Category Archives: Toronto condos

Great Gulf Homes plans 46-storey condo tower for corner in sketchy Dundas-Jarvis neighbourhood

Developer Great Gulf Homes has acquired this property at the southwest corner of Dundas and Jarvis Streets for its proposed 46-storey Pace Condos tower

On-site promotional billboard for the Pace Condos tower

Seedy site: I had been wondering when a developer was going to announce plans to build a condo tower at the seedy southwest corner of Dundas and Jarvis Streets. It’s not a nice neighbourhood by any stretch of the imagination, but real estate is all about location and that’s one of the few redeeming features for this prime piece of downtown property just a short walk from the Toronto Eaton Centre and the Yonge subway line. Late last year I noticed that the three businesses in the small commercial plaza on the corner had been closed and their windows papered over. I kept waiting to hear word about a development proposal for the property, but didn’t see any signs on the site in either January or February. But when I passed by the corner just over a week ago, and saw that chainlink fencing had been erected around the plaza, I knew an announcement was imminent. On March 14, it happened: prominent Toronto condo developer GreatGulf Homes filed a rezoning application with the City, proposing to build a 46-storey condo tower with 417 suites, five levels of underground parking and a 10-storey podium with street-level retail space. A billboard promoting Pace Condos — “downtown tower suites from the low $200s” — promptly went up on the corner where it’s certain to catch the attention of motorists driving along busy Jarvis Street on their way to and from the Financial District.

When I told some friends earlier this winter that I suspected a condo would be built on the site, they looked incredulous and said: “No way! Who the hell would want to live there?” Obviously, Great Gulf is confident they can find 417 potential buyers, and I’m sure they’ve done their research. After all, they know their stuff: they’re the company behind several of downtown Toronto’s hottest condo developments. Their X Condominium tower only eight blocks north of the Pace Condos site was a huge hit with buyers, and two other condo towers Great Gulf is currently constructing — X2 Condos at Jarvis & Charles, and Charlie condos on King Street West in the Entertainment District — were enormously successful, too. One Bloor Condos is destined to achieve similar stellar sales; construction of that tower is expected to commence later this year at Yonge and Bloor Streets.

Still, it’s fair to say that the area around the Pace Condos site is a helluva lot less desirable than the locations of GreatGulf’s other projects. Dundas & Jarvis sits on the periphery of one of the poorest residential areas in all of Canada, a vast downtown district with one of the country’s largest concentrations of homeless people and residents earning poverty-level incomes or collecting social assistance — people who have no hope of ever being able to live at Pace Condos or in a condo anywhere, for that matter. Meanwhile, if Pace Condos does get built, anyone who buys an east-facing unit will have views overlooking dozens of rooming houses, homeless shelters, government-subsidized apartments and social service agencies — all just a short stroll from their front door. And as the Toronto Star pointed out in a photo gallery on March 18, the epicentre of the city’s worst area for overall crime is the intersection of Dundas and Sherbourne Streets, just two blocks east. While I was taking photos on Dundas Street this afternoon, a young black man approached me. “Make sure you take pictures showing this place like it really is — me standing here drinking from a bottle of booze in a paper bag in broad daylight, those guys over on that corner dealing crack cocaine, all those homeless people over there and the guys doing drugs down there,” he told me, pointing at each corner of the Dundas-Jarvis intersection before taking a long drink from his bottle. He, along with all the street people who kept staring at me or asking for spare change, made me wonder why anyone would want to pay $200,000+ to buy a condo there. Until he added: “And make sure you take pictures of how everything looks like now so you can remember it because, in a few years, there’s probably gonna be lots of new buildings all around here. This is gonna be a good place to live. It’s not always gonna look like this.”

Maybe he’s right — maybe things are finally starting to look up for this down-on-hard-times district. There’s already several condo buildings close by, including the popular and pricey Merchandise Lofts, as well as two hotels — with a third hotel and more condos in the works. Right across the street, the Ontario government is retrofitting and modernizing the massive building at 222 Jarvis Street into a new workplace for the Ontario Public Service. And the rapidly-growing Ryerson University campus is just a block away. Could the arrival of Pace Condos herald a turn-around for this sketchy streetcorner? We’ll have to wait a few years to see. In the meantime, here’s some photos showing the Pace Condos site and its immediate neighbours as they look now.

January 3 2011: Looking west at the small plaza at Dundas & Jarvis Streets

January 3 2011: The office towers of the Financial District are only blocks away

February 18 2011: The Eaton Centre is just a 10-minute walk west

March 22 2011: Looking south on Jarvis Street toward the Pace Condos site. If built, Pace would obstruct this view of the 45-storey Spire condo tower on Lombard Street, visible in the center of the photograph.

March 22 2011: Pace Condos site seen from northeast corner of Dundas & Jarvis

Commercial tenants of this plaza — including a convenience store, two restaurants and a coin-operated laundry facility– closed up shop months ago. The parking lot was fenced off just within the past 10 days.

The buildings to the west and southwest include luxury condos, rental apartments, co-op apartments and government-subsidized rental accommodation

South view of the Pace Condos site from the opposite side of Dundas St. The brown brick building is 192 Jarvis, a 14-storey condominium built in 1985.

A billboard advertises Pace Condos to passersby on Dundas and Jarvis Streets

The 192 Jarvis condo rises above the fenced-off plaza on Dundas Street

A view of the exterior of two of the plaza’s former commercial tenants

These now-vacant properties — ICITS computer training at 155 Dundas East, New Moon Bar at 157 Dundas East, and Palmers West Indian Restaurant at 159 Dundas East — are all part of the site for the proposed Pace Condos tower

The Grand Hotel on Jarvis Street and the 192 Jarvis condominium building sit to the south and southeast of the site of the proposed Pace Condos tower

If approved by City Hall, Pace Condos would stand three times taller than these two buildings; it would be the highest tower in the neighbourhood

The Ho-Lee-Chow takeout restaurant on the southeast corner of Dundas & Jarvis; the Grand Hotel is situated a few doors south at 225 Jarvis Street

The Hilton Garden Inn on the northeast corner of Dundas & Jarvis. Years ago, before it was converted into a hotel, this building housed offices of the federal unemployment insurance department

222 Jarvis sits across the street from the Pace Condos site, directly to the north. At one time the headquarters for Sears Canada, the building is being retrofitted and modernized as offices for the Ontario Public Service

Mutual Street Deli on the north side of Dundas St. across from Pace Condos

New Lumiere highrise condo building on Bay Street finally getting its exterior finishing touches

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An idle lift machine and stacks of aluminum panel trim seen on the west side of Lumiere Condos along Laplante Avenue on Sunday March 20 2011

Aluminum panel installation on the west side of the Lumiere condo tower

Final touches? Major construction concluded a few months ago, residents have been moving into the building ever since, and now it appears that Lumiere Condominiums on Bay Street is finally getting finishing touches to its exterior. Or is it? In my first post about Lumiere on January 5, I noted that aluminum panels were missing from large, long sections of the building podium. About two weeks later, as I reported in a January 21 update post, I saw crews working on some of the unfinished areas. But they didn’t do much, and the podium’s exterior remained incomplete throughout the winter. However, aluminum panel installation has resumed, so it’s possible the podium cladding project could literally wrap up this spring. Crews are concentrating on the west side of Lumiere, along Laplante Avenue, but still have some small areas to attend to on the south side as well. Below are some pics I snapped Sunday afternoon of the podium work underway at Lumiere.

South side of Lumiere condo podium. The underground garage entrance is at left, while the moving & delivery bay is behind the women walking in the driveway.

East view toward College Park from the driveway between Lumiere condos (left) and The Penrose condo building at 750 Bay Street (right)

View toward The Residences at College Park North Tower on the east side of Bay Street from the driveway between Lumiere condos and The Penrose condos

Unfinished podium exterior outside the Lumiere parking garage entrance

Looking up the southwest corner of the Lumiere condo tower

Aluminum panels to be installed on the podium are stacked outside the rear of the tower along Laplante Avenue.

Curved aluminum panels to be installed on Lumiere’s round podium support pillars

Aluminum panels to be installed on the Lumiere condos exterior

Curved aluminum panels to be installed on Lumiere condos exterior

Unfinished areas on the northwest corner of the Lumiere condo tower

Support pillars remaining to be clad with the curved aluminum panels

Looking up the southwest corner of the Lumiere condo tower

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

Developer proposes 32-storey apartment & condo addition to 40-year-old Isabella St. rental tower

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Two towers, two seasons: Photos taken November 1 2010 and January 29 2011 show the tree-shaded lawn where a developer has proposed building a 32-storey addition to the 26-storey apartment tower at 66 Isabella Street (left). At right is the 26-storey Town Inn Suites hotel at 620 Church St.

Big addition: A 26-storey rental apartment building at 66 Isabella Street could get a 32-floor addition to its east flank if the City approves an unusual mixed-use residential development proposal for the north end of the Church Wellesley Village area.

The site of the proposed new tower is a tree-shaded private lawn at the northwest corner of Church and Isabella Streets. The 66 Isabella apartments, built in 1970, stand at the west side of the lawn, while a “twin” tower built in 1972, the Town Inn Suites hotel, rises on the property’s north side. There are presently 200 apartment units in 66 Isabella. The proposed tower addition would contain 212 more units, which would include 196 rental apartments, four condominium townhouses at ground level on Isabella Street, 12 condominium suites on the top two floors, and 481 square meters of retail space at ground level along Church Street.

Addition would eliminate private greenspace

The development would eliminate one of the last open patches of green space in a neighbourhood that is already teeming with recently-completed condo towers; construction of two more highrises is either already underway nearby or expected to start soon, while at least two more tall condo buildings are in the proposal stage for the immediate area.

Construction of the addition to 66 Isabella also would require the removal of 11 trees, a prospect that alarms some area residents since trees have already become few and far between on Church Street.

The fate of those trees is just one many concerns that city planning staff raised in a November 15 2010 background report to the Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC). Other significant issues cited by planners include the project’s height and density, the building’s mass (particularly its length along Isabella Street), neighbourhood traffic and parking, impact on nearby buildings, and more.

In December, the TEYCC ordered city staff to hold a public consultation meeting to get feedback from area residents; that event took place at the beginning of February. There’s been no word since on any subsequent developments regarding this project. Below are some photos I’ve taken of the 66 Isabella site in recent months along with illustrations, from the planning department report, of the north and south elevations of the proposed tower.

Apartment and condo tower development proposal notice

Illustration showing the location for the proposed tower

November 1 2010: Church Street view of the site for the proposed tower addition

November 1 2010: Isabella Street view of the site on which the 32-storey addition would be built. Four condo townhouses would be constructed at street level here.

November 1 2010: Church Street view of the proposed development site, looking southwest toward 66 Isabella (right) as well as another rental apartment building that is situated on the south side of Isabella Street (left)

November 1 2010: View of the site from outside the Town Inn entrance. The white apartment building is the 14-storey Gramercy House at 59 Isabella Street.

January 24 2011: Church Street view of the site, looking west. The tall building at center rear is the 46-storey Casa condominium on Charles Street East.

January 29 2011: Southwest view of the 66 Isabella Street apartment building. The 26-storey tower was built in 1970 and has 200 rental units.

A semicircular driveway in front of the tower entrance would be eliminated and replaced with a pedestrian-only walkway and amenity space under the building redevelopment plan proposed to the city.

January 29 2011: The tall glass tower at right is X Condominium, situated at the northwest corner of Charles Street East and Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street). A taller sister tower, X2 Condos, is currently under construction on the south side of Charles Street just west of Jarvis Street.

January 29 2011: The proposed building addition would block this Isabella Street view toward the Town Inn Suites hotel (center) and the midrise concrete and glass condo building at 73 Charles Street East (right).

February 28 2011: Charles Street East view of the proposed development site. If built, the addition would block this view of the sky between the two towers.

Here’s the latest dirt on U Condos construction

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March 16 2011: Huge mounds of earth at the U Condos construction site block parts of St. Basil’s Church from view along St. Mary Street. Construction crews are in the early stages of excavation work for the two-tower condo project.

Prepping the perimeter: Piles of earth keep growing bigger on the U Condos construction site, as crews continue to prepare the property’s perimeter for site excavation and foundation building. Below are photos I’ve taken during the past month of the vast condo construction site at the corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets near Yorkville. Additional photos and a description of the project are provided in my February 4 post about U Condos.

February 12 2011: The U Condos site after a light dusting of snow

February 15 2011: Pile drivers preparing the U Condos Bay Street perimeter

February 15 2011: St. Mary Street view of U Condos site

February 15 2011: Activity at the northeastern corner of the U Condos site

March 13 2011: Foundation building machines on the U Condos site

March 13 2011: Enormous mounds of earth in the middle of the property

March 13 2011: Foundation construction machines on the U Condos building site

March 13 2011: Machinery and equipment on the east side of the property

March 13 2011: Mounds of earth keep piling up near St. Basil’s Church

March 13 2011: Pile driving equipment at the south end of the property

March 16 2011: Equipment, machines and steel beams on the east side of the site

March 16 2011: The beams will strengthen the retaining walls for the excavation

March 16 2011: One of the excavating machines on the U Condos site. The tower at the rear right of the photo is the One Bedford condominium on Bloor Street.

City Scene: Criss-crossed construction cranes

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Crossing paths: The boom of one construction crane appears to be resting atop another in this photo from February 18. The two cranes are building the new ICE Condos and Infinity3 condo towers in the former railway lands area south of the Financial District. The tower in the background is an old timer: it’s one of the Harbour Square condo buildings constructed in Harbourfront, at the foot of Bay Street, way back in the late 1970s.

Florian condo tower getting window treatments

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March 16 2011: Newly-installed windows are visible on the 5th floor

Glass going in: Window installation has commenced at The Florian highrise condo tower on Davenport Road in Yorkville. When I walked past the construction site the other day, I noticed a row of new windows on the south side of the fifth floor, along with frames for upcoming curtain wall installation on the tower’s southwest corner. Below are several pics I snapped of construction progress to date; there’s many more building photos in my February 12 post about The Florian.

March 16 2011: South-facing windows on The Florian’s fifth floor

Frames for the curtain wall to be installed on the tower’s southwest corner

The sharply pointed east corner of The Florian’s podium on Davenport Road

Lower levels of The Florian, viewed from the south side of Davenport Rd.

A long look up the south side of The Florian

The Modern condo reaches 11 floors

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Six floors to go: In a post on February 3, I reported that construction of The Modern on Richmond has reached seven floors. The photo above, taken yesterday, shows that the condo midrise is now two-thirds of the way to its final height of 17 storeys.

Mucking around at the Milan condo tower site

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Earth mover in the muck at the Milan condo tower excavation

Church Street view of the Milan condo excavation, looking northeast

Canadian Tire parking lot view of the Milan condo excavation, looking south

Messy mass of muck: At a property on the north end of Church Street, where the road makes a long sweeping curve to the northwest as it approaches Yonge Street, crews spent the entire winter digging out — literally. And they’re nowhere near finished yet. But it isn’t snow they’ve been shovelling; Toronto didn’t get much of the white stuff over the winter. Instead, the workers have been moving muddy brown earth by the truckload as they excavate the site where the Conservatory Group’s 37-storey Milan condominium tower will be built.

Designed by E.I. Richmond Architects Inc., the condo complex will occupy a wedge-shaped parcel of land bordered by the Canadian Tire store to the north and west, Church Street to the south, and the Yonge subway line to the east.

Below is a tower rendering from a billboard outside the Milan condo sales centre, along with another rendering — from the Milan website — suggesting how the condo’s podium rooftop terrace will look. There’s also a series of photos I’ve taken at the Milan site over the past three years, along with recent pics of some of Milan’s neighbours.

This rendering of the Milan condo tower appears on the exterior of the sales centre on Yonge Street. The condo tower will rise from a long podium that will stretch along the north side of Church Street.

Architectural rendering of Milan’s podium rooftop terrace

December 3 2008: Milan condo site viewed from Church Street looking north

December 3 2008: Milan billboard on the condo tower site

December 3 2008: Milan condo location viewed from Church Street looking north. A pay parking lot occupied the site until construction commenced

This notice, seen in September 2008, was posted next to the Milan site on Church Street for several years. If I recall correctly, stiff neighbourhood opposition to the two buildings originally proposed by a developer led city council to approve construction of only one taller tower instead

This sign also stood on Church Street next to the Milan site. My understanding is that, in the early 2000s, developers proposed building a complex of several condo towers and townhouses on the lands occupied by the big Canadian Tire store as well as on the parking area where Milan currently is under construction. However, Canadian Tire ultimately decided to retain and renovate its Yonge Street store instead, and sold off the parking lot property. Now only one tower is being built

December 3 2008: The Milan condo sales office in the two-storey building at left, and the Canadian Tire gas bar at the corner of Yonge & Church

December 3 2008: Milan will rise on the gas depot’s right side

July 25 2010: The parking lot has been closed and fenced off so the site can be prepared for excavation and construction of the condo tower

July 25 2010: Rubble remaining from structures demolished on the condo site. The Canadian Tire store and its parking lot are visible to the north

July 25 2010: Northeast view of demolition activity. A subway train can be seen passing the property (upper middle of the photo) along the Yonge subway line

November 1 2010: Preliminary site excavation work has begun

November 1 2010: Preliminary excavation work at the site’s northeast corner

November 1 2010: Pile driving and excavation equipment at work

November 1 2010: Eastward view toward the Milan site from a new parkette in front of the Lotus condo tower on Davenport Road at Yonge Street

January 9 2011: Eastward view of the Milan condo tower excavation

January 9 2011: Southeasterly view of the Milan condo excavation

January 9 2011: Snow-covered excavation at the west end of the site

March 16 2011: Excavation progress at the southeast corner of the site

March 16 2011: A sea of mud stretches all the way to the west end of the site next to the gas bar on Yonge Street, visible at the top left

March 16 2011: From Church Street, the Milan property slopes toward the TTC subway tracks and Aylmer Avenue in the Rosedale ravine

March 16 2011: The excavation is deepest on the north edge of the site

March 16 2011: The subway tracks run along on the other side of the wall

March 16 2011: Milan site looking northeast toward Rosedale

March 16 2011: Truck ramp from Church Street to the bottom of the pit

March 16 2011: Boots box in a muddy pit

March 16 2011: The ramp from the Church Street construction entrance

March 16 2011: Machines and equipment at the bottom of the ramp

March 16 2011: The deep pit below the Canadian Tire gas station

March 16 2011: The Milan excavation, looking south toward Church Street

March 16 2011: Foundation building machine at the bottom of the pit

March 16 2011: An earth mover in a muddy pool of water in the pit

March 16 2011: The entrance to the subway tunnel leading to the Bloor-Yonge subway station can be seen at the top left corner

March 16 2011: Canadian Tire view toward the Milan location

Milan’s neighbours to the south and east include several condo and apartment buildings, as well as The Bay and CIBC office towers at Yonge & Bloor (rear right)

March 16 2011: Canadian Tire southeast view of the Milan location

The Toronto Reference Library is situated directly across Church Street from Milan; the office towers at Bloor & Yonge are just a short walk south

March 16 2011: Davenport Road view toward the Milan site. The 37-storey condo tower will dominate this view once construction is complete

March 16 2011: One of Milan’s neighbours will be the MTV studios in the historic Masonic Temple building on the corner of Yonge Street and Davenport Road

Milan’s neighbours to the west are the two Four Seasons Toronto hotel and condo towers currently under construction (left), and the Lotus condos (right)

City Scene: South view of the Ritz-Carlton tower

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Rooms at the Ritz: Toronto’s newest five-star hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, opened to guests last month. The hotel boasts 267 luxurious rooms on the bottom 20 floors of the 53-storey skyscraper. The tower’s upper floors, seen above, are private condo suites still under construction. Below is a closer view of the southwest corner condo suite with canary-yellow walls.

Neighbourhood Watch: Developer asks city for 6-month hold on 25-storey Church St condo plan

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Artistic illustration, from a former website for Church 18 Holdings, of the condo development proposed for the Church Street block between Gloucester and Dundonald Streets, now occupied by apartments, restaurants and a day spa.

A Dec. 21 2010 view of the Church Street block proposed for redevelopment

6-month wait: A developer has asked the City for a six-month hold on its controversial application to redevelop a block of property in the Church Wellesley Village.

Just under one year ago, a developer sought City approval to redevelop properties it owns along the west side of Church Street, between Gloucester and Dundonald Streets. The properties include several low-rise apartment buildings as well as two brick mansions, one built in 1878, which currently are home to two popular Village restaurants and a day spa.

The developer proposed to demolish some of the rental buildings and one of the mansions, constructing in their place a 25-storey condo tower atop a seven-storey podium. 35 replacement apartments would be built in the podium, while an additional 158 residences would be included in the condo complex.

The proposal drew considerable criticism and negative feedback at a community consultation meeting attended by more than 150 people in early December. A city planner drew cheers and applause from the audience when he told the meeting that the city did not support the application because of serious concerns with the project’s proposed height and density, among other issues.

According to the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association (CWNA), the developer recently requested a delay in the development application process. In a message to members of its Facebook page, the CWNA said the developer asked the city, at the end of February, to place a six-month hold on its application.

The CWNA message says the developer “has indicated that in 6 months time they will likely come back to the city with one of the following options: 1) withdrawing the application, 2) reducing the height on their revised option, 3) pursuing a totally different design scheme for the property, or 4) hiring a new team for a different design.” City planning rules specify that files can be put on hold for a maximum of six months. At that time, planners would have to advise the developer to either re-submit the application, or withdraw it. If the developer does nothing at that point, then the city could close the application.”

Below is a screenshot, from the CWNA website, of a building rendering and project details that city planners showed the audience at the December community meeting. There’s also a series of photos I’ve taken at various times of the properties involved in the redevelopment plan.

Condo development proposal sign posted on one of the Church Street properties

Project details and an artistic illustration of the proposed condo complex, from a city planning department presentation to a community meeting held in December to provide neighbourhood feedback on the developer’s plan.

67 Gloucester Street apartment building on December 21 2010. According to the developer, the building would be retained as part of the new condo complex.

71 Gloucester Street apartment building on December 21 2010

71 Gloucester Street at the corner of Church & Gloucester Street. Under the developer’s proposal, this building would be demolished and replaced by a 25-storey condo highrise with a 7-storey podium.

December 21 2010 view of 71 Gloucester Street and 67 Gloucester Street

Another view of the 71 Gloucester Street apartment buildings

November 1 2010 corner view of the Gloucester Mansions apartment building

Church Street view of the 596 Church Street Gloucester Mansions apartment building on December 21 2010

The Gloucester Mansions on November 1 2010

A November 1 2010 view of the 584 Church St. Salon & Spa, left, and one of the Gloucester Mansions apartments. Under the development plan, the spa mansion would be demolished and replaced with the main entrance to the condo, while the facade and part of the Gloucester Mansions building would be saved.

This elegant mansion at 580 – 582 Church Street was built in 1878. Much of the building, including the facade, would be incorporated into the condo development. The building currently is home to two restaurants: Fuzion, left, and Voglie.

Fuzion restaurant at 580 Church Street on December 21 2010. In summer, its patio is one of the most pleasant dining terraces in downtown Toronto.

November 1 2010 view of Fuzion on the corner of Church & Dundonald Streets

Fuzion restaurant building viewed from Dundonald Street on February 15 2011

Dundonald Street view of the Fuzion restaurant building on February 15 2011

A November 1 2010 view of the proposed condo development site

The two sides of Victory Condos

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Balconies on the north side of Victory Condos, viewed from a park below

Adelaide Street West view of Victory Condos and Quad Lofts, left

Victory Condos frontage along King Street West on February 17 2011

Both sides now: My January 15 post about Victory Condos included photos of the building site and construction progress as viewed from King Street West. A few weeks ago, I took a walk down Adelaide Street West so I could get some pics of the building’s north side. Here they are.

Victory Condos viewed from Spadina Avenue on February 17 2011

Victory Condos north side viewed from a lane on Adelaide St. W.

Adelaide Street West view of Victory Condos and its two Quad Lofts neighbours. The long excavation site in the foreground, along on the south side of Adelaide, is where the Lofts 399 Condos are currently under construction.

Victory Condos viewed from a driveway beside Quad Lofts

North side of Victory Condos viewed from a driveway behind the building

Victory Condos viewed from a park between the two Quad Lofts buildings

South side of Victory Condos seen from King Street near Brant Street

The upper levels of the 12-storey condo building approach completion

King Street West view of the Victory Condos entrance area

Victory Condos facade coming together above King Street West

Another view Victory Condos from King Street West

Another view of the Victory Condos ground level along King Street West

Looking up the front of the building from King Street West

Victory Condos construction progress on February 17 2011

Charlie condos catching attention on King West

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With construction up to its second level, Charlie Condos on King West is no longer hidden from view by the hoarding around the building site.

Name blame: When I was snapping some pics of construction progress at Charlie Condos on King Street West a few weeks ago, a bicycle courier rushed toward me, a furious look on his face. I thought he was angry at me, perhaps thinking I’d been taking his photo (I wasn’t; he was standing far off to the side of the construction gate I was photographing at the time). Turned out he was actually pissed at Charlie’s developer, Great Gulf Homes, and its builder, Tucker HiRise Construction, instead.

Jabbing his index finger toward signs on the construction site hoarding, the courier yelled: “These guys should get their asses sued off for copyright infringement!” Totally surprised and confused, I asked, “What guys? Why?” Face turning beet red, he bellowed: “Tucker HiRise! They have no right to use Chris Tucker’s name for their company! And they have no right to use Charlie Sheen’s name for their condo, either! I happen to know a thing or two about copyright law, and I know for a fact that Charlie and Chris could take these guys to the cleaners for trying to make money off their name!”

He proceeded to explain that the developer and builder were running afoul of civil law because, in his expert legal opinion, they were misleading people into purchasing condominiums in the belief the two Hollywood actors were somehow connected to the building. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing; this fellow was dead serious, yet he knew absolutely diddly-squat about trademark law.

Just as quickly as he had come running towards me, he flew into another tirade, this time raging about the fact Charlie is being built on a site that used to be a parking lot. “Where are all the cars supposed to park now?” he shrieked. “I guess they’ll have to buy a condo if they want to park here,” I replied. “That’s exactly what those bastards want!” he exclaimed, once again gesturing toward the hoarding signs before quickly stomping away.

Below are some pics I took of Charlie after receiving my Trademark Law 101 lecture on the street corner.

To view pics of the parking lot that once occupied the site, as well as building renderings and photos of the early stages of Charlie’s construction, check out my first Charlie progress post on January 31.

Construction forms rise above the hoarding on February 17 2011

A construction worker atop one of the ground-level wall forms

Arranging the rebar rods before concrete is poured in the form

Charlotte Street view of the construction on February 17 2011

Charlie Condos construction viewed from a laneway to the north

Laneway view of Charlie Condos construction, looking to the southeast

M5V Condos on King is the tower with the bold red stripe behind Charlie

This way to the next level of construction

The crane lifts a bucket of concrete into place for pouring

Demolition derby: Contractors busy ripping up and tearing down to build The Berczy condos

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Lower Church Street view of The Berczy condo site on March 7 2011: Demolition progress means much of the Flatiron building is now visible across the site…

…compared to February 3 2011, when the old 3-storey buildings on the corner of Church and Front still blocked sight of the Toronto landmark.

Demolition derby: It’s been two months since I first reported on construction progress at The Berczy condominium, a project of Concert Real Estate Corporation.

In my January 13 post, I noted that hoarding had been installed around The Berczy site, and demolition had started on the Church Street building that formerly housed one of The Keg steakhouse restaurants. Since then, demolition crews have been making steady progress clearing the site.

When I passed by in February, they were taking apart the three-storey building that sat on the southwest corner of Church and Front Streets. Last week that building was gone, and for the first time you could see most of Front Street’s famous Gooderham Flatiron Building from the bottom two blocks of Church Street at The Esplanade.

Below are photos showing the demolition activity on February 3 and March 7.

Lower Church Street view of demolition activity on February 3 2011. Only the rooftop of the Gooderham Flatiron Building on Front Street is visible.

Demolition at the south end of The Berczy site on February 3 2011

The middle of The Berczy site, looking west toward the CN Tower.

The CN Tower and Toronto’s Financial District skyscrapers loom to the west

Demolition work behind buildings that will be razed on the south side of Front St.

Top floor being removed from the building on the corner of Church & Front

Crews are busy demolishing the third floor behind the safety netting

The demolition site and the Gooderham Flatiron Building, seen February 3 2011

The Berczy condo construction site viewed from The Esplanade on March 7 2011. Most of the Flatiron Building is now visible from the bottom of Church Street.

Northwest view of The Berczy site and Flatiron Building on March 7 2011.

Two flagmen directing traffic in, out and past The Berczy construction site

The building at the southwest corner of Church & Front Street has been demolished; another is partially dismantled.

Demolition activity at The Berczy condo construction site on March 7 2011

Three backhoes arrange huge piles of debris from the demolished buildings

I’m sure it would have been contrary to the Fire Code and a violation of municipal bylaws, but these woodpiles would have made spectacular Berczy bonfires

The construction crews never block access to the portable toilets!

The crews are creating two huge heaps of brick and wood rubble

One of the buildings along Front Street that’s being torn down

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.

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Category Archives: Toronto condos

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Demolition derby: Contractors busy ripping up and tearing down to build The Berczy condos

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

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.