Above is a link to my February 2013 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album directly on Flickr and see full-size photos and captions.
Above is a link to my January 2013 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album directly on Flickr and see full-size photos and captions.
Above is a link to my December 2012 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album and see full-size photos and captions.
September 1 2012: Couture Condo’s east side, from Mt Pleasant Road
Glassing in: Window and cladding installation is nearly finished on the Couture Condominium tower under construction at 28 Ted Rogers Way (the northernmost block of Jarvis Street, just below Bloor Street). With glass balcony panel installation currently in progress, the tower exterior should look complete within a few weeks.
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November 4 2011: Looking up the west side of the Couture Condominium tower (center) from nearby Hayden Street. Now 21 storeys, Couture will soon overtake the 28-storey Residences on Bloor apartments to its north (left) and ultimately rise nearly as high as the 44-floor X Condominium tower to its south.
November 4 2011: Couture Condominium viewed from the southwest. Cladding installation has commenced on the second floor.
November 4 2011: Newly-installed grey cladding on the tower’s southwest corner
November 4 2011: Another view of cladding on the tower’s west side
Halfway up: The Couture Condominium tower continues its ascent half a block south of the intersection of Bloor & Jarvis Streets. When I passed by the project site last Friday, a construction supervisor told me that crews were working on the 21st floor — almost the halfway point for the luxury condo highrise. (The Couture website states that the tower will have 44 floors, but the supervisor and a construction worker both insisted the building will be topping off at 42. However, a September 2011 construction update on the website says “the project consists of a 2 level podium, from which the 42 storey tower emerges.” )
It won’t be long before Couture climbs higher than its next-door neighbour to the north, the 28-storey Residences on Bloor rental apartment building at 235 Bloor Street East. But it still has a few more months of construction to go before it begins drawing serious attention away from its next-door neighbour to the south, the 44-storey X Condominium Tower at 110 Charles Street East.
A highly successful project of Monarch Group, Couture is 97% sold with only 9 suites remaining for sale. They include a 558-square-foot, 1-bedroom 1-bath “Tokyo” unit going for $349,340, and a 665-square-foot 1-bedroom + den with 1 bathroom “Milan” suite on the second floor, listed at $360,990 on the project website. (Interestingly, when I last reported on Couture’s progress in a September 3 2011 post, I noted that the website had listed a slightly larger “Tokyo” suite for a considerably lower price — $292,490 for 590 square feet.)
Couture Condominium was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga.
Below are more photos from last Friday afternoon. Photos of Couture’s earlier progress can be viewed in my posts on September 3, June 23, March 5, and January 25 of this year.
November 4 2011: Looking up from Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street) at the X Condominium (left), Couture Condominium, and the Residences on Bloor (right)
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November 4 2011: Street-level view of Couture’s northwest corner, where the entrance to the tower’s underground parking garage is situated
November 4 2011: Looking up the tower from the northeast, along Ted Rogers Way
November 4 2011: Couture Condominium viewed from the northeast
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November 4 2011: Lower east side of Couture Condominium
November 4 2011: Couture hoarding along the west side of Ted Rogers Way
November 4 2011: Upper east floors (so far) overlooking Ted Rogers Way. Last Friday, construction crews were working on the 21st floor.
November 4 2011: Construction entrance at the site’s southeast corner
November 4 2011: Southeast view of Couture (left), and the 28-storey Residences on Bloor apartment buildings at the corner of Bloor & Jarvis Streets.
November 4 2011: Looking up the tower’s south side from the laneway between the Couture Condominium and X Condominium properties.
November 4 2011: Residents on the south side of Couture and the north side of X Condominium will be close enough to compare each others’ interior decorating tastes through their living room and bedroom windows
November 4 2011: Cladding on the second floor’s southwest corner suite
November 4 2011: Another view of the cladding on the southwest corner unit
November 4 2011: Glass panels above the balcony on the southwest corner unit appear to be tinted a substantially darker shade than the grey cladding
November 4 2011: West view of Couture and X Condominium
November 4 2011: West view of Residences on Bloor, Couture and X Condominium.
November 4 2011: Couture was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga, while X Condominium was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance
November 4 2011: The upper floors (so far) on Couture’s west side
November 4 2011: The exterior construction elevator rises only to the 10th floor, but the tower itself has reached 21 storeys
November 4 2011: The west side of Couture viewed from Hayden Street, outside the entrance to the Bloor Walk condominium building. Couture residents will have access to Bloor Walk’s indoor pool, which is situated between the two condos.
November 4 2011: Charles Street view of Couture rising to the north of X
November 4 2011: Another Charles Street view of Couture and X
November 4 2011: Southwest view of Couture and X
September 3 2011: Construction has begun on the 8th floor of Couture Condos, seen here in a southwest view of the tower’s rear side …
… and in this front view from Ted Rogers Way (Jarvis Street)
Couture climbs: Last time I reported on Couture Condominium in my June 23 2011 post, the building was beginning its climb above grade, with forms for some of the walls on the first floor being put in place. By the end of the first week of August the first two floors were poured, and by August 19 crews were up to the fifth floor. Now they’ve begun work on the eighth level, bringing them more than one-sixth of the way to the tower’s ultimate height of 44 storeys. Meanwhile, design elements of the tower’s two-storey podium and indented front facade have already become apparent.
According to the Couture Condominium website, the project is 97% sold, with only 11 suites remaining. They range from a 590 square foot 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom “Tokyo” suite for $292,490 to a 665 square foot 1-bedroom + den and 1 bathroom “Milan” unit for $360,990.
Couture Condominium is a project of Monarch Group. The slender glass tower was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga.
Below is a series of my photos showing Couture’s construction progress during July, August and so far this month, along with two building renderings from the project website.
From the Couture Condominium website, an artistic rendering of the sleek glass tower and its two-storey podium along Ted Rogers Way (Jarvis Street)
From the Couture Condominium website, an artistic rendering of the 44-storey tower designed by Mississauga’s Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc.
July 16 2011: First floor has been poured and construction starts on second level
July 17 2011: A view of Couture Condominium’s first floor construction from the east side of Ted Rogers Way (formerly known as Jarvis Street)
July 17 2011: Southwest view of Couture Condominium construction progress. The ground-level section of property behind the tower (left side of photo) will be a landscaped outdoor amenities area.
August 6 2011: Southeast view of construction starting on Couture’s third level
August 6 2011: Looking west at the front of the Couture tower. The glass building at upper left is Casa Condominium, two blocks west on Charles Street.
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August 6 2011: A view from Ted Rogers Way of Couture’s northeast corner. The entrance to the tower’s underground parking garage is located at this corner (it’s partly visible behind the two grey portable toilets).
August 6 2011: Couture’s two-storey podium takes shape. The black glass and steel tower to the south is the 44-storey X Condominium on Charles Street.
August 6 2011: Stacks of building materials at the building’s southeast corner
August 6 2011: Looking north at columns supporting Couture’s two-storey podium
August 13 2011: Couture construction viewed from the west on Hayden Street
August 13 2011: Southwest view as construction starts on the fourth floor
August 13 2011: A view of the first two floors on the tower’s south side
August 13 2011: Looking up the south side of the building
August 13 2011: Construction viewed from the building’s southeast corner
August 13 2011: Sidewalk view of the Couture Condos podium
August 13 2011: Looking to the south along the Couture podium
August 13 2011: Another view of the podium
August 13 2011: Construction forms on the podium’s east side
August 19 2011: Couture viewed from the southwest. In several months, the tower will rise above the 28-storey concrete apartment building to its north.
August 19 2011: Southwest view as construction starts on the fifth level
August 22 2011: A view of the northeast corner of Couture
September 3 2011: Couture Condos viewed from the southeast on Ted Rogers Way
September 3 2011: Looking up eight floors from the tower’s southeast corner
September 3 201: Street-level view of Couture’s southeast corner
September 3 2011: Looking up at the building’s southeast corner
September 3 2011: Couture podium viewed from the southeast
September 3 2011: Couture billboard inside the hoarding along Ted Rogers Way
September 3 2011: Looking to the south along Couture’s two-storey podium
September 3 201: Columns on the east side of Couture’s podium
September 3 2011: X Condominium looms large to the south of Couture
September 3 2011: The indented center section of Couture’s east facade
June 22 2011: Forms for first floor walls stand in place as construction of the Couture Condominium tower climbs above street grade (seen here looking north from street level behind Couture’s neighbour, X Condos).
June 22 2011: Concrete walls for the first floor rise above the street near the tower’s northeast corner and right beside the construction crane
June 22 2011: A view of first floor construction progress, looking to the northeast
June 22 2011: First floor takes shape near the building’s northeast corner
June 22 2011: X Condos looms to the south as Couture’s first floor rises
Couture’s climb: Just weeks ago there was still a huge hole in the ground where the Couture Condominium tower has been under construction. Now that the underground levels are almost finished, the tower is pushing above grade, and walls for the first floor of the 44-storey skyscraper are taking shape. Passersby will no longer have to peer into a large pit to watch the tower’s progress — it’s all straight up from this point. Below is a series of photos chronicling Couture’s construction progress at various times this spring.
April 22 2011: The foundation’s southern third slowly fills in …
… by June 5 2011, it has made great strides in catching up …
… and by June 22 2011 most — but not all — of the foundation is finished
April 22 2011: Foundation viewed from the southeast corner, looking north …
… by May 1 2011 crews haven’t yet made tremendous progress on the SE corner …
… but on May 31 2011 they’re placing forms for the first floor concrete pour …
… and by June 22 2011, the corner has filled in right up to street level
May 1 2011: This view from the southeast corner shows how much work remains to be done on the foundation’s southern section …
… but by June 22 2011 most of the foundation has filled in up to grade
May 1 2011: Looking to the southwest, wall forms are seen approaching grade …
… and by June 22 2011 forms begin to rise high above the street
May 1 2011: Looking south at foundation progress at the front of Couture, along Ted Rogers Way (a.k.a. Jarvis Street) …
… by June 22 2011, the stretch of property along Ted Rogers Way is fully filled in
April 22 2011: Four underground levels visible from the site’s southeast corner
April 22 2011: Looking north across the center of the construction site
April 22 2011: Looking north across the west side of the site
April 22 2011: The view from the site’s southwest corner
April 22 2011: Looking across the site toward Ted Rogers Way
April 22 2011: The southeast corner has a lot of catching-up to do
April 22 2011: Looking west across the southern third of the Couture site
May 1 2011: Underground floors on the southern section slowly start to fill in
May 1 2011: Looking down into the southeast corner of the foundation
May 31 2011: Forms being put in place to prepare for concrete pour for the street-level main floor
May 31 2011: Another view of grade-level work on the northern third of the site
June 5 2011: Most of the foundation starts closing in on street level
June 5 2011: Looking across the Couture foundation from the southwest corner
June 22 2011: Looking south along Ted Rogers Way as Couture starts climbing above the street
June 22 2011: Looking west across the northern third of the Couture site
June 22 2011: Looking northwest from Ted Rogers Way
June 22 2011: Street-level floor nearly complete at the south end of the site
June 22 2011: The southwest side of the building isn’t completely at grade yet
June 22 2011: Part of the first underground level remains to be closed in
February 8 2011: A Caterpillar 321C excavator digs at the top of a tall pile of earth in the southeast corner of the Couture Condos excavation site on Ted Rogers Way in the Bloor/Jarvis neighbourhood.
February 8 2011: Foundation construction for the 44-storey condo tower proceeds on the northern two-thirds of the project site while excavation continues on the southern section, next to the X Condos tower.
February 16 2011: The huge mound of earth doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller
March 16 2011: The pile of earth in the southeast corner has shrunk considerably, and foundation construction has commenced at the southwest corner of the site.
March 16 2011: The Cat excavator sits at the P4 level of the Couture site — the lowest parking level for the highrise condo building.
March 24 2011: The Cat excavator gets a helping hand from above the day after a late March snowfall.
April 2 2011: The excavation is nearly complete in the southeast corner as P4 foundation construction approaches the Cat excavator.
April 22 2011: With the excavation finished in the southeast corner, construction of the rest of the P4 level foundation proceeds quickly.
Couture Condos foundation construction progress on February 28 2011
Filling in: Winter weather has made it challenging for construction crews to stay on schedule, but the Monarch Group says it is pleased with building progress on the underground levels of its Couture Condominium tower going up at the corner of Charles Street and Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street).
If everything goes according to plan, construction should reach street grade by early June, Monarch’s High-Rise Division director of customer care, Ian H.H. Johnson, says in the condo project’s February newsletter. He said construction workers have finished shoring the perimeter of the site, and are now starting to remove the temporary ramp on the south side of the tower excavation.
“This will allow us to continue with footing installations, in order to complete the rest of the P4 level, which is the lowest parking level. The forming of columns, walls and concrete slabs is ongoing in stages, with the P4 mostly complete, the P3 level roughly 50% complete, and work starting on the P2 level.”
Below is a Couture website rendering that suggests how the 44-storey glass tower will look once construction is complete, along with photos I shot in February of progress on the tower foundation.
Website architectural rendering of the Couture Condominium tower
February 8 2011
February 8 2011
February 8 2011
February 8 2011: Excavation ramp removal begins
February 8 2011: Excavation ramp removal
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011: Construction work at the east side of the tower site
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011: Crews installing floor forms at the west end of the site
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011
February 16 2011: Workers set rebar on the forms to prepare for concrete pour
February 23 2011
February 23 2011
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February 28 2011
February 28 2011
February 28 2011
Couture Condos underground levels taking shape on January 24 2011
Frosty foundation: Their work keeps getting covered with snow, but contractors keep carrying on constructing Couture Condos at 28 Ted Rogers Way (the northernmost block of Jarvis Street between Charles and Bloor that was renamed in late 2009 in honour of the deceased media mogul; the Rogers Communications headquarters sit directly across the road). Designed by Graziani + Corrazza Architects Inc. and developed by Monarch Group, Couture will be a 44-storey glass tower wedged between a 30-year-old, 27-storey beige concrete apartment building and the new, recently-occupied black glass and steel X Condominium tower, itself 44 floors tall. Contrary to what the highrise development listing on the Monarch website has indicated for months, the Couture location is NOT in Etobicoke; I wish someone from Monarch would get around to correcting that glaring geographical mistake. What’s not mistakable is that Monarch picked a hot, in-demand downtown neighbourhood for its building. Besides X Condos, there are three other new condo towers within two blocks of Couture: Casa Condominium, Bloor Street Neighbourhood, and James Cooper Mansion Condos. And just a stone’s throw south, construction is set to start on the X2 condo tower. With even more condo projects proposed for the immediate vicinity, Couture will certainly stand in good company when it’s finished. While I’m not thrilled with the building’s boxy design, I’m convinced it will significantly liven up and greatly improve the streetscape — the site used to be a parking lot, and the whole Jarvis/Charles area has a rather uncomfortable and “dead” feel at night. That will definitely change with hundreds of residents going to and from Couture. But I’m more concerned about the tower’s potential wind tunnel impact on this part of Jarvis Street, which I walk at least once a week. Since X Condos has been built, I have noticed that winds blowing down upper Jarvis Street have become more powerful — there are more of those sudden, strong gusts that suck the air out of your lungs, or wrench your umbrella from your grip on rainy days, than I recall from the days before X. Once Couture is up, along with X2 half a block away, upper Jarvis Street might look great, but the canyon created by all the highrises could make it far from friendly to pedestrians. Below are renderings of Couture from the developer and architect websites, along with photos I’ve snapped showing recent progress on foundation construction.
Couture condo tower rendering from the developer’s website
Couture Condos foundation work on January 9 after a light snowfall
Couture Condos foundation work on January 9 after a light snowfall
Couture Condos foundation work on January 10
Couture Condos foundation work on January 10
Couture Condos foundation work on January 10
Construction crane on Couture Condos building site January 24 2011
Construction crane on Couture Condos building site January 24 2011
Couture Condos construction progress viewed through a safety fence along the rear grounds of X Condos on January 24 2011
Couture Condos construction progress on January 24 2011
No workers on site January 24 because of the bitter cold temperatures
Couture Condos construction progress on January 24 2011
Couture Condos tower renderings from the building architects’ website
