Category Archives: Bloor-Jarvis neighbourhood

Couture condo construction climbs to 8th floor

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.

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

Couture condo tower begins climb above grade

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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

City Scene: Four new towers in north downtown

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June 21 2011: A Broadview Avenue view of four new glass and steel towers that rise high in the Bloor-Yorkville area. At far left is Casa Condominium; in center are X Condos and James Cooper Mansion Condos; at far right with the construction crane is the Toronto Four Seasons Hotel & Residences.

City Scene: The keys to X Condos

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April 22 2011: Lockboxes containing keys to units for sale at X Condos

Keys to your next condo: Looking to buy a condo in the Bloor-Jarvis area? You’ll have lots of options on Charles Street East, where at least 23 suites are currently up for resale at the X Condos tower alone. The photo above, taken at X Condos on Good Friday, shows real estate agent lockboxes containing keys to units listed for sale in the building.

The 44-storey condo tower is situated at 110 Charles Street East, on the northeast corner of Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street). The lowest-priced unit listed on the mls.ca website on Friday was $319,900 for a 545-square-foot 1-bedroom on the 17th floor. The most expensive listing was $918,000 for a 2-bedroom plus den with three bathrooms on the 40th floor. Most suites are priced in the $400,000’s.

If you’re not interested in X Condos, but want to live in the same neighbourhood, there’s still plenty of choice: Couture Condos is under construction right next door, while X2 Condos is starting construction right across the street.

City Scenes: Digging itself into a deep hole

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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.

Pit Stop: Work starts on Couture Condos P2 level

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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: Excavation ramp removal begins

February 8 2011: Excavation ramp removal

February 16 2011

February 16 2011: Construction work at the east side of the tower site

February 16 2011

February 16 2011: Crews installing floor forms at the west end of the site

February 16 2011

February 16 2011: Workers set rebar on the forms to prepare for concrete pour

February 23 2011

February 28 2011

A tacky marketing tactic for X2 Condos

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A condo ad detracts from views of Shayne Dark’s bold red “Double Vision” sculpture outside X Condos

An affront to art?: I remember the first time I saw the Shayne Dark sculpture, “Double Vision,” outside the new X Condominium tower. The slender, long lipstick-red tubes rising from the sidewalk at the southeast corner of the tall coal-black condo tower caught my attention from more than two blocks away, so I hurried up Jarvis Street to take a closer look.

Because of its striking visual impact next to the building, Dark’s sculpture, which reminds me of bamboo shoots, instantly became one of my favourite pieces of public condominium art. But it didn’t take long before the eye-catching art unwittingly became a tacky marketing tool for X Condo’s sister project, X2 Condos. In next to no time, a garish black, white and hot pink billboard advertising the X2 condo sales centre was plunked in front of “Double Vision.”

Not only does the sign spoil views of the stunning sculpture, it also cheapens the artwork — which I’m certain cost the condo developer a pretty pile of cash. And speaking of cash, I’m willing to bet lawyers could make a good case demonstrating that the sign violates Dark’s moral rights … after all, remember what happened when the Eaton Centre tied Christmas bows on artist Michael Snow’s Canada geese sculpture, “Flight Stop?”

Memo to the clever marketing people at X2: Time to find a more appropriate place to park the sales office sign; perhaps on the south side of Charles Street, away from the sculpture. Please show some respect and class for the art, folks.

For readers who haven’t seen it, here is a photo from last August showing “Double Vision” when it wasn’t obscured by advertising. A pink sandwich board sign for the X2 sales office looks much less obnoxious placed away from the artwork.

This is what you see now when you view “Double Vision” from the south

Shovels in the ground at X2 Condos site

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The earth is moving at the X2 Condos project site

X2 marks its spot: I felt a touch of nostalgia when I saw a drilling machine and backhoe cutting into the snow-covered ground at the corner of Jarvis and Charles Streets this afternoon.

Don’t know why, but I suddenly started thinking about the ugly three-storey office building that used to occupy the site. For the longest time it housed an overpriced Becker’s convenience store and a sports bar called Caps that served awesome — but wickedly hot — BBQ chicken wings, good burgers and reasonably-priced beer. Caps was popular with sports teams as well as the cops who worked across the street in a police building that ultimately met its demise when the hugely popular 44-storey X Condominium tower started construction several years ago.

Eventually, the Becker’s store and the bar closed down. The PizzaPizza company acquired the property, spruced up the building, and moved its headquarters inside. But the days of the PizzaPizza place were numbered. X Condos was a tremendous success; its units sold like gangbusters, leaving no doubt there was a strong demand for more condos in the immediate neighbourhood. It was obvious that the PizzaPizza property would be worth an absolute fortune as a condo tower development site. Inevitably, signs were posted on the property in 2008 to advise the neighbourhood that plans were afoot to build a 44-storey condo highrise there.

In November 2009, a sales office for X2 Condos was constructed on Charles Street on the site of two brick mansions that formerly housed law firms and other offices (properties that also would ultimately be demolished to make way for the condo highrise.) Demolition of all three buildings began last August, and throughout the autumn the lot sat empty while soil testing and other preliminary site preparation work was performed.

In the meantime, the city approved the developer’s request to add more floors to X2, bringing the tower’s total height to 49 storeys. Now, digging has begun in earnest on the northeast perimeter of the site.

Don’t know why, but suddenly I’m craving beer and chicken wings! Too bad I can’t walk up the street to Caps anymore.

Below is a rendering of the X2 Condo building (designed by Toronto’s Rudy Wallman Architects, by the way), along with photos I’ve taken of the X2 site over the past three years. More photos can be viewed in an album accessible from the Photo Sets page of the blog (where you’ll find another album with pictures showing the construction of X Condos, from site excavation to fully-finished and occupied tower.

Although X and X2 look a lot alike, as sisters usually do, X was designed by a different architect — Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architects Alliance.)

Artistic rendering of X2 Condo tower at the corner of Jarvis & Charles

August 14 2008: Condo development proposal sign on X2 Condos site

Sept 3 2008: View of the former PizzaPizza offices on the X2 site

Sept 3 2008: Jarvis Street view of the former PizzaPizza headquarters

December 3 2008: Charles Street view of the development site

November 2 2009: PizzaPizza building being prepared for demolition

November 2 2009: X2 Condos sales office sign on Charles Street East

November 2 2009: X2 Condos sales office being constructed on the project site

November 22 2009: X2 Condos marketing signs on the PizzaPizza building

Bright pink signs on exterior of X2 Condos sales office

August 29 2010: Demolition of the PizzaPizza building underway

August 29 2010: Big empty lot behind the PizzaPizza building being demolished

August 29 2010: X2 Condos sales office gradually being demolished

August 29 2010: Charles Street view of demolition activity at the X2 Condos site

August 29 2010: Jarvis Street view of the PizzaPizza building demolition

X2 Condos sales office in its new location: a townhouse at X Condos

October 3 2010: View of the lot where X2 will be built

November 11 2010: Work crew tests soil conditions

November 11 2010: Soil testing operations at the west end of the site

December 18 2010: X2 Condos site after a light snowfall

January 9 2011: A blanket of snow covers the X2 Condos site

February 8 2011: Machines digging away at the perimeter of the property

February 8 2011: Digging at the northeast perimeter of the X2 Condos site

February 8 2011: Tag-team excavation activity on the X2 Condos site

Keeping tabs on … Couture Condos

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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.