as a heritage building several years ago because of its “cultural heritage value” as “a representative example of a mid-20th Century office building that blends features of the three prevalent styles of the period.” As a “reasons for listing” document explained: “While the symmetry, cladding and profile reflect Modern Classical styling, the stepped plan and vertical elements recall Art Deco and the band windows are identified with the Art Moderne. All three styles were introduced in the 1920s and remained popular until the International Style or Modern Movement gained acceptance in the 1960s.” However, the City could not proceed with the heritage designation because it did not have authority, under Ontario law, to impose such a designation on provincial government property. The City subsequently withdrew its notice of intention to designate, and issued a demolition permit on February 14 2011.

So what’s in store for 90 Harbour? I wasn’t able to find out today if any parts of the facade or other building elements will be saved, or if the building will be demolished completely. However, the ad on the Ontario Realty Corporation website does state that “Proposed development scenarios and designs have continued to retain heritage elements of the existing structure.” The website also points out that the property has “excellent” potential for commercial and residential development and is bound to “build off the success of established and proposed commercial and residential developments along the Harbourfront” as well as the new “office and residential projects immediately to the north.” I will follow up once I learn of any development plans for the site.

Below is an aerial photo that appears on the Ontario Realty Corporation website flyer for 90 Harbour, showing the property’s location in downtown Toronto, along with some of my own recent photos of the building.

 

aerial photo of 90 Harbour Street Toronto

 Ontario Realty Corporation website photo showing the location of 90 Harbour Street between Harbourfront and the Gardiner Expressway

 

90 Harbour Street

July 1 2011: 90 Harbour Street seen from the intersection of York Street and Lake Shore Boulevard, looking to the northeast

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

June 22 2011: A for sale sign posted outside the property on York Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

June 22 2011: Looking north from the parking lot on the west side of 90 Harbour Street toward the PwC office tower at 18 York Street (left) and the Maple Leaf Square condo/office/retail/restaurant/hotel development

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto parking lot

June 22 2011: To the south of 90 Harbour are the Waterpark Place office towers (left), the 33 Harbour Square condos (center) and the 55 Harbour Square condos

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

 July 1 2011: 90 Harbour viewed from York Street, looking east. The two condos in the background are the Pinnacle Success Tower and the 33 Bay Residences at the Pinnacle Centre, both on Harbour between Bay and Yonge Streets.

 

Toronto Harbour Commission building

February 18 2011: The Toronto Harbour Commission building at 60 Harbour Street on the east side of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street

July 1 2011: The CN Tower and Maple Leaf Square condo towers rise behind 90 Harbour, viewed here from the parking lot on the east side of the building

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking east along the front facade of 90 Harbour Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: The dilapidated condition of the front lawn and wheelchair entrance created an eyesore outside an otherwise attractive building

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: A “for sale” sign outside the building’s former main entrance

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: Broken windows on the front facade of 90 Harbour Street

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: The building’s 3-storey west wing and the 5-floor center section.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: A view of the west wing from the Harbour Street sidewalk

 

90 Harbour Street parking lot in Toronto

 July 1 2011: Looking toward the CN Tower from the west parking lot

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 1 2011: 90 Harbour viewed from the corner of York St. and Lake Shore Blvd.

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Security fencing along the northeast perimeter of the property

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: Demolition activity at the west wing of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Demolition machine working beside the west wing of 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011: Water sprays control dust during demolition activity at 90 Harbour

 

90 Harbour Street Toronto

July 17 2011:  Water sprays control dust from the huge pile of rubble

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: Only one demolition machine was working on the site today

 

90 Harbour Street

July 17 2011: A closer look at the two gaping holes in the wall of the west wing