Category Archives: Regent Park

Accent panels on Paintbox Condo tower exterior add colour to Regent Park’s growing skyline

Paintbox Condominiums at Toronto's Regent Park

October 31 2011: Windows, cladding and coloured accent panels recently installed on the NE corner of the Paintbox Condominiums tower in Regent Park

 

Paintbox Condominiums in Toronto's Regent Park

October 31 2011: The west side of the Paintbox Condominium tower, under construction on Dundas Street East in the heart of Regent Park

 

Colour palette: Construction of the Paintbox Condominium tower has climbed above 22 storeys, leaving just four more floors to be built before the newest highrise addition to Regent Park tops off. Meanwhile, window and cladding installation is well underway on the four-storey podium plus the tower’s bottom seven floors. In fitting with the building’s name, the tower’s dark grey exterior features multicoloured, horizontal accent panels above and below the windows on each floor — adding welcome touches of colour to a once-dour district currently undergoing a massive multibillion-dollar redevelopment.

Rising at 591 Dundas Street East at the intersection of Sackville Street, Paintbox Condos is part of Phase 2 of the multi-year Regent Park Revitalization program. The redevelopment, which will see the construction of additional condo and apartment towers, plus low-rise and townhouse residence components,  commenced several years ago and could take up to 12 more years to complete.

A project of The Daniels Corporation, Paintbox will have 284 units ranging in size from 392 to 925 square feet, starting at $200,000. The building was designed by Toronto’s Diamond + Schmitt Architects. Below are more photos, taken today, showing progress on the condominium tower as well as the new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre under construction at its base. Photos of Paintbox Condos from earlier this year can be viewed in my July 15 2011 post, which includes a link to an online photo album showing Regent Park Revitalization project Phase 1 & 2 construction activity.

 

Paintbox Condominiums billboard

Paintbox Condo tower illustration on a Dundas Street billboard

 

Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre

October 31 2011: Paintbox Condominiums rises above the west end of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre under construction on Dundas Street East between Sumach and Sackville Streets

 

Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre

October 31 2011: Window and cladding installation at the northeast corner of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre

 

Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre

October 31 2011: The north side of the Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre extends along Dundas Street East

 

Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre

October 31 2011: Paintbox tower rising at the west end of the culture centre

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Window and cladding installation on the tower’s NE corner

 

Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre and Paintbox Condominiums

Octover 31 2011: Looking up the condo from the west end of the cultural centre

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Windows and cladding have been installed on the first seven floors above the four-storey condo podium

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Looking up the northeast corner of the tower

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Paintbox condo tower viewed looking east along Dundas Street

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Lower half of the tower viewed from the north side of Dundas, just west of Sackville Street

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 201: Part of the four-storey podium on the tower’s west flank

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: The condo tower will soar 26 storeys above the podium

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: Window and cladding details on the tower’s west side

 

Paintbox Condominiums

October 31 2011: More windows, cladding and balconies on the west wall

 

 

Regent Park construction continues its quick pace

40 Oaks construction at Regent Park

June 21 2011: Brilliant green Securock glass-mat sheathing panels give 40 Oaks, the Toronto Christian Resource Centre’s 87-unit affordable housing project, a bold presence in the northwest corner of Regent Park …

 

40 Oak Street Regent Park

… but by July 13 2011, the green is beginning to disappear as insulation and cladding is applied to the building’s exterior

 

One Park West  condominiums Toronto Regent Park

June 21 2011: The front entrance to the One Park West condominiums at 260 Sackville Street is still cordoned off as exterior landscaping and sidewalk installation continues …

 

One Park West condominium Toronto Regent Park

… but by July 13 2011, the landscaping and sidewalks are complete, the front entrance is open (but awaiting some finishing touches), and One Park West residents have moved into their new condos

 

Regent Park aquatic centre construction

June 21 2011: The steel frame for the Regent Park aquatic centre takes shape at the northwest corner of Dundas and Sumach Streets …

 

Regent Park Aquatic Centre construction

… and has more than doubled in width by July 13 2011

 

Regent Park development site

June 21 2011: Demolition of low-rise apartments created this large empty plot of land, seen from St Bartholomew Street looking north to Dundas Street …

 

Regent Park development site

… which is right next door (to the west) of the Paintbox Condominium highrise currently under construction (right) …

 

Regent Park redevelopment site

… but by July 13 2011, the property is buzzing with work crews …

 

Regent Park redevelopment site

… as construction begins on another new Regent Park condo highrise

 

Paintbox Condominium at Regent Park

June 21 2011: The Paintbox Condominium tower has risen to 11 storeys behind the Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre on Dundas Street …

 

Paintbox Condominiums Regent Park

… by July 13 2011, Paintbox has climbed four storeys higher, with crews beginning to pour concrete for the 16th floor

 

Paintbox condominiums Regent Park

June 21 2011: A view of construction progress at Paintbox Condominiums from St Bartholomew Street to its southwest …

 

Paintbox condominiums at Regent Park

 … and another look at the building, standing four storeys taller, on July 13 2011

 

The greenest building in Regent Park (for now)

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

Going green on Oak Street: A brilliant green building in Regent Park grabbed my attention yesterday when I was visiting a friend in an east-facing condo on Homewood Avenue. The bright green surface actually is insulation applied to the outside walls of the new Toronto Christian Resource Centre, which is under construction at 40 Oak Street. But the building won’t stay green for long: it’s soon going to get a brown brick exterior. The white highrise behind the TCRC is the new One Park West condo, which is approaching the end of construction (it appears that the crane has been removed from its roof). Below is another pic from yesterday, as well as additional recent photos of the TCRC, One Park West, and other construction activity in Regent Park, which I profiled in a March 4 2011 post.

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre at Regent Park

Another view of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre and One Park West condo midrise under construction in Regent Park

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre at Regent Park

A rendering of the new Toronto Christian Resource Centre at Regent Park

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre at Regent Park

A view of construction progress on the TCRC on February 15 2011

 

One Park West boutique condo

A view of the One Park West boutique condo building on February 15 2011

 

Regent Park revitalization creates massive construction zone on Dundas Street East

Regent Park Toronto

May 2 2010:  A view from the northwest of apartment and condo buildings constructed during Phase 1 of the multi-year Regent Park revitalization project

 

Regent Park revitalization

February 15 2011: Parliament-Dundas street view of apartment and condo buildings completed during Phase 1 of the Regent Park revitalization

 

Regent Park revitalization

February 15 2011: Revitalization project activity next to the Paintbox Condos and Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre construction site on Dundas Street East

 

Regent Park revitalization

A rendering of the Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre and Paintbox condo tower currently under construction on Dundas Street East

 

Tearing down & building up: One of the biggest construction zones in the city is along Dundas Street, east of Parliament Street, where the 50-year-old Regent Park neighbourhood is undergoing a tremendous transformation from an outdated social housing project into a modern “mixed-income, mixed-use community.” Regent Park Revitalization is an ambitious project that will take between 10 and 15 years to complete in six separate construction phases.  Multiple city blocks of old low- and mid-rise public housing buildings are being systematically razed and replaced with new social housing units, rental apartments, townhouses and condominiums, as well as cultural and recreational centres, and retail shops and services. At the same time, the “long-isolated” Regent Park neighbourhood is being re-connected to the surrounding community with new through-way streets that replace the former warren of lanes that dead-ended in apartment parking lots.

Phases 1 and 2 involve a 30-acre area bounded by Gerrard Street at the north, Shuter Street at the south, Parliament Street at the west, and Sumach Street at the east. Phase 1 got underway in 2005 when tenants were relocated and demolition of several old apartment buildings began.  In 2006, construction commenced on three new rental buildings: the Dundas-Sackville apartments at 246 and 252 Sackville Street, designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance, the midrise Oak-Parliament Apartments at One Oak Street, designed by Toronto’s Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., townhouses along Oak and Cole Streets, and the One Cole condominium complex — a 19-storey east tower with 201 suites, and a nine-storey west building with 92 units — designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects in association with Graziani & Corazza Architects Inc. Last year construction got underway on another new condo building, One Park West, at the northwest corner of Sackville and Oak Streets, as well as on 40 Oaks, an 87-unit affordable housing project of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre.

When I rode my bike around Regent Park last spring, the new apartment buildings were finished construction and fully occupied, people were moving into their brand-new One Cole condominiums, RBC had just opened its new bank branch in the One Cole complex on Dundas, and construction workers were busy building townhouses on Oak and Cole Streets. When I returned for a repeat visit just over two weeks ago, I was astounded by the scope of construction activity that was both recently completed, and in progress. The One Cole condo complex is fully sold out and completely occupied; dozens of the townhouses are occupied while even more are nearly finished construction; the One Park West boutique condo building is in the final stages of construction; the steel frame for 40 Oaks has been built; and the new Freshco supermarket, Rogers Communications retail outlet and Tim Hortons coffee shop are all open for business at the corner of Dundas and Parliament.

Meanwhile, Phase 2 construction activity is going gangbusters on both the north and south sides of Dundas Street. Several blocks of buildings are being demolished; large swaths of land are being excavated for more new apartment buildings and an aquatics centre; and the Paintbox Condominium highrise and the new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre are both under construction. It’s an incredible amount of building activity happening all at once. A school crossing guard on Dundas Street told me she still can’t believe the pace of change; I could understand where she was coming from since I, too, felt stunned by the extent of construction since the last time I saw the area.  Below are photos I took that morning.

 

Regent Park revitalization

One of the Regent Park apartment buildings, dating to the 1950s, which will eventually be demolished and replaced with new housing

 

Regent Park revitalization

New apartments, townhouses and condos along Oak Street in Regent Park

 

Regent Park revitalization

New townhouses along Oak Street

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

Toronto Christian Resource Centre sign on Oak Street

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

West view of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre building construction

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

Southwest view of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre construction

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

Northwest view of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre construction

 

Toronto Christian Resource Centre

Oak Street view of the Toronto Christian Resource Centre construction

 

Regent Park townhouses

New townhouses along the south side of Oak Street

 

Regent Park apartments and townhouses

Apartments and townhouses on Oak Street east of Parliament Street

 

Regent Park townhouses

A block of townhouses along the north side of Cole Street

 

Regent Park townhouses

Townhouses at the corner of Cole and Regent Streets

 

Regent Park townhouses

Townhouses on the north side of Cole Street

 

Regent Park townhouses

Cole street townhouses and the One Park West boutique condo building

 

One Park West condo

The west side of the One Park West condo building under construction

 

One Park West condo building

Upper west floors of One Park West condo building

 

One Park West condo building

One Park West condo construction progress

 

One Park West condo building

One Park West condo building viewed from Sackville Street

 

One Park West condo building

Southeast view of One Park West condo building rom Sackville Street

 

One Park West condo building

Street-level view of One Park West condo from Sackville Street

 

One Park West condos

Balconies on the east side of One Park West condos

 

Sackville Street Regent Park

252 Sackville Street apartments and One Park West condos

 

Sumach Street construction Regent Park

Northwest view of construction along Sumach Street; an aquatics centre and a new neighbourhood park are supposed to be built at this location

 

Sumach Street construction site

Southwest view towards downtown Toronto’s Financial District towers from the construction zone along Sumach Street

 

Sumach Street construction site

Another view of the construction site along Sumach Street

 

Regent Park revitalization

An apartment building being demolished on Dundas Street near Sumach Street

 

Regent Park revitalization

West view of the apartment building being demolished

 

Regent Park revitalization

Two apartment buildings being demolished near Dundas & Sumach Streets

 

Regent Park revitalization

The top floor has already been removed from this building

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre and Paintbox Condos construction

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre billboard on Dundas Street

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre and Paintbox Condos construction

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre and Paintbox Condos construction

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Apartment blocks that will be demolished stand behind the construction site for the arts and cultural centre and Paintbox condo highrise

 

Paintbox Condominiums

Paintbox Condominiums billboard on Dundas Street

 

Paintbox Condominiums

The Paintbox Condominiums construction site on the south side of Dundas St.

 

Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre

Condos go up while the old apartment blocks come down

 

Regent Park revitalization

Old apartment building being demolished on the north side of Dundas Street

 

Regent Park revitalization

Old apartment building being demolished on the north side of Dundas Street

 

Regent Park revitalization

Excavation activity just west of the Paintbox Condos construction site

 

Regent Park revitalization

Excavation activity just west of the Paintbox Condos construction site

 

Regent Park revitalization

Demolition, construction and excavation activity along Dundas Street

 

Regent Park revitalization

Excavator working on the construction site adjacent to Paintbox Condos

 

Regent Park revitalization

Red and white construction cranes above the arts & culture centre site

 

Regent Park revitalization

Huge excavation site at the corner of Dundas East and Pashler Avenue

 

Regent Park revitalization

Regent Park Phase 1 development at Parliament and Dundas

 

Regent Park revitalization

New Freshco supermarket at Dundas and Parliament

 

Regent Park revitalization

New Freshco supermarket entrance