January 10 2013: Looking up from the University Avenue median at construction progress on the RCMI Residences tower at 426 University Avenue

Approaching 30: Won’t be much longer before construction of the RCMI Residences condo tower starts to soar above Zurich — the Zurich Insurance Canadian headquarters at 400 University Avenue, that is.

When I passed by the RCMI Residences building site this afternoon, workers told me that tower construction is now up to the 29th floor, on its way to 44.  (I am certain they were mistaken about the final floor count; the project was approved on October 26 2009 by Toronto City Council on the basis of a September 18 2009 city planning report for a proposed 42-storey mixed-use building.)

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August 25 2012: The RCMI Residences condo building on University Avenue below Dundas Street has climbed above 10 floors on its way to 42

August 25 2012: Simcoe Street view of the west side of the slender tower

This artistic rendering of the RCMI Residences tower once appeared on the website for its developer, Tribute Communities. It shows how the condo tower will compare to neaighbouring office highrises and hospitals on the west side of University Avenue

RCMI on the rise: Now that construction has climbed more than 10 floors, the condo tower being built on the site of the historic Royal Canadian Military Institute is beginning to make a big visual impact on University Avenue.

RCMI Residences will rise 42 storeys at 426 University Avenue, just below Dundas Street, and will tower above the adjacent office buildings to its north and south. The 312-unit building will include new facilities for the military institute on its first six floors, and will incorporate the rebuilt heritage facade of the RCMI’s 100-year-old headquarters, which had to be dismantled in 2012 to make way for condo construction.

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