Category Archives: Distillery District

Downtown skyline views from the Toronto Islands

A Ward’s Island view of the downtown Toronto skyline earlier this month

Pics and video: A lunchtime bikeride on the Toronto Islands earlier this month gave me a chance to check out how much the downtown skyline has changed in the one-year period since my last trip to the islands.

Although there are dozens and dozens of condo towers and several office highrises under construction in downtown Toronto, only a handful of projects have so far made a significant impact on the skyline views.

The southwest downtown core is now dominated by the two ÏCE Condominium towers which are still under construction on York Street, while the nearby Delta Hotel tower at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Boulevard also makes a big impact from some perspectives.

Off to the west, the Library District Condominium tower is a noteworthy addition to the Concord CityPlace skyline; a year ago, only its construction crane was visible.

Over on the southeast side of the downtown core, The L Tower is the most eye-catching new building, with the water’s edge Residences of Pier 27 also commanding attention even though it’s only a midrise condominium project. Much farther east, the Distillery District is easier to locate now that construction is drawing closer to completion on the Gooderham Tower.

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Winter building pics: March 2013

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My March 2013 album on Flickr features more than 500 photos showing dozens of downtown construction projects and building sites. Click once on the image above to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the actual album where you can view individual full-size photos with captions.

Frozen fingers: It’s only a few days into spring and I’m still sorting through hundreds of building and construction photos I took during the winter. What has struck me the most is how gloomy and grey the city looked most of the time. Sunny, clear days were few and far between — and when they came, it was usually too bitterly cold and windy for me to risk freezing my fingers by wandering around with my camera.

I did manage a few long photo walks, though, and have been gradually posting the pics in albums on thetorontoblog.com’s Flickr photostream. Above is a link to my fourth winter photo album, March 2013.

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Balcony panels add flare to Clear Spirit tower

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August 25 2012: Alternating lines of pale green and white translucent balcony panels add eye-catching appeal to the Clear Spirit condo tower in the Distillery District

August 25 2012: Balconies flare outwards on the tower’s southeast corner

August 25 2012: Glass panels have been installed on nearly 19 floors of balconies

August 25 2012: The 40-storey Clear Spirit tower is viewed from the southwest near Parliament Street and Queen’s Quay Boulevard

Nice stripes: Throughout construction of the Clear Spirit condo building in the Distillery District, I’ve been anxious to see how the 40-storey tower would look once its glass balconies were installed. Now that panels have been installed on most balconies on the lower 19 floors, my wait is over — and I’m really liking what I see.

The alternating stripes of pale green and white translucent glass panels add a subtle extra dimension of colour and texture to the wrap-around balconies, enhancing the visual appeal and interest of the tall slender tower.

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Clear Spirit condo tower continues upward climb over Distillery District’s southeastern corner

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July 1 2011: Clear Spirit condo tower construction at the Distillery District viewed from Cherry Street looking west toward the CN Tower (rear left)

July 1 2011: Looking from the Queen Street bridge above the Don Valley towards the Distillery District (upper right). Clear Spirit (with crane) will rise 40 floors to overtake the 32-storey Pure Spirit condo tower (top right). The construction zone in the foreground is where the River City condominium complex is being built.

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit rises above the Gardiner Expressway in this view from the bike trail along Cherry Street near the Keating Channel in the port lands.

Rising higher: As the Clear Spirit condominium tower soars taller, it’s becoming a lot easier to spot Toronto’s historic Distillery District on the city skyline. Nearly one-third of the way toward its 40-storey peak height, the condo tower frame and construction crane are now clearly visible from many different parts of downtown and Riverdale. Clear Spirit is the second condo tower that Toronto’s architects Alliance has designed for the Distillery District. The first, Pure Spirit, was built at the northwestern corner of the district in 2009, and stands 32 storeys tall. The Distillery District’s master plan calls for yet another condo tower — the 35-storey Gooderham condominiums — to be constructed on the northeast corner of the property, right next to Clear Spirit, along with what the architects Alliance website describes as “a low ‘ribbon building’ with a planted roof.” Renderings of the various buildings can be viewed at the link I’ve provided to the aA website. Photos of recent Clear Spirit construction progress can be viewed below, while earlier photos can be seen in my March 20 2011 post and in my February 16 2011 post.

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit seen from the bike path along Cherry Street

June 21 2011: The south side of the Clear Spirit tower

June 21 2011: Supervisors checking out the construction

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from the parking lot along the southwest side of the Distillery District. The building in the foreground is the Pump House; the one in the middle is the Case Goods Warehouse, home of Artscape Studios

June 21 2011: Construction of the Clear Spirit condo tower climbs above The Case Goods Warehouse building

June 21 2011: Looking up the SE corner of the tower

June 21 2011: Distinctively angled floorplates on the tower’s south side

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit and the Gooderham tower will transform a site that is approximately one-fifth the size of the entire Distillery District

June 21 2011: Construction forms protruding from the Clear Spirit tower

June 21 2011: Entrance to the condo’s underground parking garage

June 21 2011 Clear Spirit condo tower construction viewed from Tank House lane near Trinity Street in the Distillery District

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance at Mill and Trinity Streets

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit (left) and Pure Spirit (right) viewed from the intersection of Cherry & Mill Streets. The 35-storey Gooderham condo tower will be built near the left of the area shown in this photo.

July 1 2011: The low-rise building on the corner is one of three Tank Houses now home to the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. The Gooderham tower will be built immediately south of the Young Centre.

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit soaring above the Distillery District’s Tank House Lane entrance off Cherry Street

July 1 2011: Looking up from Cherry Street at the Clear Spirit and its crane

July 1 2011: Construction entrance off Cherry Street

July 1 2011: Project team poster and site plan map

July 1 2011: Looking up at the east side of the building

July 1 2011: The east side of the tower and its podium

July 1 2011: Tall support pillars on the tower’s east side

July 1 2011: One of the support pillars stands at a slight angle

Keeping tabs on … Clear Spirit condo construction

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Above is a Cherry Street view of Clear Spirit condo tower construction progress at the Distillery District on March 17 2011. Below is a screenshot of a recent aerial view of the building site, captured by the condo project’s website webcam.

Prominent podium: With four floors of its large rectangular podium poured, and work underway on its 40-storey tower, the Clear Spirit condo building now has a noteworthy presence on the southeast side of the Distillery District. In several months’ time, as the tower climbs taller, Clear Spirit will start standing out on the city skyline, too. It will be joined in just a few short years by a sister tower, the Gooderham condominiums, a 35-storey condo building that will be constructed right next door at the corner of Cherry and Mill Streets. (Pre-excavation pile driving and other site preparation work have been in progress at the Gooderham location all winter.) Together, the two shimmering glass towers will demarcate the eastern perimeter of the historic 13-acre neighbourhood, adding a contemporary flare to the Distillery District’s mix of 19th Century brick and limestone buildings. Both buildings were designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance. Below are renderings of the Clear Spirit and Gooderham towers (my apologies…in my February 16 post about the Clear Spirit, I incorrectly identified an illustration of the Gooderham building), along with recent photos of Clear Spirit’s construction progress.

Rendering of the Clear Spirit condo tower, from the project’s website

architectsAlliance website rendering of the Gooderham condominium tower

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Distillery District. The crane for the Clear Spirit construction site is visible near the middle of the photo. The glass tower toward the left is the 32-storey Pure Spirit tower, built several years ago.

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit condo podium progress viewed from the construction entrance at the southeast end of the Distillery District parking lot

March 17 2011: The south end of the Clear Spirit condo podium

March 17 2011: East view toward Cherry Street

March 17 2011: Southwest corner of the podium base

March 17 2011: Upper three floors of the podium’s southwest corner

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium construction progress

March 17 2011: A view of the south end of the Clear Spirit building site

March 17 2011: I have absolutely no idea what this concrete structure is!

March 17 2011: West view of the odd-looking concrete structure. If you know what it’s for, please let me know!

March 17 2011: West side of the podium viewed from Case Goods Lane

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit condo podium viewed from Case Goods Lane

March 17 2011: Construction progress on the west side of the podium

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium construction viewed from Tank House Lane

March 17 2011: The podium rises behind the Mill Street Brewpub

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium behind the Mill Street Brewpub

March 17 2011: Northwest corner of the Clear Spirit podium

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the podium’s east side

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the Clear Spirit tower construction

March 17 2011: The 32-storey Pure Spirit tower rises in the background

March 17 2011: The CN Tower is visible in the distance from the entrance to the Gooderham condo construction zone at the south end of Cherry Street

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the Clear Spirit condo podium

March 17 2011: I believe the tall round columns with the mustard-yellow sleeves will be supports for the 40-storey tower, which will rise at a slightly-skewed angle above the rectangular podium.

March 17 2011: The Clear Spirit podium and the construction entrance to the Gooderham condominium tower building site

March 17 2011: A construction crew builds a support pillar (left) while two more workers survey the construction site from a blue lift.

March 17 2011: Tall round support pillars on the east side of the podium

March 17 2011: The construction crane operator’s cab high above Clear Spirit

Keeping tabs on … podium construction progress at the Distillery District’s Clear Spirit condo tower

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Building progress viewed from Stone House Walk on February 3 2011

That’s the spirit: Tourists and Toronto residents visiting the Distillery District can finally see progress on the Clear Spirit condominium complex now that podium construction has climbed higher than the Paint Shop and Rack House buildings at the historic neighbourhood’s east end. There isn’t much to see so far, but that will change quickly once the condo tower starts climbing towards its full height of about 40 storeys.

Until a few weeks ago, it was difficult to see any of the construction unless you peered through a chain link fence at the far east end of Stone House Walk, next to the south parking lot. Even from there, you can see only a small section of the building taking shape.

Hoarding blocks views of the construction area from almost everywhere in the Distillery District itself, while Cherry Street isn’t a safe viewing area because of all the traffic from heavy construction vehicles going to and from the Clear Spirit site as well as to and from the massive West Don Lands development across the street where the 2015 Pan Am Games athletes’ village will be situated.

The Clear Spirit tower was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are several building renderings from the architectsAlliance and Clear Spirit websites, along with photos I’ve taken of construction progress since early 2010.

Clear Spirit condo building rendering from the architectsAlliance website

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building lobby

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building podium and tower

Podium construction rising above Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit condo excavation viewed from Stone House Walk March 17 2010

Another view of the excavation from the end of Stone House Walk

Foundation construction viewed from Stone House Walk on November 9 2010

Another view of Clear Spirit condo construction on November 9 2010

Podium construction obvious from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Podium rising above the Mill Street Brewery on February 3 2011

Podium progress viewed from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit crane and construction viewed from Cherry Street on February 3 2011

Crane viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance on Mill Street on February 3 2011. The architectsAlliance-designed building will dominate this view once construction of the 40-storey glass tower is well underway.

Clear Spirit condo tower rendering on a billboard in the Distillery District

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.

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Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing Building Boom.

Category Archives: Distillery District

Downtown skyline views from the Toronto Islands

Winter building pics: March 2013

Balcony panels add flare to Clear Spirit tower

Clear Spirit condo tower continues upward climb over Distillery District’s southeastern corner

Keeping tabs on … Clear Spirit condo construction

Keeping tabs on … podium construction progress at the Distillery District’s Clear Spirit condo tower

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.