Category Archives: Heritage & Historic buildings

Work gets underway preparing Yonge-St Joseph site for construction of 45-storey FIVE condo tower

FIVE Condos, depicted at dusk in this illustration provided courtesy of Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects, will become a landmark for the Yonge-Wellesley area.

April 22 2011: A St Joseph Street view of the FIVE Condos development site

April 27 2011: Soil testing and utility service locating activity on St Nicholas Street, the western flank of the FIVE Condos construction site

High FIVE: The block to the northwest of Yonge and Wellesley Streets is set to become downtown’s newest condo construction zone, as crews begin preparing the site for FIVE Condos at 5 St Joseph. For the past two weeks, contractors have been conducting soil tests on the project site perimeter, while on Tuesday workers began locating and marking utility service entry points to the property, including gas, sewer and power lines. Yesterday and again today, St Nicholas Street was closed to traffic between St Joseph Street and Phipps Street as crews conducted more preliminary work along the northwest flank of the FIVE Condos location and continued demolishing the interior of some of the buildings on site. That section of St Nicholas Street could remain closed to vehicles and foot traffic for up to four years — the time it’s expected to take to construct FIVE’s 45-storey tower, heritage lofts and street-level retail spaces.

I wish construction wasn’t going to take so long, because I’m anxious to see not just how the FIVE tower will appear on the city skyline, but also to see if I’m right in predicting that this significant mixed-use development project could kick-start a much-needed renewal of the worn and weary Yonge Street strip between Wellesley and Bloor Streets.

FIVE is an intriguing project that will transform a large L-shaped piece of property fronting on St Nicholas Street to the west, St Joseph Street to the north, and Yonge Street to the east. There are three heritage buildings on the site — the Rawlinson Cartage buildings at 610 and 612 Yonge Street, and the William Doherty building at 614 Yonge street — along with other historically noteworthy structures including Rawlinson warehouse buildings at 5 St Joseph and along the east side of St Nicholas Street.

I must admit I felt dismayed when the FIVE project was publicly proposed three years ago, and not just because it meant my favourite gym would eventually be closed (I used to work out at a fitness club that occupied three floors of the Rawlinson building on St Joseph; it was a wonderful, incomparable space for a gym, and I was sorry to learn it was going to become loft condos). Word on the street at the time suggested that most of the heritage buildings between Yonge and St Nicholas would have to be razed to make way for a modern glass and steel tower. I dreaded the thought that the wonderful brick buildings might be demolished, since that would totally destroy the neighbourhood’s charm, ruin the look and feel of the narrow brick-paved St Nicholas laneway, and sadly eliminate some charming old buildings from the streetscape along Yonge. But I was hugely relieved once I saw that Hariri Pontarini Architects had sensitively designed the condo development around the heritage buildings, and wasn’t going to take away the things I love most about this particular area. Now I’m actually looking forward to the construction. I think that FIVE will not only breathe new life into a big block of historic buildings, but could also reinvigorate the surrounding neighbourhood, and perhaps even exert a positive influence on further thoughtful development along the Yonge Street strip.

With distinctive curving glass balconies, the 45-storey FIVE condo tower will establish a visual landmark and focal point for the Yonge & Wellesley area. The refurbished facades for the re-purposed historic buildings will become landmarks in their own right, preserving and enhancing the neighbourhood’s charm and character while demonstrating that development doesn’t always require the destruction of old buildings. FIVE could be a trailblazing project, showing the city and developers how to blend new residential highrises into older, low-rise buildings along a major commercial thoroughfare without spoiling the unique look and feel of the streetscape. My key hope is that the city will ultimately pedestrianize St Nicholas to complement the cafés and boutiques envisioned for FIVE’s street level; a European-style promenade with outdoor café seating would be a perfect enhancement to the neighbourhood. (5ive, a gay dance bar that formerly occupied the ground floor of 9 St Joseph,operated a café and bar on the tree-shaded boulevard in front of the building for a few summers in the early 2000s. It would be great to see the northwest streetcorner at the FIVE complex come alive with something like that once again.)

For the next several years, though, I’ll have to wait and watch while FIVE goes up. That should be equally interesting to follow. While crews dig a 19-meter-deep excavation on the construction site, the five-story facade of the Rawlinson building on St Joseph Street will have to be preserved and maintained. That means a steel support structure must be erected on the street to hold the wall in place. Although the five-storey west wall of the historical building on St Nicholas Street will be dismantled to allow for construction of the FIVE tower, it will be rebuilt. Since the developer needs construction staging areas, on-street parking spaces must be removed from the south side of St Joseph; meanwhile, the narrow (5.5-meter wide) stretch of St Nicholas between St Joseph and Phipps Street must be closed altogether for the duration of construction. The street closures and parking space removals could cost the developer $216,000 in fees payable to the city, full details of which are outlined in a March 30 2011 city report.

Below are recent photos I’ve taken of buildings on and around the FIVE development site, along with renderings provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects that suggest how the Yonge, St Joseph and St Nicholas streetscapes will appear once the heritage buildings and facades have been restored and rebuilt into the condo complex. Additional renderings, including images of the FIVE tower from four different perspectives, can be viewed on the St Joseph + Yonge project description page of the Hariri Pontarini website.

From a background file on the City of Toronto website, a Transportation Services diagram shows street closures required for the construction of FIVE Condos

The development proposal sign that was posted outside 5 St Joseph Street, seen here in December 2008. The original plan proposed a 49-storey tower, but a 45-floor tower will be built instead.

December 19 2008: The former Rawlinson Cartage building at 5 St Joseph Street

The FIVE Condos site at the southwest corner of Yonge and St Joseph Streets seen during a snowstorm on December 19 2008

March 1 2009: Neighbourhood opposition failed to stop the development

April 19 2010: A view of the southwest corner of Yonge and St Joseph Streets. A long advertising banner indicates the Yonge Street properties that are part of the FIVE Condos development site

April 19 2010: The FIVE Condos site on the south side of St Joseph Street just west of Yonge Street

April 19 2010: Banners advertising FIVE Condos on the facade of the former Rawlinson Cartage building at 5 St Joseph Street

April 19 2010: Street-level view of the former Rawlinson Cartage building

April 19 2010: Looking west on Dundonald Street toward the FIVE Condos site

December 4 2010: Looking south on St Nicholas Street at the west side of the FIVE Condos site. This brick facade will be dismantled and rebuilt.

December 4 2010: The west side of the FIVE Condos site viewed from the southwest corner of St Nicholas Street and Phipps Street

December 4 2010: The west side of the FIVE Condos site viewed from Phipps Street looking north along St Nicholas Street

December 4 2010: The west side of the FIVE Condos site, looking north along St Nicholas Street from the corner of Phipps Street. This part of the project site will be transformed into street-level retail space (see below).

This rendering, provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects, suggests how dramatically St Nicholas Street will be transformed with the addition of street-level retail space in the FIVE Condos development

December 4 2010: This passageway through one of the buildings on the FIVE Condos site leads from St Nicholas Street to a laneway behind Yonge Street

March 12 2011: A view of what’s at the east end of the passageway, looking toward the back of several buildings that front onto Yonge Street.

March 12 2011: Looking north from the laneway behind St Nicholas and Yonge Streets. The FIVE Condo tower will rise 45 floors from this location.

December 21 2010: Looking east on Phipps Street (behind the Sutton Place Hotel) toward the FIVE Condos development site

December 21 2010: A view from Phipps Street of one of the St Nicholas Street buildings on the FIVE Condos development site

December 21 2010: The Shred Central skate park at 19 St Nicholas Street was the city’s last indoor skateboard facility. It closed in January to make way for the FIVE Condos construction. The park’s closure, after 13 years of operations, made the news in the December 3 2010 issue of the Globe and Mail.

December 21 2010: St Nicholas Street view of the three-storey building at the south end of the FIVE Condos development site. The five-storey brick building at far right is not part of the FIVE project.

December 21 2010: Street-level view of the west wall of the FIVE Condos site on St Nicholas Street, just below St Joseph Street

December 21 2010: Looking up at the St Nicholas Street facade

December 21 2010: Fire stairs on the St Nicholas Street facade of the Rawlinson Cartage building at 5 St Joseph Street

April 9 2011: The southwest corner of Yonge & St Joseph Streets

April 9 2011: Three of the Yonge Street properties included in the FIVE project

April 9 2011: More of the Yonge Street properties that are part of the FIVE project

This rendering, provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects, illustrates how the Yonge Street buildings and storefronts will be incorporated into the FIVE Condos project

April 19 2011: The Eleven Residences condominium building at 11 St Joseph Street was originally another historic Rawlinson Cartage building. When the building was redeveloped into a residential highrise in the early 2000s, its facade was dismantled and reassembled — as will be the case with the facades for the buildings where FIVE Condos will rise.

April 22 2011: A St Joseph Street view of the Five Condos site

April 22 2011: Southeasterly view of the 5 St Joseph Street building and the development site along the east side of St Nicholas Street

This rendering, provided courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects, offers a St Joseph Street view of the FIVE Condos development

April 22 2011: The entrance to the FIVE Condos presentation and sales centre at 5 St Joseph Street. The street level premises of this former Rawlinson Cartage building have been home to at least three gay bars: Katrina’s during the 1980s, Colby’s in the 1990s, and 5ive in the early 2000s.

April 22 2011: Buildings on the north side of St Joseph Street, directly across from the Five Condos site

Revitalizing Maple Leaf Gardens: from the rooftop to the basement, on the inside and out

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April 14 2011: A worker walks on the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens below a row of platforms that descend the building’s big white dome

Top to bottom, inside and out: Construction crews were tackling the giant Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project on three fronts today: on the roof, outside walls, and in the cavernous interior. But they still have a very long way to go before the inside begins to even remotely resemble the Loblaw grocery store and Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre that will occupy the historic building. My last glance inside the Gardens was late last month, when an open construction entrance gave me the chance to take a few photos which I published in a March 29 2011 post. When I passed the Gardens again today and got another peek inside two different construction entrances, I could see machines pumping concrete into forms for upper-level floors and walls, while crews removed segments of a disassembled construction crane from the building. But from those vantage points, it was difficult to tell if much progress has been made in the past three weeks; the interior didn’t look substantially different than last time. Progress has been more visible outside, where work is underway on the roof and on the Gardens’ facades along Church and Carlton Street, where holes are being knocked in the walls, presumably to create windows for the Loblaws store. Below are several pics of today’s revitalization activity.

Maple Leaf Gardens exterior wall work at the corner of Church & Carlton

Workers watch as a machine tears a hole in the Gardens’ SE corner

The wall was exposed last week; today it was being taken apart

The view inside the construction entrance at the Gardens’ northeast corner. Concrete is being pumped for the floor of the third level above street grade.

Construction equipment inside the north end of Maple Leaf Gardens today included an excavator (foreground), concrete pumper (center) and crane (right)

The north side of the Maple Leaf Gardens interior, along Wood Street

A concrete delivery truck and pumper wait their turn outside the Wood Street construction entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens

Construction vehicles on Wood Street outside Maple Leaf Gardens

Platforms descend the SE corner of Maple Leaf Gardens’ domed roof

7-storey luxury condo coming to East Annex street

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From the Hariri Pontarini Architects website, a rendering of the terraced condo building to be built at 10 to 14 Prince Arthur Avenue

Legal battles resolved: I don’t think W.C. Fields had condo development in mind when he cautioned: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” But people who saw great real estate potential in two prime East Annex properties seem to have heeded his sage advice. And despite more than a decade of rigorous and strong opposition, they’ve finally succeeded at winning approval to redevelop the site into condos. The lands in question are located near the edge of Toronto’s tony Yorkville district: 10 Prince Arthur Avenue, a 2-storey historic house that has sat vacant for more than two decades, and 14 Prince Arthur Avenue, a 4-storey office building with an Indian fine dining restaurant occupying the ground floor.

From 1998 to 2008, various applications to expand, alter and redevelop the adjacent properties were unsuccessful, for reasons outlined in detail in an April 23 2009 city planning department report. But in early 2008 a developer tried yet again, proposing a 19-storey mixed-use building for the site. City staff and area residents strongly the scale and other important elements of the building proposal, so the developer went back to the drawing boards and modified its plans. It returned with a new proposal for a 9-storey mixed-use building that would retain the historic house, but require demolition of the office and restaurant next door. Area residents and the city still objected with numerous planning concerns, while the Toronto Preservation Board recommended that the City refuse the developer’s application for non-compliance with East Annex Heritage Conservation District Plan guidelines. The developer appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, but the dispute settled during mediation in February of this year.

The end result is that the developer, Castlepoint, will be permitted to build a seven-storey structure with significant setbacks from the street and neighbouring properties. The luxury condo complex, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto, will incorporate the historic house at 10 Prince Arthur. “The listed structure will be kept intact, the exterior restored, and moved southward towards the road. This move will enhance the normalcy of a street that has been fractured by the variety of built forms. The large treed terraces raking the North side of the nine-storey building eases the transition between the traditional three-storey residential fabric to the North, and the high-rise buildings of Bloor Street and Avenue Road to the South and East,” the Hariri Pontarini website explains. Though legal battles over the properties have finally been resolved, there’s no word yet on when Castlepoint plans to commence construction.

Meanwhile, changes could be coming to the heritage building directly across the street at 17 Prince Arthur Avenue. According to Ward 20 Councillor Adam Vaughan’s website, developers want to build a 4-storey addition to the rear of the structure, currently used as commercial office space. “The building owners would also like to preserve and enhance the grass boulevard and trees in front of the building and add a pedestrian walkway to the west of the building, which would connect the Green P parking lot to the south with Prince Arthur Avenue. The four storey addition would be made of clear glass and zinc siding. A concern is that the addition would be visible just above the roofline. The developer and architect have met with representatives of the Annex Residents Association for initial community feedback on the design of the building and how concerns, such as the one above, might be addressed. A mechanical penthouse would be built at the rear and east side of the building. The architect proposed that it be clad in brick that matches the brick of the original building,” Councillor Vaughan’s website reports. No word yet on when an official application for that project will be presented to city planners. Below are recent photos of the two development sites and their immediate neighbours on Prince Arthur Avenue.

Development sign posted on hoarding outside 10 Prince Arthur Avenue

January 9 2011: 10 Prince Arthur Avenue, left, and 8 Prince Arthur Avenue. Number 8 is a city-listed historic house, currently used as offices.

January 9 2011: Formerly an apartment building, 14 Prince Arthur Avenue was converted into office space some years ago. The ground floor is occupied by an Indian fine dining restaurant, The Host.

March 24 2011: Looking northwest toward 8, 10 and 14 Prince Arthur Avenue. The highrise apartment building in the background is 20 Prince Arthur Avenue.

March 24 2011: The boarded-up historic house at 10 Prince Arthur Avenue, right, has been vacant for 20 years. It will be restored and incorporated into the new condo building, but will be relocated closer to the city sidewalk.

March 24 2011: Northeast view of 14, 10 and 8 Prince Arthur Avenue. The brick building to their rear is The Prince Arthur at 38 Avenue Road, a 24-storey luxury condo tower on the western edge of Yorkville.

March 24 2011: A view of 10 and 8 Prince Arthur Avenue

March 24 2011: Another view of 10 and 8 Prince Arthur Avenue

March 24 2011: Direct north view of 14 Prince Arthur Avenue

March 24 2011: Northeast view toward 14, 10 and 8 Prince Arthur Avenue

March 24 2011: On the left is an above-ground parking lot and entrance to the underground garage for the apartment building at 20 Prince Arthur Avenue

April 1 2011: This 22-storey apartment building at 20 Prince Arthur Avenue is a listed historic property. Designed by architect Uno Prii, the Neo-Expressionist building was constructed in 1965.

April 1 2011: Another view of the sweeping curves on the 20 Prince Arthur Avenue apartment building designed by architect Uno Prii

April 1 2011: Looking east from the front lawn outside 20 Prince Arthur Avenue

April 1 2011: Looking east from the city sidewalk outside 20 Prince Arthur Avenue

April 1 2011: West view toward the 10-14 Prince Arthur Avenue development site

April 1 2011: East view from the city sidewalk outside 21 Prince Arthur Avenue. The tall building at the end of the block, on the right, is the Park Hyatt Toronto Hotel at the southeast corner of Avenue Road and Prince Arthur Avenue.

April 1 2011: Southeast views toward 10-14 Prince Arthur Avenue

April 1 2011: 21-23 Prince Arthur Avenue. The Women’s Art Association of Canada has offices and a gallery in number 23.

April 1 2011: 21-23 Prince Arthur Avenue. The tower visible to the rear right is the new One Bedford luxury condominium at on Bloor Street.

April 1 2011: 17 Prince Arthur Avenue, left, the Museum House on Bloor condo tower on Bloor Street, center, and 21 Prince Arthur Avenue, right.

April 1 2011: A developer is planning to build a four-storey addition to the rear of the stately brick heritage house at 17 Prince Arthur Avenue, right.

April 1 2011: This building at 15 Prince Arthur Avenue is home to the Toronto offices for Brendan Wood International

April 1 2011: 9 and 11 Prince Arthur Avenue. Number 11 is occupied by Barristers Chambers, offices for a number of lawyers including prominent civil litigation specialist Clayton Ruby of Ruby & Shiller Barristers.

Another 32-storey condo tower for Charlotte Street

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A rendering, from the King Charlotte condo project website, of the 32-storey tower proposed for Charlotte Street in the Entertainment District.

Another jewel in Clewes’ crown: It’s only two blocks long, but Charlotte Street has been getting more than its share of attention from architects and condo developers. The little north-south street, which links Adelaide and King Street in the Entertainment District, already boasts two condo buildings — Glas Condominiums and The Charlotte — and is getting a third, with Charlie Condos currently under construction. The sales centre for a fourth — Langston Hall — has been open several years; however, that development seems to have stalled, with no signs that construction might start anytime soon. Now, Lamb Development Corp. and Niche Development have proposed a fifth condo project for the street — King Charlotte.

Designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance, King Charlotte would rise at 11 Charlotte Street, a three-storey brick warehouse building that has been converted into offices. A 32-storey point tower (including six-storey podium) soaring 114 metres high, King Charlotte would offer 232 residential units in 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom configurations, plus four levels of underground parking. Part of the ground-floor level would be used for “community space.” A 33rd floor rooftop terrace will be an “entertainment oasis” with an outdoor pool and all-day sun “that will blow your mind,” Lamb Development CEO Brad Lamb promises. The tower design is basically a series of different-sized boxes stacked playfully atop each other. “The retail box protrudes from the podium box, the tower box appears to teeter and overhang the podium box, and the oversized rooftop amenity box actually does overhang the tower box,” Lamb explains on the King Charlotte website.

Full details of the proposed project are provided in a February 28 2011 city planning department preliminary report which recommended a community consultation meeting be held to gather local input. That recommendation was approved in a March 22 2011 motion by the Toronto and East York Community Council; that public meeting should take place sometime later this spring. (Local councillor Adam Vaughan has already held one constituency meeting, in January, to discuss the project with area residents.) If approved by the City (which appears highly likely), King Charlotte would match Charlie Condos in floor count (32) and tower above the street’s existing condo buildings: Glas, a 16-storey midrise at 25 Oxley Street on the southwest corner of Oxley and Charlotte, and The Charlotte, a 14-storey condo completed in 2002 on the northwest corner of Oxley and Charlotte. (If Langston Hall ever proceeds, it will have 12 storeys plus a penthouse.)

Meanwhile, the King Charlotte website has been launched, signs advertising the project have been affixed to the exterior of 11 Charlotte, and a marketing sales campaign is in full swing. A “coming soon to King & Spadina” King Charlotte Condos flyer I received in the mail this week says prices start at $241,900 for a 1-bedroom unit, $327,900 for a 1-bedroom with den, $435,900 for a 2-bedroom, and $558,900 for a 3-bedroom suite.

Looks to me like Lamb and Clewes have another winner on their hands. Charlotte Street is an in-demand area for condo buyers (a friend of mine sold his condo on the street in mere days, for a hefty profit), and I’m sure this project will be another Entertainment District sales success. Below are photos, taken at various times over the past three years, of the King Charlotte site and its neighbours.

King Charlotte Condos development proposal sign

King Charlotte Condos website rendering of the outdoor swimming pool and terrace on the tower’s 33rd floor amenities area

November 29 2010: A view of 11 Charlotte Street; the CN Tower and the new condo M5V condo tower stand in the background. The King Charlotte building would, of course, block this Charlotte Street view of the CN Tower.

March 29 2011: A view of 11 Charlotte from the west side of the street

March 29 2011: The Mountain Equipment Co-Op store on King Street West will be King Charlotte’s next-door neighbour to the south.

March 29 2011: King Street view of the 11 Charlotte Street condo development site; the Mountain Equipment Co-Op store on King is the brick building at right.

March 11 2010: King Street West view toward Charlotte Street. The King Charlotte condo site is the white building with the turquoise sign on its roof (in the middle of the photo). The construction crane is building Charlie Condos at the corner of Charlotte and King; the Glas condominium midrise stands to its immediate north.

November 23 2010: Charlie Condos construction site and Glas Condos

March 29 2011: The Charlie Condos construction site, left, Glas condos, center, and The Charlotte condos on the west side of Charlotte Street north of King.

March 29 2011: Looking north on Charlotte Street toward Adelaide Street from outside the King Charlotte condo development site (right).

September 26 2008: The Langston Hall condo sales centre at the northwest corner of Charlotte Street and Adelaide Street West

September 26 2008: Adelaide Street West view down Charlotte Street towards the Langston Hall condo sales centre, The Charlotte Condos, and Glas Condos.

March 29 2011: The Capitol Building at 366 Adelaide Street West (also known as the Hobberlin Building, from 1920) faces directly down Charlotte Street.

March 29 2011: Adelaide Street view of the east side of Charlotte Street. The 8-storey brick building at left is the MacLean Building at 345 Adelaide Street West, a city-listed heritage property dating from 1914.

March 29 2011: This 4-storey brick warehouse building sits at 19 Charlotte, next to the King Charlotte site. It’s home to a billiard hall, restaurant and offices.

March 29 2011: 19 and 11 Charlotte Street, viewed from across the road

March 29 2011: Front view of the King Charlotte development site

March 29 2011: South side of the King Charlotte development site. A laneway runs between the building and the Mountain Equipment Co-Op store to the south.

Grocery store & Ryerson University sports centre gradually taking shape inside Maple Leaf Gardens

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Construction progress inside Maple Leaf Gardens on March 29 2011.

Under the big top: The enormous cavern under the big white domed roof of Maple Leaf Gardens keeps buzzing with construction activity. But there’s an awful lot of work remaining to be done before the interior of the historic hockey shrine starts looking like a grocery store and a university athletic facility. Latest word is that the Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization is scheduled for completion in December but — as is always the case with any construction project — that deadline isn’t cast in concrete and is always subject to change. In my February 2 post about the project, I mentioned what little construction progress I had been able to see when passing the Gardens while one of the construction entrance doors was open. I’ve since had a few more quick glimpses inside and today was lucky to have my camera with me when doors were opened to allow construction vehicles in and out of the building. I managed to snap a few photos which appear below, along with some other recent pics of Maple Leaf Gardens.

The interior arch on the west side of the hockey arena’s famous domed roof is visible above the spotlights. The new Ryerson University sports and recreation centre will occupy two floors under the dome. It will have an NHL-sized ice rink as well as a running track, basketball and volleyball courts, a fitness centre, gym and academic space. The university facility alone is costing more than $60 million.

Maple Leaf Gardens interior viewed from the northeast corner of the building

The revitalized Maple Leaf Gardens will become home to a 70,000 square foot Loblaw grocery store at street level, with one floor of underground parking below it (partly visible at the bottom of the photo).

This is a typical street view of the cavernous interior of Maple Leaf Gardens — a dark, dusty space buzzing with activity as the Loblaw corporation and Ryerson University transform the Gardens into a unique multi-purpose facility.

A concrete pumping truck slowly backs into the Maple Leaf Gardens construction entrance on Wood Street. Earlier this winter, a hole was knocked into the wall to create an extra entrance at this location.

It’s a tight squeeze, but the truck manages to ease inside in less than a minute

February 20 2011: Windows will eventually be installed for the grocery store

Wide windows along the Church and Carlton Street walls of Maple Leaf Gardens will create a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape

February 20 2011: The southeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens on Carlton Street

March 25 2011: Scaffolding above the Gardens’ Carlton Street entrance

March 25 2011: The boarded-up Carlton Street entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens

General sales starting soon for boutique condos on site of historic St Basil’s School in Yorkville

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The 83-year-old St Basil’s Catholic School building, site for the 36 Hazelton luxury boutique condo project, seen on March 24 2011…

…and on March 25, after a huge black banner was removed from the facade. The building sits on the west side of Hazelton Avenue just north of Scollard Street

This rendering, from the 36 Hazelton website, suggests how the luxury boutique condo complex will look once it is built on the St Basil’s schoolhouse site.

School’s out, condo’s coming: Exclusive VIP sales previews started last year, but a general sales presentation centre should be opening soon for 36 Hazelton, an exclusive seven-storey, 19-suite boutique condo building to be constructed on the site of the historic St Basil’s Catholic School in Yorkville. A project of Alterra Group and Zinc Developments, the 36 Hazelton development sparked considerable controversy in the Yorkville community when the proposal to redevelop the school property, a designated heritage site, was filed with the city several years ago. Area residents were alarmed by the developers’ plan to demolish most of the 83-year-old schoolhouse while retaining only its neo-Gothic facade on Hazelton Avenue. Residents worried that the height and density for the proposed 8-storey condo complex would look out of place on a street noted for its charming two- and three-storey Victorian houses. They also feared that City approval of the project would set a precedent that could endanger the Yorkville heritage district and put other historic buildings at risk of demolition and redevelopment.

In a March 2 2009 report to the Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) and the Toronto Preservation Board, city planners recommended that the developer’s application to alter the St Basil’s School building be rejected. And in a March 30 2009 report to the TEYCC, planners described the development plan as “inappropriate and out of context,” and recommended that it be refused. When the developers presented a revised proposal, the TEYCC deferred consideration of the refusal report at its meeting in April 2009, and asked city planners to review the new plan. In a June 12 2009 final report to the TEYCC, planners recommended that the revised building application be approved. The TEYCC was supposed to consider that report at its June 2009 meeting; however, that meeting was cancelled after municipal employees went on strike. In July 2009, the developer filed an appeal with the Ontario Municipal Board, but the dispute got resolved when the TEYCC, and then city council, approved the revised 7-storey project in the fall of 2009.

With a project sales centre set to open soon, a construction start is possible later this year or early in 2012. As 36 Hazelton goes up, it should quickly become apparent if area residents were correct in claiming that the project wouldn’t be an appropriate redevelopment for the location — and, of course, if it will be too big, and look too out of place, on the leafy, quiet street. I’ve walked around the area numerous times recently, trying to get a sense of how 36 Hazelton might change the neighbourhood. Hazelton Avenue is one of my favourite downtown streets, and I’d be sorry to see its character destroyed by development. But since most of the new condo building will be set back from the street, occupying what is currently a parking lot, it’s quite possible it could fit in rather nicely, especially since it’s situated at the north end of the tony Hazelton Avenue retail strip (rather than being plunked farther down the block between semidetached two-storey brick houses). However, even if 36 Hazelton does wind up being a suitable and attractive addition to the streetscape, I really would hate to see further development of low- or midrise condos elsewhere on the avenue. Below are photos I’ve taken of the St Basil’s School and other buildings and homes in its immediate vicinity, along with condo illustrations that have appeared on the 36 Hazelton website and an illustration, from a city planning report, showing the new building’s east elevation.

Website illustration of the 36 Hazelton boutique condo building

36 Hazelton website illustration of the St Basil’s schoolhouse facade, which will be incorporated into the new luxury condominium complex

An illustration showing 36 Hazelton’s east elevation

January 9 2011: The St Basil’s Schoolhouse dates from 1928. Access to a large parking lot behind the building is through a laneway on the left side of the school.

January 9 2011: The condo site is literally only a stone’s throw away from Yorkville’s chic Hazelton Lanes shopping centre

January 9 2011: Condo marketing signs and banners on the St Basil’s School site

January 9 2011: Passersby examine the illustrations on the 36 Hazelton billboards

January 9 2011: A large banner blocks most of the schoolhouse facade from view

March 24 2011: The north half of St Basil’s School

March 25 2011: The banner has been removed and the full facade is visible

March 25 2011: A closer view of the St Basil’s School facade on Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: St. Basil’s School viewed from the rear parking area. The Four Seasons Toronto hotel and condo tower, visible in the background, is under construction on Bay Street, just one block to the east.

March 25 2011: Another view of the schoolhouse from the rear of the property

March 25 2011: The Hazelton Lanes complex sits to the immediate west of the parking lot behind the St Basil’s School building

March 25 2011: Northwest view from the parking lot behind the schoolhouse

March 25 2011: Looking north from the parking area behind the school

March 25 2011: Parking lot view of the back of buildings next door to 36 Hazelton

March 25 2011: Parking lot view to the south. A walkway on the opposite side of the brick building leads from Hazelton Avenue into Hazelton Lanes

March 25 2011: Apartments at 40 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: St Basil’s School and 40 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The four-storey 40 Hazelton Avenue building next door to St Basil’s School. The 36 Hazelton condos will stand three storeys higher.

March 25 2011: The brick houses at 44, 46 and 48 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The west side of Hazelton Avenue, looking north from outside #56

March 25 2011: Looking south on Hazelton Avenue from outside #52

March 25 2011: The west side of Hazelton Avenue below Scollard St.

March 25 2011: Homes on the east side of Hazelton Avenue near 36 Hazelton

March 25 2011: Brick houses at 59, 57, 55 and 53 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: Looking southeast toward 55, 53, 51 and 49 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: 51 and 49 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The new Four Seasons Toronto tower looms behind the houses at numbers 53, 51 and 49 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: Numbers 45, 43 and 41 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: Yorkville’s upscale shopping district extends north to the buildings at 4, 43 and 41 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The Toronto Heliconian Club at 35 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The Four Seasons tower looming behind the Heliconian Club

March 25 2011: Toronto Heliconian Club and 33 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: 33 Hazelton Avenue at the northeast corner of Scollard Street

March 25 2011: The upper levels of 33 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: The northeast corner of Scollard Street and Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: Another view of 33 Hazelton Avenue

March 25 2011: Hazelton Avenue view to the northeast at Scollard Street

March 24 2011: Scollard Street, looking east from Hazelton Avenue towards the two Four Seasons Toronto hotel and condo towers under construction on Bay Street between Scollard Street and Yorkville Avenue.

Trump l’oeil: Eyes on Toronto’s Trump Tower

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Reaching skyward: In this view from the depths of the Bay Street skyscraper canyon, the 13-storey office building at 302 Bay Street (top) appears to rise almost as tall as the still-under-construction Toronto Trump Tower, which is around 50 floors high so far and climbing steadily on its way to 60 storeys. Originally the Trust and Guarantee Building, 302 Bay was built in 1917 but received a rooftop addition in 1929. The building now bears the Bank of Montreal name above its front entrance. On the left is the 51-storey Bay Adelaide Centre, Trump Toronto’s neighbour on the north side of Adelaide Street, built in 2009. Part of the 68-storey Scotia Plaza tower built in 1988 is visible at right and in reflection on the south side of Bay Adelaide Centre.

The Trump Tower made the news today in a Toronto Star article that gives an “exclusive peak” inside the Trump Hotel section of the skyscraper, which received an occupancy permit from the City last Friday. The hotel is scheduled to open later this spring. The newspaper article also profiles the tower’s 42-year-old billionaire builder, Alex Shnaider, and hails his “noteworthy accomplishment” of having “built the tallest residential tower in Canada — and the second tallest building in Toronto, after the CN Tower.” Seems the Star is jumping the gun: the Trump isn’t even as tall as the Bay Adelaide Centre yet, and it’s far from “built.” Moreover, when complete, it still won’t rise as high as 72-storey First Canadian Place, so Trump will have to settle for third-highest place on the Toronto skyline. Below are some pics I’ve taken of the Toronto Trump Tower this month.

March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump Tower construction

March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower viewed from Bay & Adelaide Streets

March 7 2011: Southwest view from Bay below Adelaide Street

March 7 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the southwest

March 7 2011: Nathan Phillips Square view of the Toronto Trump construction

March 7 2011: West view of Bay Adelaide Centre and Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: From left are the Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West.

March 7 2011: Trump Tower viewed from Bay Street outside First Canadian Place

March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West. The 27-storey bank building at the northeast corner of King & Bay Streets was constructed in 1951.

March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump construction

March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place

March 14 2011: When completed, the Toronto Trump Tower will stand taller than Scotia Plaza — when measured to the top of its spire. But Scotia Plaza’s roof will still be higher, as a diagram on skyscraperpage.com demonstrates.

March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and Scotia Plaza

March 22 2011: Scotia Plaza, Toronto Trump Tower and Bay Adelaide Centre

March 22 2011: Northeast view of the Trump Toronto from King Street West

March 22 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the northeast

March 22 2011: King Street view of the northeast corner of the Trump Toronto

March 22 2011: Toronto Trump Tower street level view from King Street

March 22 2011: Cement trucks at the tower’s King Street construction entrance

52-storey condo tower proposed for Grenville St. parking lot site near Yonge & College Streets

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A northwest view of the proposed condo tower site at 9 – 21 Grenville Street on March 12 2011. Toronto police headquarters is the blue-domed building at left. In the middle background is the 35-storey Murano north condo tower.

The condo development site viewed from Grenville Street, looking southeast, on March 12 2011. At left is the 2 Carlton Street office building; in the middle background are The Met condo towers on Carlton Street.

Grenville Street view of the development site, looking south on January 10 2011. The College Park office, condo and retail complex is just half a block to the south.

The proposed 52-storey condo building would tower above the northwest corner of Yonge and College Streets, seen here March 12 2011. The beige building at the left is The Gallery, a 27-storey apartment highrise at 25 Grenville Street.

Will Grenville Street grow up? What is now a side street parking lot near police headquarters could become the second-highest building in the Yonge & College area if Lifetime Developments gets City approval for its latest condo tower development proposal.

Lifetime wants to construct a 52-storey condo on the south side of Grenville Street, just a stone’s throw west of Yonge Street. The development is planned for properties at 9 – 21 Grenville Street, currently occupied by a parking lot and a three-storey brick heritage house.

Lifetime’s tower would rise 167 meters to the top of its penthouse-level mechanical facility, and would have 438 residential units in bachelor, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom configurations. Part of the heritage building would be incorporated into the condo complex and would hold 120 square meters of retail space. There would be five levels of underground parking for vehicles and bicycles.

The condo would rise in a prime downtown location less than a block from the Carlton streetcar route and the College station on the Yonge subway line. At 167 meters, it would become the neighbourhood’s second-tallest tower (the 75-storey Aura condo, currently under construction just one block to the south at College Park, will stand 264 meters).

9 Grenville’s height, which is more than 3.5 times as tall as city zoning presently allows for the area, is just one element of the proposal with which municipal planning officials and neighbourhood groups take issue. A background file prepared for the Toronto and East York Community Council lists 15 different concerns with the proposal, including height, density, parking, heritage and traffic impacts, mix of unit sizes and the building’s relation to the streetscape.

Meanwhile, the neighbourhood’s Bay Cloverhill Community Association identified numerous practical issues that it planned to raise at a community consultation meeting last month.

Below are building elevation and site plan drawings that had been submitted to the City planning department, along with recent photos I’ve taken of the proposed tower site and surrounding area.

Condo tower development proposal sign posted at 9 Grenville Street

North and east elevation drawings for the proposed condo tower

Site plan drawing for proposed 9 Grenville Street condo tower

Grenville Street view of the proposed tower site on November 15 2010

Grenville Street southeast view of the site on November 15 2010

The eastern half of the site, seen here on January 10 2011. The historic College Park building is visible on College Street just half a block south.

A January 10 2011 view of the heritage building at 21 Grenville St.

The designated heritage building at 21 Grenville Street, the John Irwin House, was built in 1873. The front half would be kept as part of the condo complex.

The development site viewed from the north side of Grenville St.

The parking lot where the tower would rise, seen here on January 10 2011

Wood Street westerly view toward the proposed condo site on March 12 2011. The 52-storey tower would rise directly in front of the beige apartment building, which has no windows on either its east or left walls.

Yonge Street view down Grenville Street on March 12 2011. From left are an office tower at College Park, a two-storey office building with an RBC bank branch, The Gallery apartment building, the 45-storey Murano South condo tower, the 16- storey Peregrine Co-Op apartments, and the 21-storey George Drew Building (the Ontario Coroner’s headquarters on Grosvenor Street).

Another view from Yonge Street toward the proposed development site

Looking west from the corner of Yonge and Grenville Streets

The 9 Grenville site viewed from the corner of Grenville Street and St Luke Laneway on March 12 2011

St Luke Laneway view of the proposed condo tower site, looking northwest

St Luke Laneway view of the site, looking to the west

The three-storey half of the heritage building would be incorporated into the condo development, but the rear half would be demolished.

Northeast view from the back corner of the parking lot at 9 Grenville.

The Peregrine Co-Op apartment building on the north side of Grenville St.

Front Street trees axed, median dug up as work starts on new Union Station subway platform

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March 7 2011: A row of mature trees has been chopped down, and what’s left of the Front Street median is being demolished and removed to facilitate construction below the road of a new Union Station subway platform

This photo, from the Waterfront Toronto website, shows the narrow platform and dingy interior of the existing Union Station subway stop

From the City of Toronto website, this artistic rendering suggests how the Union Station subway stop will look following construction of an additional platform

Another artistic illustration, from the Waterfront Toronto website, shows how the wider, new Union Station subway platform might look when work ends in 2012

Tree totallers: Work has finally begun on the Union Station Second Subway Platform and Concourse Improvements Project, but the early stages of construction are actually taking place above ground, on Front Street, where medians between Yonge and York Streets are being demolished and dug up. The long-awaited $90 million subway station expansion project is good news for the thousands of commuters and subway riders who pass through the extremely congested and ratty-looking TTC station each day — but bad news for dozens of decades-old trees facing the axe on Front Street to facilitate construction beneath the road. The trees eventually will be replaced, but most likely with the pathetically thin and weak saplings that the City typically plants on downtown streets — scrawny, sorry twigs that look doomed to struggle and then die within a year or two of planting.

The subway station improvement project has been in the works for more than 10 years, and commuters will be relieved to see the construction finally get going. The TTC undertook a feasibility study for the subway station expansion way back in 1999, and held an open house in June 2003 to present its plans to the public. “Union Station is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada, serving approximately 250,000 passengers each day,” the TTC website notes. Many of those passengers use the Union subway station, so overcrowding is common and traffic flow is terrible. But by doubling the size of the subway platform, the TTC will be able to move people through the station more quickly and more safely, while enabling the station to handle future passenger loads that are expected to increase tremendously, says a City of Toronto website page describing the subway project.

At present, one uncomfortably narrow center platform serves trains heading east on the Yonge subway line, as well as trains going west on the University-Spadina line. Once construction is complete, there will be wider, separate platforms for each direction. A new pedestrian corridor will allow people heading to the GO trains at Union Station to bypass the paid-entry area of the subway station, while connections to the Harbourfront Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system will be improved. The renovations also will provide full accessibility to all levels of the Union subway station, better traffic flow on the concourse level, and better access to the TTC fare lines.

The expansion couldn’t happen soon enough. As the Financial District’s most important and most popular subway station, Union has always been bustling with commuters heading to and from the surrounding office towers. Crowds travelling to sports, entertainment and convention events at the Air Canada Centre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Rogers Centre have made it even busier, while the condo and office building boom in the former railway lands area to the southwest have increased the traffic strain. With additional condo and office developments currently under construction, and even more buildings on the horizon for the East Bayfront and port lands areas, the subway station urgently required expansion just to handle the crush of additional passengers expected to use the LRT line, which itself is going to be extended.

Initial preparatory work, which included sewer relocation, began in June 2006 and finished in March 2008. Last year, the design phase of the project concluded and contracts were put out to tender. EllisDon Corporation won the contract in January and started work on February 23. Construction on Front Street is expected to last five weeks, while one more week will be spent removing the median on Bay Street between Front Street and the railway bridge. The project, which is being overseen by Waterfront Toronto but managed by the TTC, is expected to finish sometime in 2012.

Meanwhile, we might get word sometime this year on whether the City might proceed with plans to give Front Street a major facelift between Bay and York Streets. Reconfiguration of the block in front of Union Station, to make it more pedestrian-friendly and safe, has been considered in a number of city planning reports which are currently proceeding through environmental assessment studies. Among the concepts being considered to transform the street are the creation of a “grand civic plaza,” a mid-block pedestrian crossing, wider sidewalks and traffic lane reductions. Further information on some of the ideas being considered are outlined in a Changes to Front Street at Union Station July 2010 newsletter as well as on the Changes to Front Street at Union Station page of the City of Toronto website.

Below is a TTC website map showing the locations where work on the Front and Bay Street medians will be taking place during the next several weeks, along with some of my photos of the medians and demolition activity. There’s also a series of photos showing how Front Street looked last fall, between Bay and York Streets.

TTC website advisory about street construction on Bay and Front Streets

Median demolition on Front Street in front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

The new subway platform will be built below the roadway

Trees were chopped down first; here, the concrete median is being destroyed

Work will take place seven days a week for the next five weeks — from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and even on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Traffic is restricted during the construction, but at least one lane is being kept open in each direction throughout the work period

The trees that were destroyed eventually will be replaced; however, the city may decide later this year if it will pursue plans to transform this stretch of Front Street into a more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare

A new mid-block pedestrian crossing here is one option under study

Median demolition began in front of the hotel but will move eastward

Workers inspect the Front Street median between Bay and Yonge Streets

These trees near Yonge St. are destined to have a date with the axe, too

Looking west, from Yonge St., at the trees on the Front Street median

These trees, seen in November, were destroyed for the subway project

Front Street between Union Station and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

A view of the median across from the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

West view of the Front Street median outside the Royal York main entrance

A March 9 2010 view of the median from outside the Royal York Hotel

Union Station viewed from the Front Street median on November 9 2010

View toward Front Street and the Royal York from the front of Union Station

The sidewalks and road on Front Street could use a makeover and may get one — if the city ultimately decides to reconfigure the entire block

A view of Front Street between Union Station and the Royal York Hotel

Front Street median outside Union Station March 9 2010

Looking east along Front Street from York Street on November 29 2010

Will Chaz and a proposed new 64-storey tower turn Charles Street East into a condo canyon?

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West view down Charles Street from Church Street on February 23 2011. The Casa condo (rear left, 46 floors) and the Bloor Street Neighbourhood (BSN) condo (right, 32 storeys) soar high above all other buildings on the block.

A developer purportedly has plans to build a 64-storey condo tower on this location at 42 Charles Street East, currently a YMCA child care centre.

Too many towers? According to an old proverb, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. That’s supposed to describe the weather for a month that begins in the dead of winter but ends with the welcome arrival of spring. According to some Toronto real estate agents, however, there won’t be anything sheepish about this month at all. They’re fully expecting March to come in with a giant roar and keep on roaring — all the way through spring and for many months beyond. But the king of beasts whose arrival they are anxiously anticipating isn’t an animal, and doesn’t have anything to do with stormy weather. Instead, it’s a highrise building project for which the realtors are forecasting a fast and fierce storm of sales to condo-craving buyers eager to pounce on what’s being aggressively promoted as an incredible not-to-be-missed investment opportunity.

The project: a 64-storey condo tower that’s supposed to launch sometime early this month with spectacular gala preview sales events for VIP purchasers. The location: 42 Charles Street East, a property occupied by a nine-storey office building currently home to a YMCA child care (some years ago, it was more famous as the location of CTV headquarters and broadcasting facilities; back in the 1990s a developer — Harry Stinson, if I recall correctly — even proposed converting the building into condos, but that project never got off the ground). The developer: Cresford Developments, already a highly familiar presence on this block, having just recently built the Bloor Street Neighbourhood condo tower right next door at 38 Charles St. E. as well as the critically-acclaimed Casa Residenza Condominio tower across the street at 33 Charles East.

Interestingly, the city hasn’t approved a 64-storey tower for the site; in fact, as of this morning, the city’s development application and planning website didn’t even show any listings for 42 Charles East. But residents of Casa and Bloor Street Neighbourhood (BSN) have been buzzing about the condo tower project for weeks — especially BSN owners with east-facing suites who are pissed at the prospect of losing their views if a skyscraper gets built right next door. And dozens of “in the know” real estate agents have been hyping the project on their blogs and websites and even in videos posted on youtube.com, urging interested buyers to contact them ASAP for “exclusive” invitations to upcoming “preconstruction” VIP sales extravaganzas. Those agents have been quick to point out that units in Chaz on Charles, a 39-storey condo tower that’s going to be built directly across the road at 45 Charles East (currently the site of an eight-storey office building), have been selling briskly, and already earning impressive investment returns for their buyers. That’s great news for those agents and their lucky clients, of course. But is a 64-storey tower on the north side of the block, along with the new Chaz highrise on the south, going to be good for Charles Street, too? Will four towers crowded so close together in the middle of the block improve the immediate neighbourhood and nearby streets? Or could they encourage even more tower proposals for elsewhere on the block, ultimately creating a condo canyon on Charles?

I admit I’m not happy that Charles Street will be developed more densely. Although I’m not fond of BSN’s design, I’m glad it’s an L-shape that accommodates the charming Charles Court apartment building below it. On the other hand, I love Casa; it’s been one of my favourite downtown condo towers since it started construction in 2007 and then opened for occupancy last year. Its striking design is simple yet sophisticated, and I find it fascinating to watch how its streamlined windows and glass balconies change colour and texture under different sunlight and sunset conditions. But those two towers are enough for this block of Charles Street. Two more will be too many. Frankly, I’m not looking forward to seeing Chaz become Casa’s neighbour because I believe its close proximity will detract from Casa’s appearance, and I’m even more dismayed by the prospect of an even taller tower rising right behind them. Although the skyscraper cluster would undoubtedly create an impressive skyline, I fear a row of tall towers will spoil the streetscape and ruin what is presently a pleasant downtown residential street.

Since BSN and Casa were built, I’ve noticed a sharp increase in the volume of pedestrians and vehicles on the one-way road; the street feels particularly congested around the two condos because of the additional traffic from service, delivery, resident and visitor vehicles. Even the sidewalks feel too narrow. The tight feeling will only get worse once Chaz is built because its podium, regrettably, has been designed to “synch” with Casa’s, “adding significantly to the street wall,” to quote from the Chaz project website.

“Street wall?” Ugh. Sounds as bad as it will probably look and feel once it’s constructed. One of the redeeming features of the office building that Chaz will replace is its generous setback from the street; a taller new building with a podium closer to the sidewalk will likely make strolling down Charles Street as appealing as walking down Bay Street in the heart of the Financial District; in other words, not something you’d really want to do unless you had to do it. The skyscraper planned for 42 Charles will only make things worse. And if other developers jump on the “let’s build Charles Street” bandwagon, I think the low-rise apartment buildings and post office on the eastern half of the block will become targets for future highrise development. Last thing the neighbourhood needs is for Charles Street to become a busy, narrow and shadowy wind tunnel. Below are some of my photos of 42 Charles East and its neighbours which, I think, will help put the proposed developments and my comments about them in context. What do you think?

The Bloor-Yorkville skyline on April 4 2010. The Casa condo tower — still under construction, with the developer’s Cresford.com banner on its east penthouse level — already dominates the area. The BSN condo building stands at Casa’s right, blocking most views of The Bay office tower at Yonge & Bloor.

On this photo, shot today, I’ve marked my “guesstimate” of where Chaz and the 64-floor tower proposed for 42 Charles St. E. will stand on the skyline.

February 23 2011: This view from Charles Street West shows BSN and Casa towering above Charles Street just east of Yonge Street. The tower at center rear is the X Condo building at the northeast corner of Jarvis and Charles.

December 3 2010: Charles Street view of the south and west sides of BSN

November 1 2010: A west view of BSN and the YMCA building at 42 Charles Street East. If the rumoured 64-storey skyscraper goes up, it will soar high above BSN.

February 28 2011: Charles Court apartments and Bloor Street Neighbourhood

January 9 2011: BSN’s streetscape presence

February 12 2011: BSN and 42 Charles Street East

February 12 2011: 42 Charles Street East

December 3 2010: Looking up Casa’s sleek 46 storeys

December 21 2010: Southwest view of BSN and Casa

November 1 2010: BSN’s image reflects off Casa’s lobby facade

November 1 2010: Northwest view of Casa’s podium and the brick building that houses the Sanctuary Toronto ministry, to its immediate west

November 1 2010: Casa’s glass facade along Charles street, looking west

April 19 2010: A sidewalk-level perspective of Casa’s presence on Charles St.

November 1 2010: BSN reflects in Casa’s main entrance

October 3 2010: Casa’s facade reflects images of 42 Charles and BSN

August 29 2010: Another Casa reflection of 42 Charles and the BSN condos

February 28 2011: 42 Charles Street East

February 28 2011: Charles Street postal station next to 42 Charles St. E.

February 12 2011: Northwest view of the proposed condo tower site

February 23 2011: Hayden Street view of the rear of 42 Charles Street East and the east side of BSN. I don’t know if this parking area, used by the postal station next door, is part of the property on which the 64-storey tower may be built.

Another Hayden Street view of the rear of 42 Charles & BSN

February 23 2011: This brick house on Hayden Street sits in the northwest corner of the lot directly behind 42 Charles Street East and BSN.

January 10 2011: Hayden Street view of Casa, left, and BSN. Part of the building at 42 Charles is visible in the bottom left corner of the photo.

February 28 2011: The Chaz on Charles condo site at 45 Charles Street East

Another view of the Chaz site at 45 Charles Street East

January 29 2011: Isabella Street view of the Chaz condo site at 45 Charles St. E.

The 39-storey Chaz on Charles will tower above The Bromley apartment building on Isabella Street, seen here January 29 2011

February 28 2011: The Charlesview apartment building next door to the Chaz site

February 28 2011: An apartment building next door to the Charlesview

February 28 2011: The heritage houses at 62 and 64 Charles Street East

February 28 2011: The house at 66 Charles St. E., left, dates from the late 1880s

February 28 2011: The Manhattan apartments at the corner of Charles and Church

February 23 2011: Looking west on Charles Street from outside the Town Inn Suites at the southwest corner of Charles & Church

February 23 2011: This middle section of the block could become a virtual condo canyon once the Chaz on Charles condo highrise is constructed on the left, followed by another tower where the YMCA building sits on the right.

Historic Addison on Bay building reconstruction partially revealed at Burano condo site

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Part of the reconstructed Addison on Bay building was revealed this week when protective wrapping was removed from the facade on Grenville St.

This is how the building looked in September 2008 when it was being dismantled to make way for construction of the Burano condo complex

This artistic rendering from the Burano Condos website suggests how the reconstructed building will appear as part of the new condo complex

Addison’s back on Bay! The Addison on Bay Cadillac dealership closed four years ago, and the historic Addison building itself completely disappeared from the landscape during late 2008 and early 2009. But the building is right back where it had operated as a car dealership since 1925 — only now it’s going to have an entirely new life and function as part of the Burano luxury condo complex currently under construction.

The Addison showroom at 832 Bay Street was designated a historical property by the City in 1999. The dealership continued in business for another eight years after that, but finally shuttered its doors in the middle of March 2007. Despite its prominent, lengthy history downtown, the dealership was forced to close the Bay Street business because of “economic factors, including the increasing cost of maintaining a central downtown location,” dealership president Clarke Addison explained in a letter to customers. (Further details about the Addison site and the demise of the downtown dealership were reported in a Toronto Star story published on March 2, 2007.)

Though the downtown location ceased operations, the Addison car business continued — in Mississauga where, as Addison Chevrolet, it’s that city’s “youngest General Motors dealership.”

But the Bay Street property wouldn’t sit idle for long.

Addison had been operating not just the historically-designated showroom and a repair garage on the west side of Bay, between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets, but also a new and used car display lot on the east side of the street, also between Grosvenor and Grenville.

Lanterra Developments ultimately acquired the properties on both sides of Bay, and built the two-tower Murano condo complex on the east side. Since the summer of 2008, it has been building Burano on the west property. During the fall and winter of that year, the Addison showroom was dismantled so the site could be excavated for the condo tower. Once the foundation for the new complex had been built, reconstruction of the Addison building commenced.

Protective sheeting has blocked the facade from public view for the past three months, but a section of wrapping was removed from the Grenville Street wall of the structure late last week.

Below are some pics I took while the Addison building was being dismantled and then re-assembled. There’s also some pics of the newly revealed Addison facade on Grenville Street, along with other recent photos showing construction progress on the Burano condo tower. An album of Burano pics from the beginning of construction to this month can be viewed on the Photo Sets page of the blog.

October 13 2008: The Addison on Bay building gradually being dismantled

November 22 2009: Foundation work begins in the Burano condo excavation

May 2 2010: Addison building takes shape during reconstruction

May 2 2010: Another view of the Addison building reconstruction progress

July 26 2010: Grenville St. view of frame for new Addison building

November 9 2010: Rebuilding progress before the structure went under wraps

December 21 2010: Frame of building partly visible under wraps

February 9 2011: Murano tower, crane seen from College St. at University Ave.

February 9 2011: Burano viewed from Grosvenor Street near Surrey Place

February 20 2011: Burano construction progress viewed from College Street

February 20 2011: Burano viewed from southeast corner of Bay and Grenville

February 20 2011: The unwrapped Grenville Street facade viewed from Bay Street

February 20 2011: Reconstructed Grenville Street facade is exposed

Another view of the reconstructed Addison facade on Grenville

Aftermath of the big fires: Empty lot at 335 Yonge; 200 Wellesley undergoes major structural repairs

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Empty lot where heritage building once stood at 335 Yonge Street

Major structural repairs to three floors at 200 Wellesley Street East

Cleaning up: Two fires that made headlines four months apart have left their mark on downtown Toronto. The heritage building at 335 Yonge Street that was irreparably damaged in a fire early in January has been completely demolished; all that remains is an empty lot where the historic structure used to stand, and scorch marks on the walls of the 10 Dundas Street East entertainment complex and HMV store next door. The only good news — for drivers and pedestrians, anyways — is that the road and sidewalks should be re-opened for full regular traffic soon, for the first time since part of the brick facade of 335 Yonge collapsed onto Gould Street last April. Hoarding that surrounded the site was removed this week, and barricades that restricted vehicular and pedestrian traffic on the east side of Yonge Street should be dismantled shortly. What will become of the property now that the fire debris has been cleared away remains to be seen. Meanwhile, major structural surgery is being performed on the exterior skin of 200 Wellesley Street East as cleanup continues on damage from a September blaze that displaced hundreds of residents from their apartments. A three-storey-tall section of the building’s west wall has been cut away, and crews have been working for weeks on major repairs to at least three balconies. Looks like it will be many weeks, if not months, before several dozen residents will be able to return to their homes (most tenants have been allowed back in). Below are photos taken this week at each of the two fire scenes.

Yonge Street view of 335 Yonge Street fire site on February 3

Gould Street view of 335 Yonge Street on February 3

200 Wellesley Street East fire repairs on February 1

Work on massive Maple Leaf Gardens renovation project still largely hidden from public view

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Maple Leaf Gardens rendering from Ryerson University website

Landmark lives on: From the outside, there have been few signs that the iconic Maple Leaf Gardens hockey shrine is gradually being transformed into a multipurpose facility housing a giant grocery store and a university athletic centre. Last fall, scaffolding and green safety nets shrouded the east and south facades during brickwork and window replacement activity. For the past two months, crews have been busy working on utilities beneath the Carlton Street sidewalk and Church Street pavement at the southeast corner of the building. Over the same period, teams have been doing some roofing work atop the arena’s famous white dome. And the past two weeks, workers have been chiselling brickwork from a section of wall on the north side of the Gardens, along Wood Street. None of the work gives any indication that the storied, historic Gardens soon will be living a renewed life as a modern retail and recreation facility.

However, it’s a different story altogether if you get to peek inside the loading door at the northeast corner of the building whenever a cement or construction supply truck comes out or goes in. Over the past six months, I’ve had that opportunity a handful of times, managing to catch quick glimpses of the cavernous construction zone that’s largely hidden from public view. Unfortunately, I’ve never had my camera with me, so I haven’t been able to track the interior construction progress in photos. In November, I got a brief look inside while the construction workers were on their morning break. With beams of light streaming through the narrow, small windows on the Gardens’ upper walls, the dusty interior had an eerie, haunting atmosphere. The building was just a gigantic brick shell; the inside had been gutted, and the ground was being dug out to create an underground parking garage. I couldn’t see anything holding up the huge walls and vast domed roof, but assume there must have been some kind of support for all that weight. The last few times I peeked inside, it appeared that excavation work was nearly complete; meanwhile, forms several storeys tall were being assembled so concrete could be poured to build walls and floors for the 70,000-square-foot Loblaw supermarket that will occupy the ground level of the “new” Gardens. Just last week I got another look, and it seemed obvious there is an incredible amount of work still to be done to create the upper levels that will house the 150,000-square-foot Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre.

The Centre is a $60 million project for which the federal government is contributing $20 million under the Canada Infrastructure Stimulus Fund (the university and Loblaws are responsible for the rest). However, projects that qualify for stimulus funding must be completed by March 31 of this year — and there is clearly no way on earth the Maple Leaf Gardens transformation will be done in time. Certainly looks like an extension or exemption will be required here. I’m anxious to see work start on the building exterior — the installation of street-level windows for the supermarket, the pedestrian entrances to the two separate facilities, and of course the vehicle entrance to the underground lot. Project details are provided in a Ryerson University press release available at this link. The complexities of the Maple Leaf Gardens transformation are outlined in this article from the Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, while seven construction photos by The Globe and Mail‘s Fred Lum can be viewed at this link on the Globe website. Below are some of my photos of the Gardens exterior at different times over the past several years.

Southeast view of Maple Leaf Gardens on November 28 2008

Former Carlton Street entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens on November 28 2008

East wall brickwork and window replacement on September 4 2010

Scaffolding was removed from the east wall in early December 2010

New windows in the east wall along Church Street

Work crew atop the Maple Leaf Gardens domed roof December 21 2010

Exterior work on the west end of the Carlton Street facade December 26 2010

Ryerson University and Loblaws sign on the Church Street wall

Brick removal from the Wood Street wall on January 14 2011

Construction equipment along Wood Street on January 30 2011

Facade work continuing along Wood Street on January 30 2011

Maple Leaf Gardens viewed from Wood Street on January 30 2011

Government won’t protect Queen’s Park vista

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In several years, two Yorkville condo towers may be clearly visible in this College Street view of the Ontario Legislature building at Queen’s Park

Skyline scrap: The Ontario government will not take action to preserve views of the provincial Legislature building at Queen’s Park — a vista that heritage groups worry will be spoiled by construction of two condo skyscrapers planned for Yorkville.

Concerns about drastic changes to skyline views of Queen’s Park arose several years ago when a developer sought approval from the City to construct two condo towers on the Avenue Road site of the Four Seasons Hotel.

The Four Seasons is building a new flagship hotel and condo complex just two blocks away, at the corner of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue. Once it begins operations there, the developer wants to demolish the old Four Seasons tower (31 storeys) and replace it with two condo highrises (48 and 44 floors respectively).

City planners rejected the proposal, so the developer appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Heritage groups were outraged by the development plan, fearing that the skyscrapers would be visible poking up in the distance behind the gables of the Legislature building. The Speaker of the Legislature, Steve Peters, shared their concerns, and fought against the condo proposal on behalf of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario when the developer’s case went before the OMB.

The skyline scrap didn’t faze the OMB, which said the project could proceed because it was consistent with city and provincial planning policies. The Legislative Assembly sought leave to appeal its decision, but as I noted in a blog post last week, an Ontario Superior Court judge rejected the claim. With no further legal avenues left to challenge the developer, Mr. Peters called on the provincial government to take action to protect the Queen’s Park vista.

As reported in a Globe and Mail article on Saturday, however, the government won’t step into the fray.

“The courts have made a decision, and we respect the process that has been undertaken,” said a Cabinet minister’s spokesman. The Globe says that, with the province refusing to take action, “there is nothing blocking Menkes Developments, the real estate company behind the proposed condo towers, from going ahead with the project.”

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Menkes will ask its architects to develop a striking design for the proposed towers. If they’re going to be visible behind the Legislature, I’d rather they look a helluva lot more impressive than the existing Four Seasons and the 24-storey Renaissance Plaza condo tower, which already lurk in the distance behind Queen’s Park (see photo below).

This photo taken today shows towers in Yorkville, including the Four Seasons Hotel and the Renaissance Plaza condos (circled), just north of Queen’s Park.

Update: Demolition continues at Yonge St. fire site

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January 14: There’s very little left of the first floor of 335 Yonge

Remains of the day: Crews have demolished the top two floors of the heritage building at 335 Yonge Street that suffered extensive and irreparable damage in a suspicious fire on January 3, and are working to clear the rest of the site.

The fire marshall’s office has yet to report if it has determined what started the fire; however, a police criminal investigation is underway based on surveillance videos that showed a man entering the building and then leaving only minutes before the blaze broke out.

On January 26, city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam will meet with the building owners, local businesses, and officials from Ryerson University to discuss what will happen with the site.

Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail reported today that a contracting firm is suing the owners for allegedly not paying a $70,000 bill for work performed after part of the building facade collapsed last April. I’m sure there will be even more legal proceedings in the months ahead to determine what will happen with the property.

Local TV celebrity Marilyn Dennis smiles down on the ruins of 335 Yonge

Covered fence blocks street views of demolition at 335 Yonge

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Category Archives: Heritage & Historic buildings

Work gets underway preparing Yonge-St Joseph site for construction of 45-storey FIVE condo tower

Revitalizing Maple Leaf Gardens: from the rooftop to the basement, on the inside and out

7-storey luxury condo coming to East Annex street

Another 32-storey condo tower for Charlotte Street

Grocery store & Ryerson University sports centre gradually taking shape inside Maple Leaf Gardens

General sales starting soon for boutique condos on site of historic St Basil’s School in Yorkville

Trump l’oeil: Eyes on Toronto’s Trump Tower

52-storey condo tower proposed for Grenville St. parking lot site near Yonge & College Streets

Front Street trees axed, median dug up as work starts on new Union Station subway platform

Will Chaz and a proposed new 64-storey tower turn Charles Street East into a condo canyon?

Historic Addison on Bay building reconstruction partially revealed at Burano condo site

Aftermath of the big fires: Empty lot at 335 Yonge; 200 Wellesley undergoes major structural repairs

Work on massive Maple Leaf Gardens renovation project still largely hidden from public view

Government won’t protect Queen’s Park vista

Update: Demolition continues at Yonge St. fire site

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.