Mucking around at the Milan condo tower site

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.

12 floors finished, 60 more to lose their marbles as First Canadian Place gets a new glass face

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First Canadian Place office tower recladding progress viewed from the northwest corner of York & Adelaide Streets on March 14 2011

Fresh new face: I think it’s safe to say the First Canadian Place (FCP) office tower rejuvenation program is the city’s highest-profile construction project — simply since exterior work on the 72-storey building’s top floors has been visible across much of the city since the beginning of 2010.

When it opened in 1975, FCP instantly became a Toronto landmark — and the tallest skyscraper in all of Canada. But even though it has held the title as the country’s tallest building ever since, FCP started losing its lustre in the mid-1990s when its bright white marble wall began to discolour and deteriorate.

When built, the tower was clad in 45,000 white Carrara marble panels that looked striking, but lacked durability. Over the next 20 years, city smog and the harsh extremes of the Canadian climate took their toll, causing the panels to darken, crack and warp. The building’s owners inspected the marble regularly, replacing any panels that had become loose or damaged, but the stark contrast of shiny new marble slabs beside original, greyed panels gave the tower’s exterior a mottled, dirty appearance.

Marble panel plunged from 55th floor

What looked like merely a cosmetic concern became a safety issue in May 2007 when a panel weighing between 200 and 300 pounds fell from the 55th floor during a wind storm, plunging to the roof of FCP’s third-floor mezzanine. The incident made headlines after police closed surrounding streets as a precaution, disrupting streetcar service and causing severe traffic congestion throughout the downtown core. Things quickly got back to normal in the Financial District once repairs were made; meanwhile, engineers inspected the building exterior to ensure there weren’t any more marble slabs at risk of falling off the tower.

FCP wasn’t the only skyscraper having problems with its marble skin; in fact, the 83-storey Aon Centre in Chicago — designed by Edward Durell Stone, also the architect of FCP — experienced similar issues with its Carrara marble cladding, and ultimately replaced its entire facade with granite.

$100 million rejuvenation project started in 2009

In the late 2000s, the owners of FCP — Brookfield Properties — decided it was time to give their tower a facelift, too, as part of a multifaceted building rejuvenation program that would upgrade the building’s mechanical, electrical and lighting systems as well. With a total pricetag of more than $100 million, the rejuvenation project began in the late summer of 2009, and will continue until the end of 2012. The actual recladding work started in early 2010, and is scheduled to conclude at the end of this year. All 45,000 marble slabs are being replaced with white fritted laminated glass panels, a process that takes about three weeks per floor. (Ceramic fritting is a glazing that is baked onto glass.)

Meanwhile, the marble removed from the tower is being repurposed for landscaping and community arts projects. (In a December 31, 2010 article, “The upside of losing all your marbles,” the Globe and Mail revealed how some Toronto artists are incorporating pieces of FCP’s marble into sculptures and other projects.)

Below are some of my pics showing progress on the recladding progress during the past 13 months. A separate post below that features a series of photos I’ve taken of FCP and the downtown skyline at various times during the past 10 years, including some showing the tower before it began shedding its skin, of course, and others during the rejuvenation process.

This November 9 2010 photo shows how the mix of old and new marble panels has given the First Canadian Place exterior a mottled appearance.

Discoloured marble panels on the tower’s north side November 29 2010

January 9 2010: Rows of marble panels have been removed above the 72nd floor

March 9 2010: More marble panels have been removed from the top of the tower. Meanwhile, the variations between old and new marble tiles are starkly evident in this view of upper floors on the skyscraper’s north side.

April 13 2010: A bank of external construction elevators rises up the east side of the tower. There is another bank of elevators on the building’s west wall.

May 8 2010: Work on the tower exterior is visible throughout the downtown core.

June 11 2010: Movable scaffolding for the recladding project’s work team is being wrapped around the top two floors of the tower.

July 21 2010: The scaffolding looks like a crown atop First Canadian Place as the tower takes on a golden glow in the late afternoon sunshine.

August 6 2010: The scaffolding on the north wall has shifted down a few feet.

August 26 2010: New glass cladding is visible at the top of the north wall.

September 8 2010: The top row of fritted glass panels is now fully visible.

October 7 2010: More rows of the new glass panels have been revealed.

October 20 2010: The fresh new top floor is fully revealed.

November 2 2010: A CN Tower view of First Canadian Place. Notice that the scaffolding still covers half of the 70th floor on the tower’s south side…

… but within mere minutes, the right-hand section of the scaffolding has been lowered to the next level…

… and then the center section drops down. Two construction workers can be seen standing on the middle top of the metal structure.

November 15 2010: Nearly five full floors have been finished.

November 29 2010: Bronze panels accent the tower’s inset corners.

December 17 2010: The top eight floors of the tower have now been reclad.

January 3 2011: Early morning view of First Canadian Place

February 3 2011: The work elevators rising up the west side of the tower.

February 18 2011: Recladding has been completed on nearly 11 full floors.

March 7 2011: Top of the tower’s west side viewed from street level

March 14 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from York Street yesterday.

The skyline presence of First Canadian Place

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Canada’s tallest office tower, the 72-storey First Canadian Place, is seen in a photo shot on April 9 2004

Standing tall: First Canadian Place has always had a strong presence on the Toronto skyline, thanks to its height and its crisp white Carrara marble curtain wall exterior. But time and weather have taken their toll on the stately tower, and its owner is undertaking a $100 million project to replace the 45,000 discoloured and deteriorating marble tiles with fritted glass panels (see the post above for further details on that endeavour).

First Canadian Place still stands out on the skyline — it just doesn’t look as brilliant as it once did. But once work crews finish installing its full new glass facade, possibly by the end of this year, the 72-storey tower will gleam once again.

Below is a pic I took of First Canadian Place and the Financial District while visiting the CN Tower shortly after I moved to Toronto in 1983. I took the other photos below that at various times over the past 10 years.

Summer 1983: CN Tower view of First Canadian Place and the Financial District

September 30 2001: First Canadian Place has some new company on the skyline

July 21 2001: First Canadian Place and the CN Tower dominate the skyline

August 3 2002: First Canadian Place towers above the Financial District

August 5 2002: Humber Bay view of First Canadian Place

May 11 2004: First Canadian Place viewed from Nathan Phillips Square

July 4 2007: A Riverdale Park view of First Canadian Place and its neighbours

July 12 2007: First Canadian Place as a thunderstorm approaches

August 4 2007: First Canadian Place has lost its shine, and the discoloured marble wall panels are clearly noticeable on the skyline, even from the Toronto Islands.

August 27 2008: The Bay Adelaide Centre rises near First Canadian Place

March 11 2010: Bathurst Street Bridge view of the Financial District

April 24 2010: When viewed from this location in Riverdale, the bottom two-thirds of First Canadian Place appears to have a bluish grey cladding. That’s actually the Bay Adelaide Centre tower two blocks away.

July 3 2010: First Canadian Place at sunset

August 1 2010: The scaffolding on the top floors of First Canadian Place is obvious even from a distance; here, from Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street Spit

August 1 2010: Another skyline view from the Leslie Street Spit

August 1 2010: Leslie Street Spit view of the skyline

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Financial District

January 14 2011: A winter skyline view from the Bathurst Street Bridge

February 12 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from Avenue Road at Bloor Street

February 18 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from the Metro Hall park next to Roy Thomson Hall (bottom right)

March 8 2011: Financial District in early evening

March 14 2011: First Canadian Place and nearby officer towers

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

Crane up at Women’s College Hospital building site

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A recently-erected construction crane soars above the Women’s College Hospital redevelopment building site on Saturday. Behind the crane is the Burano condo tower, also under construction, and the Murano South condo tower (right).

Pit stop: The foundation for the new Women’s College Hospital building on Grenville Street should take shape at a quicker pace now that a construction crane has been erected on the site. When I last reported on the hospital’s building progress in a January 28 post, excavation had reached to more than one level below ground. During February, crews continued digging while building a base for the construction crane in the southwest corner of the site. The crane was installed sometime during the past week. Below are photos showing excavation progress during February, as well as foundation building progress around the crane.

February 12 2011: Grenville St. view of the excavation for the new hospital building. This site formerly was occupied by the hospital’s parking garage.

February 12 2011: Foundation shoring equipment at the northwest corner

February 20 1011: Southwest corner being prepared for the crane base

February 20 2011: Excavation continues while the crane base is constructed

Another view of the base being built for the construction crane

February 20 2011: Construction crane base taking shape

March 12 2011: Excavation is now two levels deep

March 12 2011: Considerable construction progress has been made on the west side of the site but a huge amount of earth still must be removed from the east

March 12 2011: Building foundation takes shape around the base of the crane

March 12 2011: Building activity is focussed on the west side of the construction site next to the existing hospital building.

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.

Front Street trees axed, median dug up as work starts on new Union Station subway platform

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March 7 2011: A row of mature trees has been chopped down, and what’s left of the Front Street median is being demolished and removed to facilitate construction below the road of a new Union Station subway platform

This photo, from the Waterfront Toronto website, shows the narrow platform and dingy interior of the existing Union Station subway stop

From the City of Toronto website, this artistic rendering suggests how the Union Station subway stop will look following construction of an additional platform

Another artistic illustration, from the Waterfront Toronto website, shows how the wider, new Union Station subway platform might look when work ends in 2012

Tree totallers: Work has finally begun on the Union Station Second Subway Platform and Concourse Improvements Project, but the early stages of construction are actually taking place above ground, on Front Street, where medians between Yonge and York Streets are being demolished and dug up. The long-awaited $90 million subway station expansion project is good news for the thousands of commuters and subway riders who pass through the extremely congested and ratty-looking TTC station each day — but bad news for dozens of decades-old trees facing the axe on Front Street to facilitate construction beneath the road. The trees eventually will be replaced, but most likely with the pathetically thin and weak saplings that the City typically plants on downtown streets — scrawny, sorry twigs that look doomed to struggle and then die within a year or two of planting.

The subway station improvement project has been in the works for more than 10 years, and commuters will be relieved to see the construction finally get going. The TTC undertook a feasibility study for the subway station expansion way back in 1999, and held an open house in June 2003 to present its plans to the public. “Union Station is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada, serving approximately 250,000 passengers each day,” the TTC website notes. Many of those passengers use the Union subway station, so overcrowding is common and traffic flow is terrible. But by doubling the size of the subway platform, the TTC will be able to move people through the station more quickly and more safely, while enabling the station to handle future passenger loads that are expected to increase tremendously, says a City of Toronto website page describing the subway project.

At present, one uncomfortably narrow center platform serves trains heading east on the Yonge subway line, as well as trains going west on the University-Spadina line. Once construction is complete, there will be wider, separate platforms for each direction. A new pedestrian corridor will allow people heading to the GO trains at Union Station to bypass the paid-entry area of the subway station, while connections to the Harbourfront Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system will be improved. The renovations also will provide full accessibility to all levels of the Union subway station, better traffic flow on the concourse level, and better access to the TTC fare lines.

The expansion couldn’t happen soon enough. As the Financial District’s most important and most popular subway station, Union has always been bustling with commuters heading to and from the surrounding office towers. Crowds travelling to sports, entertainment and convention events at the Air Canada Centre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Rogers Centre have made it even busier, while the condo and office building boom in the former railway lands area to the southwest have increased the traffic strain. With additional condo and office developments currently under construction, and even more buildings on the horizon for the East Bayfront and port lands areas, the subway station urgently required expansion just to handle the crush of additional passengers expected to use the LRT line, which itself is going to be extended.

Initial preparatory work, which included sewer relocation, began in June 2006 and finished in March 2008. Last year, the design phase of the project concluded and contracts were put out to tender. EllisDon Corporation won the contract in January and started work on February 23. Construction on Front Street is expected to last five weeks, while one more week will be spent removing the median on Bay Street between Front Street and the railway bridge. The project, which is being overseen by Waterfront Toronto but managed by the TTC, is expected to finish sometime in 2012.

Meanwhile, we might get word sometime this year on whether the City might proceed with plans to give Front Street a major facelift between Bay and York Streets. Reconfiguration of the block in front of Union Station, to make it more pedestrian-friendly and safe, has been considered in a number of city planning reports which are currently proceeding through environmental assessment studies. Among the concepts being considered to transform the street are the creation of a “grand civic plaza,” a mid-block pedestrian crossing, wider sidewalks and traffic lane reductions. Further information on some of the ideas being considered are outlined in a Changes to Front Street at Union Station July 2010 newsletter as well as on the Changes to Front Street at Union Station page of the City of Toronto website.

Below is a TTC website map showing the locations where work on the Front and Bay Street medians will be taking place during the next several weeks, along with some of my photos of the medians and demolition activity. There’s also a series of photos showing how Front Street looked last fall, between Bay and York Streets.

TTC website advisory about street construction on Bay and Front Streets

Median demolition on Front Street in front of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

The new subway platform will be built below the roadway

Trees were chopped down first; here, the concrete median is being destroyed

Work will take place seven days a week for the next five weeks — from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and even on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Traffic is restricted during the construction, but at least one lane is being kept open in each direction throughout the work period

The trees that were destroyed eventually will be replaced; however, the city may decide later this year if it will pursue plans to transform this stretch of Front Street into a more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare

A new mid-block pedestrian crossing here is one option under study

Median demolition began in front of the hotel but will move eastward

Workers inspect the Front Street median between Bay and Yonge Streets

These trees near Yonge St. are destined to have a date with the axe, too

Looking west, from Yonge St., at the trees on the Front Street median

These trees, seen in November, were destroyed for the subway project

Front Street between Union Station and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

A view of the median across from the Fairmont Royal York Hotel

West view of the Front Street median outside the Royal York main entrance

A March 9 2010 view of the median from outside the Royal York Hotel

Union Station viewed from the Front Street median on November 9 2010

View toward Front Street and the Royal York from the front of Union Station

The sidewalks and road on Front Street could use a makeover and may get one — if the city ultimately decides to reconfigure the entire block

A view of Front Street between Union Station and the Royal York Hotel

Front Street median outside Union Station March 9 2010

Looking east along Front Street from York Street on November 29 2010

Crane removed from Uptown Residences roof

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Now you see it … the Uptown tower sports a rooftop crane on March 1

Now you don’t … The Uptown on March 8 after its crane was removed. The crane boom poking out from behind the Casa condo tower (right) is building the new Four Seasons Toronto hotel & condo in Yorkville.

Condo craniotomy: The YWCA Elm Centre wasn’t the only major downtown construction project to lose its crane this week.

In my “Yorkville awaits the Uptown girl’s grand entrance” write-up a week ago, I posted photos of The Uptown Residences, and described how construction of the 48-storey Yorkville condo tower is winding down. I also mentioned that a small construction crane still had to be removed from the condo tower rooftop.

Well, it’s gone now — it was disassembled and removed from the building yesterday. And even though I had been expecting the crane to disappear at any time, I wasn’t quite ready to see The Uptown Residences sporting a naked roof. I had an unsettling feeling while snapping photos of the crane-less tower shortly before sunset yesterday, and I kept thinking something about the Yorkville skyline just didn’t look right.

From my balcony, I have watched cranes working on The Uptown’s roof since the late fall of 2009, and during some of those 18 months The Uptown’s crane stood higher than any other structure in the Yonge & Bloor area. It became such a familiar sight on the skyline, I was bound to miss its presence.

But there are two other cranes I can see soaring above Yorkville from time to time — those atop the Four Seasons Toronto towers currently under construction at the corner of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue. Unfortunately, they’re largely blocked from view by the 46-floor Casa Condominium tower, but I do get an occasional glimpse as their booms swing toward the office buildings at Yonge & Bloor.

Below is a series of pics showing the Uptown’s crane during various stages of the condo tower’s construction — since October 2009 when I was first able to see the crane from my balcony, until its last day on the job this week.

August 6 2008: The Uptown’s crane stands only two storeys above street level during construction of the luxury condo tower’s foundation.

October 25 2009: My first glimpse of The Uptown’s crane, as the tip of the boom pokes above a nearby apartment building. The crane at left is atop The Uptown’s next-door neighbour, the Crystal Blu condominium tower.

November 2 2009: The Uptown’s crane still has a ways to go to catch up to the height of Crystal Blu’s and ultimately reach above the nearby towers.

December 21 2009: The Casa condo tower crane has been removed, Crystal Blu condos is climbing higher, and The Uptown’s crane is more visible on the skyline.

January 21 2010: The cranes on Crystal Blu and The Uptown Residences appear synchronized, both pointing in the same direction at the same angle

February 1 2010: The Casa condo tower nears completion, but The Uptown Residences tower still hasn’t come into view.

March 15 2010: The crane cab’s tinted windows stand out against the cloudy sky

March 29 2010: Now that the Crystal Blu condos crane has been removed, the Uptown Residences crane is the tallest in the Yorkville area

March 31 2010: The white boom looks bright against the blue morning sky

April 4 2010: The crane’s boom glows orange in the sunrise at 6 a.m. Easter Sunday

April 6 2010: White crane against a deep blue sky shortly before 8 a.m.

April 8 2010: The crane’s striking silhouette during a gorgeous sunset

May 10 2010: Another sunset silhouette of the crane and Yorkville towers

June 20 2010: Uptown Residences construction crane at sunset

June 20 2010: With its crane, the Uptown is the tallest structure in Yorkville

June 20 2010: The crane and another spectacular sunset

July 1 2010: The crane and nearby towers during an awesome Canada Day sunset

July 9 2010: The Uptown and its crane get upstaged by a fiery sky at sunset

July 17 2010: The crane and yet another brilliant July sunset

July 20 2010: The crane points to clouds glowing in another wonderful sunset

August 17 2010: The Yorkville skyline and another dramatic Toronto sunset

September 8 2010: Thick, dark storm clouds approach the tower

September 10 2010: The crane points straight up on a partly cloudy summer day

October 29 2010: Stormclouds advancing toward Yorkville

October 29 2010: The tower’s top southeast corner cladding cannot be installed until the construction crane has been removed from the roof.

November 28 2010: A storm front pulls over Yorkville like a thick woolly blanket

December 7 2010: A small red temporary crane has been assembled on the roof of The Uptown Residences tower to begin removing the larger crane

December 8 2010: The two cranes tower above the Yorkville neighbourhood

December 11 2010: The red crane pulls the last segment of the big white crane through the top of the Uptown Residences roof

December 15 2010: The big white crane has been completely removed

December 15 2010: A gaping hole in the wall and roof marks the spot where the large white crane had been positioned

December 21 2010: South view of the temporary red crane atop the tower

January 2 2011: Patching up the gaps where the white crane used to sit

January 18 2011: The Uptown’s rooftop cladding is nearly all in place

February 23 2011: North side of Uptown Residences (right) viewed from the roof of a Yorkville Avenue parking garage

March 2 2011: The temporary crane just days before its removal from the roof

March 8 2011: Uptown Residences condo shortly after the crane was removed

Crane comes off YWCA Elm Centre building site

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March 7 2011: Two portable cranes remove segments from the main construction crane that helped build the YWCA Elm Centre apartment building

Project completion looms closer: You can’t miss the new YWCA Elm Centre apartment building at the corner of Elizabeth and Elm Streets downtown, and not just because it’s located between two very busy downtown landmarks: the Hospital for Sick Children and the Toronto bus terminal. Thanks to the bright blue window and wall panels accenting its 17-storey tower on Elm Street and most of its 10-storey wing along Elizabeth, the Centre is highly visible for blocks in several directions.

On Tuesday, the Centre stood out even more when two portable cranes pulled onto the west side of the property and began taking down the tall white construction crane that had helped build the YWCA complex during much of the past two years. Construction crane removal is always a sign that a building project is nearing completion, and the YWCA website does state that the new facility is expected to open in the middle of this year.

The $80 million complex will be “the largest affordable and supportive housing development for women in Canada” with 300 apartments geared mainly to low-income women and their families, women with addiction and mental health issues, and families of aboriginal ancestry. The Centre also will be “home to YWCA Toronto’s new administrative headquarters and a hub for women-focused events and activities in our city,” the website explains. More information about the Centre and a “virtual tour” of the building is available on the website.

Below are more photos of the YWCA Elm Centre.

January 3 2011: Southeast view of YWCA Elm Centre from Edward Street

January 3 2011: South view of YWCA Elm Centre from Chestnut Street

January 8 2011: East view from the corner of Bay and Edward Streets

March 7 2011: The yellow crane lowers a large segment that had been detached from the fixed-in-place crane used to build the YWCA facility

March 7 2011: The bottom half of the fixed crane is visible at right

City Scene: Clouds and condo towers at sunset

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Bay Street condo and apartment towers at sunset March 8 2011

Raising L : Daniel Libeskind-designed condo tower begins climb above Yonge St. hoarding

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Construction crews at the south end of the L Tower site on March 7 2011

Construction is now higher than the hoarding along Yonge St.

Rebar pokes above hoarding along the tower’s Yonge Street perimeter

Raising L: For the past three years, hoarding has hidden most of the construction progress for the 57-storey L Tower condominium going up on Yonge Street, between Front Street and The Esplanade. But now that construction is climbing higher than the hoarding, passersby are finally getting a glimpse of the controversial Daniel Libeskind-designed skyscraper. The big question now is: will people like it? When the condo tower project was announced in 2005, its original L-shaped boot-shaped design drew considerable criticism and downright blunt derision. The funky-looking “foot” and “heel,” actually an eight-storey podium, was originally intended to be a $75 million cultural facility dedicated to arts and heritage awareness. Since the podium “toe” would have extended over the roof of the city-owned Sony Centre for the Performing Arts next door, some people thought the image of a “boot” stomping on the Sony Centre looked ridiculous. However, as architecture writer John Bentley Mays explained in an Oct. 29 2009 column in The Globe and Mail, that project hit the skids when the federal and provincial governments refused funding, and no corporate sponsors could be found to step in and foot the bill. With the cultural centre axed, the much-maligned podium was chopped from the design and the resulting tower, to use John Bentley Mays’ words, “is half a Libeskind, a shaft without a strong base.”

(I always thought the boot would have been an excellent site for a Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the famous neon signs saved from the long-defunct Sam the Record store at Yonge and Gould Streets. Some of you might recall that, around the time the L-Tower was unveiled, plans were announced to build a Canadian Music Hall of Fame in the Metropolis entertainment complex being built opposite Yonge-Dundas Square. Those plans ultimately got derailed, while Metropolis itself encountered turbulence in its efforts to obtain construction financing. The complex did eventually get built, and was officially called Toronto Life Square after the owners of the local magazine with the same title purchased naming rights. But Toronto Life ended its affiliation with the building several years ago and the complex, which is home to AMC cinemas, restaurants and retail stores, is now known simply as 10 Dundas East.)

But the L Tower’s problems continued beyond the cancellation of the podium museum project. Funds from the condo tower development were going to be used to revitalize the 50-year-old Sony Centre (originally called the O’Keefe Centre, and more recently the Hummingbird Centre.) The Sony Centre’s desperately-needed interior upgrades were supposed to begin in 2007; however, the renovation work got pushed to the fall of 2009. Part of the delay was due to difficulties in arranging financing during the global recession, while it also took time for the developer to resolve various outstanding issues with the city. In an Oct. 21 2009 story in the National Post, former Toronto Mayor David Miller is quoted as saying: “You’re building a very significant new condominium building above a heritage building. That’s complicated, the financing is complicated and the neighbourhood consultation was complicated… There were 27 public meetings.”

Construction eventually did commence on a revised tower design. As described by John Barber in an Oct. 3 2008 column in The Globe and Mail, “the revised plan…shows a plain, generous plaza on the [Sony] Centre’s Yonge Street frontage, where the boot was meant to come down. The handsome limestone cladding of the centre’s western elevation remains largely unmolested, as does it roof.” But while the Sony Centre lost a new cultural attraction, the condo tower gained a great new place for some of its facilities. “Such amenities as an indoor pool, fitness facilities, spa and a party room were moved above ground from basement level. The development also includes a landscaped outdoor plaza running north to Front St. that will be open to the public,” Paula Kulig wrote in a Nov. 7 2009 article in the Toronto Star.

Below are renderings of the L Tower’s original and revised designs, along with photos I’ve taken at the condo construction site over the past three years.

A rendering of the much-criticized original “boot” design for L Tower, left, compares with a rendering of the revised footless condo building, right

September 3 2008: Original development proposal sign for the L Tower condo tower, seen here outside the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts

September 3 2008: L Tower billboards on hoarding outside Sony Centre

The building under construction behind the Sony Centre is the London on the Esplanade condo complex, another project by the same developer as L Tower.

Sept 22 2008: CN Tower view of the L Tower site (circled)

April 25 2009: Original L Tower design rendering on a billboard on the hoarding along the Yonge Street side of the construction site

November 8 2009: L Tower condo tower marketing sign, featuring the revised building design, propped on a sidewalk on The Esplanade

March 9 2010: Demolition and early excavation work at the L Tower site

March 9 2010: Excavator digging at the south end of the site near The Esplanade

March 9 2010: North view of demolition and excavation activity

March 9 2010: Hoarding along the Yonge Street sidewalk next to the L Tower construction site; note that exterior work has finished on the nearby London on the Esplanade condo building behind the Sony Centre

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of cranes at the L Tower construction site

November 2 2010: Another CN Tower view of the L Tower construction site

November 9 2010: L Tower construction site viewed from The Esplanade

November 9 2010: L Tower foundation building progress viewed from Yonge St.

January 3 2011: L Tower construction site viewed from The Esplanade

January 3 2011: Above-grade construction viewed from Yonge St.

January 3 2011: Rebar for wall forms extend one storey above street level

January 3 2011: Foundation construction forms viewed from Yonge St.

February 3 2011: Floor building forms for L Tower construction are stored on the future Esplanade location of the Backstage condo tower

February 3 2011: A crane hoists an L Tower building form into the air

February 3 2011: Construction progress viewed from The Esplanade

February 3 2011: Building forms for L Tower’s street level along Yonge Street

February 3 2011: Street-level construction viewed from Yonge Street

March 7 2011: Yonge Street view of construction crews on the L Tower site

March 7 2011: Building forms viewed from the west side of Yonge Street

March 7 2011: L Tower construction viewed from the west side of Yonge Street

March 7 2011: Two tall cranes are being used to build the 57-storey condo tower

March 7 2011: Workers and the crane at the south end of the construction site

March 7 2011: The construction is most visible at the south end of the site

March 7 2011: Workers put metal bars in place for construction of the next level

March 7 2011: Northeast view of the site from the nearby GO bus terminal

March 7 2011: Construction viewed through the southwest truck entrance

March 7 2011: Construction viewed from the south side of The Esplanade

Once it reaches its full 57-floor height, L Tower will block most of this view, from The Esplanade, of these Financial District skyscrapers

March 7 2011 view north, from The Esplanade, of the L Tower construction site

March 7 2011: First level of above-grade construction viewed from The Esplanade

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.

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Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing Building Boom.

Mucking around at the Milan condo tower site

City Scene: South view of the Ritz-Carlton tower

12 floors finished, 60 more to lose their marbles as First Canadian Place gets a new glass face

The skyline presence of First Canadian Place

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

Crane up at Women’s College Hospital building site

The two sides of Victory Condos

Charlie condos catching attention on King West

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

Front Street trees axed, median dug up as work starts on new Union Station subway platform

Crane removed from Uptown Residences roof

City Scene: Clouds and condo towers at sunset

Raising L : Daniel Libeskind-designed condo tower begins climb above Yonge St. hoarding

Tracking Downtown Toronto's AmazingBuilding Boom.

Tracking Downtown Toronto's Amazing
Building Boom.