Category Archives: 10 York

A peek at the Ten York condo tower excavation

Ten York condo towe

September 16 2014: Excavation is well underway at the wedge-shaped site for the Ten York condominium by the Tridel development firm.

 

 

Ten York condo tower

This illustration, from an image gallery on the Ten York website, shows how the tower podium will look when viewed from the approximate area where I shot the excavation photo posted above.

 

 

 Ten York condo tower

This image, captured from Tridel’s construction webcam, shows an aerial view of the site on the afternoon of Wednesday September 17.

 

 

Just before I began an extended break from blogging at the end of January, I published an update about the exciting Ten York condo tower project. That post, Drilling rigs ready to rumble at Ten York condo site, included a photo of foundation drilling equipment that had recently arrived at the future tower location — a triangular piece of property awkwardly situated between Harbour Street, York Street, Lake Shore Boulevard and the elevated Gardiner Expressay.

I walked past the Ten York site yesterday and had the chance to snap a new photo from a spot on the York Street sidewalk near the project’s northeast corner.  The pic shows an excavation rig loading a dump truck in the pit, which is already several levels below grade. Once digging is complete, a six-floor underground parking garage will be constructed for the flatiron-shaped 224-meter tower (735 feet, approximately 65 storeys).

Ten York was designed by Wallman Architects of Toronto.

Below are two images from Tridel’s webpage for the Ten York project. Click on the link to obtain extensive information about condo floorplans and building details, as well as to view dozens of additional images and illustrations.

 

Ten York condo tower

This illustration shows the “community master plan” for the Ten York site

 

 

Ten York condo tower

This artistic illustration, from the Ten York project website, depicts a view of the north side of the condo tower and its podium.

 

 

Drilling rigs ready to rumble at Ten York condo site

10 York Street condo tower

January 18 2014: An Anchor Shoring rig stands on the site where Tridel will build its skyline-changing Ten York condominium tower. 

 

 

10 York condo tower

This Tridel photo illustration shows how the wedge-shaped Ten York condo tower (center) will rise to prominence between the elevated Gardiner Expressway and the Gardiner’s raised exit ramp to York, Bay and Yonge Streets.

 

 

Ten York’s turn: Preliminary construction work is starting on an eagerly-awaited condominium tower that will transform a tightly-cramped and unsightly piece of land into a premier residential address and, at the same time, greatly enhance one of the bleakest-looking blocks in the city’s south downtown core.

Foundation drilling rigs are in place at 10 York Street, where Tridel will build its highly successful Ten York tower, one of 2012’s best-selling condominium projects.

Ordinarily, the oddly-shaped property would seem an unlikely place to build a skyscraper — let alone one that people would love to live in.

Roughly triangular in shape, the site is completely surrounded on all sides by busy roads that are often clogged with traffic — Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner Expressway to the north, Harbour Street and the Gardiner’s elevated off-ramp to York, Bay and Yonge Streets to the south, and of course York Street itself to the east. These high-volume thoroughfares, along with a large above-ground parking garage on the south side of Harbour Street, make the pie-shaped area from York to Lower Simcoe Street one of the darkest, ugliest and noisiest places in the downtown core. The block presents pedestrians and cyclists with a harsh and unpleasant streetscape they wouldn’t want to linger on, but would rather hurry past to get somewhere nicer.

But Ten York should improve the pedestrian experience enormously — as should a three-tower mixed-use development that will revitalize another similarly dismal strip of land on the east side of York Street. (See my January 26 post, which profiles construction progress on a Menkes project that will transform a 1-hectare site at 1 York Street into a vital new residential and employment hub.)

Together, the Tridel and Menkes projects will renew and repurpose two “islands” of under-utilized real estate — roughly half a kilometer in length — that have long been a visual and physical barrier separating Toronto’s popular Harbourfront district from its bustling commercial core. In addition to enhancing the public realm, the new buildings will  establish a pleasant gateway between the two neighbourhoods — especially if the City ever follows through on plans to remove or reconfigure the Gardiner off-ramps that pass beside the development sites.

 

Ten York condo 

A Tridel image showing a street-level perspective of the prow-shaped Ten York podium. The 69-storey skyscraper was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

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Proposals for four skyline-changing towers set for review at Tuesday meeting of TEYCC

York/Harbour Street office & condo towers

This illustration, from a city planning department report, compares the heights of four towers proposed for the York Street/Harbour Street area to the two ÏCE Condominium skyscrapers currently under construction nearby. Click on the image to view it in a larger format.

 

1 York Street office building

The proposed towers include a 37-storey office building …

 

Harbour Plaza condo sign

… and two condo skyscrapers rising 62 and 66 storeys …

 

1 York Street / 90 Harbour Street

… on this surface parking lot property at 1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street, viewed here from York Street looking east.

 

 Ten York condo tower

Just across the road on the west side of York Street, this surface parking lot is the location for developer Tridel’s proposed Ten York condo tower …

 

 Tridel Ten York Condominium

 … which would soar 65 storeys from its wedge-shaped site, as depicted in this artistic illustration provided courtesy of Tridel. The developer recently launched sales previews for the 735-foot, 725-suite skyscraper.

 

Decision day: Two development proposals that would dramatically change the look of the city skyline are up for review at the monthly meeting of Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) on Tuesday. 

The proposals — the Ten York condo tower by Tridel, and the 1 York office tower and two  Harbour Plaza condo skyscrapers by Menkes — both have the blessing of City planners, who have recommended “approval in principle” of Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments that would permit the projects to proceed, subject to the provision of adequate parking space.

 

 

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Tridel previews trimmed Ten York condo tower as redesigned project goes to TEYCC for approval

Tridel Ten York condo tower

Making a strong point: The prow-shaped podium for the proposed Ten York condo tower will add tremendous visual interest and excitement for eastbound drivers emerging onto Harbour Street from the dark Lake Shore Blvd corridor beneath the Gardiner Expressway. This artistic rendering, provided courtesy of Tridel, depicts a view of the podium from its western point.

 

Tridel Ten York condo tower

This illustration, featured in current Tridel marketing promotions, depicts the dramatic impression the 65-storey, flatiron-shaped Ten York condo tower (center) would make on the Toronto skyline. Ten York was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects. Click on the image to view the illustration in a larger format.

 

Back in the spotlight: It was one year ago this month (November 22 2011, to be precise) that the announcement of plans to build Ten York, a 75-storey condo tower near the foot of York Street, became the talk of the town — and the focus of news headlines and discussion right across the country. Ten York remained a popular conversation topic for weeks afterward, with people continuing to comment as much on its soaring floor count as its unlikely location — a triangular site tightly wedged between three of downtown’s busiest traffic arteries, the Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard and Harbour Street. Ten York even dominated cocktail chat at holiday parties and get-togethers I attended throughout the holiday season  (asking the question: “Who would want to live so close to the Gardiner and Lake Shore?” always sparked a lively debate).

 

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Public meeting Tuesday for Ten York condo plan

 

illustrations of proposed Ten York condo tower Toronto

Images from developer Tridel’s website show the 75-storey Ten York condo tower that has been proposed for a former parking lot site wedged between Lake Shore Boulevard, the Gardiner Expressway, Harbour Street & York Street

 

Tight squeeze: A community consultation Tuesday evening will let members of the public tell city planners what they think of Ten York, the proposed 75-storey condo tower that made national headlines when the project was unveiled late last fall.

The public session starts with a 6.30 p.m. open house followed by a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at the PawsWay Toronto Centre at 245 Queen’s Quay West.

Typical community consultations include a brief presentation during which a representative for a developer (often, the building architect) describes highlights of a highrise condo proposal and shows slides illustrating the shadow impacts the tower is expected to have on its neighbourhood. That’s usually followed by a comment, question and answer period chaired by the city planner in charge of the file. City planners consider community input when making final recommendations on actions Toronto City Council should take with respect to planning applications.

 

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