Category Archives: Toronto condos

X2 Condos turning heads at Jarvis & Charles

X2 Condos

April 17 2013: Construction of the X2 Condominium tower has climbed 5 floors on the way to 49, as seen in this view from the northwest on Charles Street. Click on the picture to view a larger-size image.

 

 

Eye catcher: When 2012 drew to a close, construction of the X2 Condos at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets was just beginning to rise above the hoarding that blocked most of the site from the view of passing motorists and pedestrians. As New Year’s approached, a couple of support columns for the 49-storey tower’s ground floor were taking shape near the west end of the building site — the first signs of construction progress visible from street level.

With construction now up to five floors, passersby can’t help but notice the building — and get an early sense of the tremendous visual impact it will have in the Bloor-Jarvis neighbourhood once construction is complete.

I have walked past the X2 Condos site three times in the past two weeks, and on each occasion have noticed that the building is commanding considerable attention from people passing by both on foot and in vehicles. I saw pedestrians pause to watch the construction work, and noticed dozens of vehicle drivers and passengers checking out the site while waiting for traffic lights to change at the busy Jarvis-Charles-Mt Pleasant intersection.

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Plans for 29-storey condo tower founder as Odette mansion site at 81 Wellesley East is listed for sale

81 Wellesley Street East

April 29 2013: A “for sale” sign has been posted in front of the vacant property at 81 Wellesley Street East …

 

 

Odette House 81 Wellesley Street East

… where a century-old mansion and coach house stood until January 2012 when the buildings were hastily demolished after new owners took possession …

 

 

81 Wellesley Street East proposed condo

… with plans to construct a 29-storey condo tower in their place. The proposed highrise is depicted in this artistic illustration by Toronto’s Core Architects

 

 

Back on the market: A controversial condo tower development planned for the heart of the Church-Wellesley Village appears to be dead now that the property has been listed for sale.

As I reported in an October 17 2012 post, a small Toronto firm called Icarus Developments held an informational meeting last fall to publicly reveal its plans to build a 29-storey, 200-unit condo tower at 81 Wellesley Street East. Designed by Toronto’s Core Architects, the highrise would occupy a vacant piece of land that had been occupied for many decades by two by heritage-character buildings — the Odette House mansion and a coach house behind it — that were hurriedly demolished in January 2012.

The surprise demolition — and the brazen manner in which the buildings were razed — outraged local residents as well as Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who only a few weeks earlier had initiated procedures under which city staff would consider whether Odette House could be designated as a heritage property (see my January 19 2012 post for photos and a report about the demolition incident).

 

 

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Theatre Park condo tower construction begins to climb above heritage neighbours on King Street

Theatre Park condo

April 17 2013: With the concrete frame for its podium in place, construction of the Theatre Park condo tower is set to rise above the neighbouring heritage buildings on King Street West, including the Royal Alexandra Theatre at 260 King West, left, and the Nicholls Building at 220 King West, right

 

 

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Pit stop at The Mercer condo construction site

 The Mercer condo

April 3 2013: The excavation for The Mercer condo tower, as seen from Mercer Street at the southwest corner of the construction site. Below are several more excavation photos that I shot earlier this month.

 

 

 

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Construction views from Roundhouse Park

 

Constantly changing scenery: The Rogers Centre, the CN Tower and the skyscrapers of the Financial District once dominated the north and east views from Roundhouse Park on Bremner Boulevard. But a slew of nearby construction projects is giving park visitors new views that change by the day. Above is a video I shot from the park yesterday, showing building activity at five major construction sites nearby: Infinity3, the final phase of the Infinity condo complex between Bremner and Lake Shore Boulevard; the two ICE Condos towers at York Centre on the east side of the Infinity buildings; the Delta Toronto hotel and Bremner office tower at Southcore Financial Centre; the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada approaching the end of construction at the foot of the CN Tower; and the Three Hundred Front Street West condo tower to the northwest.

 

 

Ground floor construction underway at 210 Simcoe condo highrise near Queen West & University Ave

210 Simcoe Street condo

April 4 2013: Construction crews assemble forms into which concrete will be poured to build ground-floor walls and support structures for the No 210 Residences on Simcoe condo highrise

 

210 Simcoe condo

This artistic illustration depicts a view of the 210 Simcoe condo building from street level at the corner of Simcoe Street and Michael Sweet Avenue. The rendering appears on the website for Toronto developer Diamondcorp, which has partnered with Sorbara Development Group on the project.

 

210 Simcoe Street

This was how the condo site looked in July 2011, viewed from the same perspective as the rendering above.

 

 

Ready to rise: Construction of a new condo tower in the AGO-Grange District near Queen Street West & University Avenue will soon climb as high as the ugly low-rise parking garage that formerly occupied the narrow, block-long property.

Work on the No 210 Residences on Simcoe has reached street level, and yesterday construction crews were assembling building forms for the building’s ground floor walls and supports.

A joint project of Diamondcorp and Sorbara Development Group, No 210 Simcoe Residences will rise 25 storeys when finished, and contain 290 condo units. The building was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects.

 

 

 

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South downtown skyscraper construction offers soaring backdrop for Toronto’s new aquarium

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and tower construction projects  in Toronto's south downtown area

April 4 2013: Construction is proceeding on schedule for a summer opening of the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada (foreground), located on Bremner Boulevard at the foot of the CN Tower.  The new aquarium is one of eight different buildings seen at various stages of construction in this photo shot from the pedestrian walkway on the east side of the Rogers Centre. Rising behind the aquarium are, from left, The L Tower, the Delta Toronto Hotel and Bremner Tower office building at Southcore Financial Centre, the two cylindrical ÏCE Condos skyscrapers, and the two towers of the Infinity3 Condominiums. Click on the photo to view it in a larger format.

 

 

Winter building pics: March 2013

 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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Application filed with City to build 45-storey condo tower at NE corner of Church & Carlton

70 & 72 Carlton Street

A 45-storey condo tower with retail and institutional space is being proposed for the property currently occupied by the two low-rise buildings at 70 and 72 Carlton Street, seen here from the intersection of Church & Carlton Streets …

 

SE corner of Church & Wood Streets

… but it is unclear if the development site includes this surface parking lot behind the two buildings, at the corner of Church & Wood Streets.  The lot is seen here from Wood Street, looking toward Maple Leaf Gardens on Church Street.

 

 

New neighbour for the Gardens: Details are sketchy, but a proposal to build a 45-storey mixed use tower at the northeast corner of Church & Carlton Streets — directly across the street from Maple Leaf Gardens — has been filed with the City’s planning department.

An undated entry on the development projects page of the City of Toronto website says that applications have been filed for site plan control, zoning bylaw amendment and rental housing demolition for property at 70 Carlton Street. The site would be redeveloped with “a 38 storey tower atop of a 7 storey podium separated by a two-storey reveal comprising of 35149m2 of residential space 845m2 of retail space and 17m2 of institutional/other space. There will be a total of 202 parking spaces,” the website entry states.

 

 

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Winter building pics: February 2013

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.

 

Excavation continues, but bottom parking level begins to take shape at Backstage Condos

Backstage Condos

March 10 2013: A view of construction progress at the west end of the Backstage Condos site at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and The Esplanade. The deep excavation will gradually fill in with 6 underground parking levels.

 

 

Backstage Condos

March 10 2013: The construction crane rises near the center of the pit

 

 

Backstage Condos

March 10 2013: Looking toward the east end of the construction site, from Yonge Street. A 1-storey-tall mound of excavation material near the crane still has to be removed from the oddly-shaped pit, which extends between the condo highrise at 25 The Esplanade (left) and the railway tracks that lead into Union Station (behind the giant retaining wall to the right).

 

 

 

Digging and pouring: Although dozens of truckloads of dirt remain to be excavated from the Backstage Condos site at Yonge Street and The Esplanade, construction of the 36-storey building’s bottom level of underground parking — P6 — is already well underway.

Crews have been busy pouring concrete for walls and footings at the west end of the site, while just a few dozen meters to the east a “long reach” excavator keeps digging away, gradually removing a big mound of excavated material from the middle area of the six-level-deep pit.

Interestingly, the 373 vehicle parking spaces aren’t being provided for Backstage Condo residents — they’re actually intended for use by residents at The L Tower, which is approaching the end of construction on the other side of the street. L Tower residents will reach the parking garage through a tunnel that has already been bored several meters beneath The Esplanade. Backstage will have 150 parking spots in its own 4-level garage, which will be built above ground in the tower’s 4-storey podium. (Backstage and The L Tower aren’t just neighbours on The Esplanade, they’re sisters — adjacent condo projects sharing the same parents, developers Cityzen Developments, Castlepoint Realty, and Fernbrook Homes.)

 

 

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Winter building pics: January 2013

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.

 

Winter building pics: December 2012

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.

 

U/G parking floors filling in at Post House Condos

Post House Condos

A red construction crane rises behind hoarding along the west (George Street) flank of the Post House Condos site

 

Filling in: The last time I passed by the Post House Condos site in August, crews were just installing the red construction crane that is helping to build the 21-storey structure.  I got another brief glimpse of the site this afternoon, where construction of four underground parking floors is progressing quickly. Two of the floors appear to have been built, with just two more to go before the construction reaches street level.

Located on the east side of George between Richmond and Adelaide Streets, Post House Condos is just steps from the St James Campus buildings of George Brown College, one block from St James Park, and a short walk from the interior design and furniture shopping strip along King Street East. The world-famous St Lawrence Market is only two blocks to the south, while the historic Distillery District is just a 10-minute stroll to the southeast.

 

 

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300 Front Street West condo construction passes 45 storeys on way to 49th-floor topping-off

300 Front Street West

September 18 2008: The northwest corner of Front and John Streets used to be a parking lot just steps away from the CBC Canadian Broadcasting Centre at 250 Front Street West (right), the Metro Hall Civic Centre at 55 John Street (right rear), and the Rosemont Residences at 50 John Street (center rear) …

 

 

300 Front Street West

… as seen in this view from the CN Tower on September 22 2008

 

 300 Front Street West

But during 2010 and early 2011 Tridel excavated the site …

 

 

300 Front Street West

… and began building the foundation and underground levels …

 

 

300 Front West

… for its 300 Front Street West condo complex, depicted in this artistic night view rendering by Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

 

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