Construction crane going up at Cinema Tower site

Partially assembled crane viewed from Adelaide Street on Feb. 17 2011

Lights, camera, crane!: A work crew was busy assembling a crane in the Cinema Tower excavation when I walked past the condo construction site at the southeast corner of Widmer and Adelaide Streets this afternoon.

A project of The Daniels Corporation and a design of Toronto’s Kirkor Architects & Planners, Cinema Tower will rise 43 storeys on a site formerly occupied by a parking lot. It will be a new next-door neighbour for another Daniels condominium project, Festival Tower, and the adjacent TIFF Bell Lightbox on King Street West. And in just a few more years, it will have yet another condo tower neighbour when the 43-storey Pinnacle on Adelaide gets built on the parking lot right next door.

With three tall condo buildings crowded together on just one city block, will Cinema Tower be able to distinguish itself and stand out, or will it just blend into the skyline with its neighbours?

“The challenge for each of the neighbouring buildings,” the Kirkor architects explain on their website, “is their response to the TIFF building, especially the height, massing and scale as the City of Toronto defines the Festival Tower as the anchor to the site. The response was to create a tower that provided a facade centred towards Adelaide Street with sheer curved curtain glass resting on a podium that evokes a modern interpretation of the warehouse streetscape of the existing neighborhood.”

I’m anxious to watch Cinema Tower go up; though I’ve seen only one architectural rendering of the tower so far, I think it brings substantially more class, style and interest to the area than the boring, boxy Festival Tower.

Below are some photos of workers preparing to assemble a crane segment today, along with other pics I’ve taken at the Cinema Tower site in the past three years. There also are two excavation photos from the condo project’s website.

Cinema Tower rendering on a billboard next to the construction site

September 22 2008: CN Tower view of the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower under construction on King Street West. The Cinema Tower site is the parking lot in the upper left corner (the two buildings have since been demolished); the Pinnacle on Adelaide will rise on the separate parking lot to the right.

September 3 2008: The parking lot that used to occupy the Cinema Tower site

Cinema Tower development proposal sign

October 20 2010: Early stages of excavation at the Cinema Tower site

October 20 2010: Widmer Street view of the Cinema Tower site. When finished, the condo building will block most of this view of the Financial District.

Cinema Tower website photo of excavation activity on the condo property

Another Cinema Tower website photo of excavation progress. The building in the bottom left corner is the Champs Food Supplies store. The parking lot on the right is the Pinnacle on Adelaide condo tower site.

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Cinema Tower excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards on hoarding next to the condo excavation

November 23 2010: Billboards along the sidewalk on Adelaide Street West

November 23 2010: Billboards along Adelaide Street

November 29 2010: The Champs Food Supplies Ltd store on Widmer Street will be dwarfed by the 43-storey Cinema Tower and Pinnacle condos

November 29 2011: Billboards at the Cinema Tower sales office on Adelaide Street

January 14 2011: Cinema Tower excavation viewed from Widmer Street

February 17 2011: Widmer Street closed for Cinema Tower crane installation

Work crew prepares a crane segment for assembly

Crane segment to be hoisted for assembly above the Cinema Tower excavation

Operator of the crane that will hoist the segment onto the construction site crane

Crane installation viewed from south end of Widmer Street

The partially assembled construction crane above the excavation

Waiting for the relaunch of the MaRS building mission … Phase II construction announcement coming soon?

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The mothballed MaRS Phase II building site, seen on Jan. 18 2011

Will construction resume?: Downtown’s MaRS Discovery District — the bustling charitable research and innovation centre on College Street, next to the Toronto General Hospital campus — gets mentioned in the news quite regularly. It got some media attention slightly more than a week ago, when the provincial government announced Feb. 9 that MaRS “is now part of the Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE), a network of 14 regional innovation centres across the province that help local entrepreneurs bring innovative ideas to market.” And almost every week or two, MaRS makes the news with proud announcements that clients have secured financing for new ventures, launched new technology products, or won major awards.

But the really big news I’m anxiously awaiting is word that MaRS is finally going to resume construction of its Phase II development at the corner of College and University Avenue — the building site that has been mothballed since November 2008.

That news could be coming soon, according to a recent story on OpenFile, the collaborative online news site. The January 24 OpenFile Toronto story by Tim Alamenciak says MaRS and its real estate partner have been discussing terms for resuming construction, with a formal announcement expected shortly — possibly within just a few weeks. No details were available, but Alamenciak said a MaRS rep “confirmed that there have been no changes to the original building plan, which called for a twenty-storey tower that would add 750,000 square feet of space to MaRS.” The official also confirmed that “the existing foundation will still be used,” Alamenciak reported.

MaRS Phase II was the city’s first high-profile construction project to fall victim to the global economic crisis. When the plug was pulled and construction crawled to a halt, the building foundation — with a two-level underground parking garage and a direct connection to the College station on the University subway line — had already reached ground level. A National Post story from November 2008 described why building activity was stopped. I’ll be thrilled if the Post (or any other local paper) soon publishes a story reporting that construction activity has resumed on the dormant property, but I’m not holding my breath. Word on the street early last fall was that construction would restart by the end of October, but of course nothing happened.

The site has been sitting eerily empty and silent, reminiscent of the infamous Stump that sat next to Adelaide Street in the heart of the city’s Financial District for nearly 15 years after an office building project fell victim to the economic recession of the early 1990s (the Stump ultimately got demolished when the Bay Adelaide Centre office tower was constructed several years ago). I’d hate to see the MaRS stump languish for that long, but suspect we will see workers back on the site in the near future.

The OpenFile story suggests that MaRS will continue with the Bregman + Hamann Architects building designs originally revealed for the project. Below are some artistic renderings of the MaRS building design that appear on the website of curtain wall engineering company Sota Glazing.

I’ve also posted some pics I took at the building site in 2008 while construction of the foundation was underway, along with a couple of pics of the site taken earlier this week.

Artistic rendering of the MaRS Phase II tower design

Artistic rendering of a street-level view of the Phase II building

Illustration suggesting how the MaRS building will appear on University Avenue

MaRS Phase II building construction site seen on Sept 3 2008

Site viewed from a construction gate on University Avenue on September 3 2008

Queen’s Park Crescent view of two cranes on the MaRS site on November 7 2008

MaRS site construction gate on College Street viewed November 7 2008

Another November 2008 view of the site from College Street

Ground level floor ready for concrete pour on November 7 2008

One of the cranes on the MaRS site November 7 2008

Elevator core taking shape on November 7 2008

MaRS Phase II building construction progress viewed on November 7 2008

Another November 7 2008 view of construction progress

MaRS Phase II building site viewed from College Street on February 15 2011

The elevator core “stump” is the most visible sign of construction progress at the site before building activity was stopped in mid-November 2008

Keeping tabs on … podium construction progress at the Distillery District’s Clear Spirit condo tower

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Building progress viewed from Stone House Walk on February 3 2011

That’s the spirit: Tourists and Toronto residents visiting the Distillery District can finally see progress on the Clear Spirit condominium complex now that podium construction has climbed higher than the Paint Shop and Rack House buildings at the historic neighbourhood’s east end. There isn’t much to see so far, but that will change quickly once the condo tower starts climbing towards its full height of about 40 storeys.

Until a few weeks ago, it was difficult to see any of the construction unless you peered through a chain link fence at the far east end of Stone House Walk, next to the south parking lot. Even from there, you can see only a small section of the building taking shape.

Hoarding blocks views of the construction area from almost everywhere in the Distillery District itself, while Cherry Street isn’t a safe viewing area because of all the traffic from heavy construction vehicles going to and from the Clear Spirit site as well as to and from the massive West Don Lands development across the street where the 2015 Pan Am Games athletes’ village will be situated.

The Clear Spirit tower was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are several building renderings from the architectsAlliance and Clear Spirit websites, along with photos I’ve taken of construction progress since early 2010.

Clear Spirit condo building rendering from the architectsAlliance website

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building lobby

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building podium and tower

Podium construction rising above Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit condo excavation viewed from Stone House Walk March 17 2010

Another view of the excavation from the end of Stone House Walk

Foundation construction viewed from Stone House Walk on November 9 2010

Another view of Clear Spirit condo construction on November 9 2010

Podium construction obvious from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Podium rising above the Mill Street Brewery on February 3 2011

Podium progress viewed from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011

Clear Spirit crane and construction viewed from Cherry Street on February 3 2011

Crane viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance on Mill Street on February 3 2011. The architectsAlliance-designed building will dominate this view once construction of the 40-storey glass tower is well underway.

Clear Spirit condo tower rendering on a billboard in the Distillery District

Yonge St. site ready for excavation … but when will Ryerson reveal student learning centre design?

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Ryerson University sign at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets

Site’s all set: It was a year ago this week that Ryerson University announced it had selected the architecture team for the new 10-storey Student Learning Centre (SLC) it plans to build at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets on the former site of the famous Sam The Record Man store.

During the past couple of months, I have seen small contracting crews on the SLC site, clearing rubble and doing what appeared to be minor pre-construction site preparation work. This afternoon, the property was empty, virtually clear of debris, vehicles and heavy machinery. The site looks like it’s all set for excavation, so I’m wondering if the university may soon reveal the SLC design, and start digging.

I’m sure the whole process has been held up by events during the last two months on the south side of Gould Street, where the historic Empress Hotel building at 335 Yonge Street burned down in a fire that investigators determined was caused by arson. I’m pissed that 335 Yonge was neglected and allowed to languish, and I’m even more angry that the building had to be demolished because of the irreparable damage it suffered both from the fire and subsequent investigation procedures. Now that the beautiful heritage building is gone forever, I hope the property lands in Ryerson’s hands, so the site can be developed into an impressive Yonge Street gateway to the university’s downtown campus. (I definitely don’t want to see 335 Yonge’s owners get city approval to build a condo tower there.)

It was on February 10 last year that the university said it had picked Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City to be co-architects for the 160,000 square foot learning centre, a high-tech library and learning environment connected to the university’s existing library building. Ryerson is hoping the SLC can also be linked to the Yonge subway line by its own on-site entrance to the Dundas subway station.

According to the university, “[t]he state-of-the-art Student Learning Centre will provide the latest technology and will be designed to accommodate different learning styles and teaching practices. The SLC will feature bright, open, technologically rich, barrier-free spaces for individual and collaborative study. A variety of learning environments, digital support and academic services will promote student learning success and help foster a culture of collaboration and creativity.”

Below are pics I’ve taken of the SLC site over the last few years, followed by a couple of photos showing how the site looked this afternoon.

September 26 2008: The iconic Sam the Record Man store seen shortly before its demolition. The building to its left once housed a popular A&A record outlet; after it closed, a Future Shop store occupied the spot for several years.

Another view of the famous Sam the Record Man store before its demolition

September 26 2008: The future SLC site viewed from south of Gould Street

February 15 2009: Demolition of Sam the Record Man store is almost complete

A graffiti-covered wall along O’Keefe Lane is all that remains of the Sam’s store

May 2 2010: Sam’s is long gone, but demolition hasn’t begun on the A&A site

November 23 2010: The former A&A/Future Shop building is finally coming down

December 21 2010: A light layer of snow covers the cleared SLC site

December 21 2010: Site viewed from O’Keefe Lane, looking west to Yonge St.

December 21 2010: The SLC site, looking southwest from O’Keefe Lane

January 5 2011: Site viewed during demolition at the 335 Yonge St. fire scene

January 8 2011: Gould Street during the 335 Yonge fire investigation

February 15 2011: The SLC site viewed from the west side of Yonge at Gould St.

February 15 2011: Vacant SLC site viewed from the corner of Yonge & Elm Streets

Brick heritage houses on Sultan Street will be included as part of office/retail project

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Development proposal sign on St Thomas Street February 12 2011

Heritage houses will stay: In a post early last month, I noted that a nine-story office building was being proposed as part of a redevelopment of the south block of Sultan Street near Yorkville, a site on which six charming brick heritage houses are situated. At the time, there was no word on whether or not the developer planned to demolish the buildings, or work them into the redevelopment. The good news is that the buildings will be staying. Since my last walk through the neighbourhood, a development proposal sign has been posted outside the heritage houses, with an illustration and text explaining that the office structure will be built at the rear of the houses — an area presently used for parking. I’m not thrilled with the office building design, which I think resembles a cloudy chunk of ice. But of course that’s just an artistic illustration; hopefully the finished product will be more appealing and attractive.

The heritage houses on Sultan and St Thomas Streets, seen today

The 9-storey office building would rise on the parking area

Space looks tight, but apparently there’s room to add more than 7,000 square meters of office space behind the heritage houses.

Artistic illustration of the proposed office building redevelopment

77 Charles West condo gets a street presence as its first two floors begin to take shape

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Architectural building rendering from the 77 Charles West condo website …

..and a photo of construction progress on the first two floors February 15

Going Up: Passersby can finally see the Seventy Seven Charles West luxury condo building taking shape, now that construction is reaching above ground on the first two floors.

This is an interesting and unique project, and not just because its 77 Charles Street West address occupies an enviable prime location with the sprawling University of Toronto campus to its west and south, and the posh Yorkville neighbourhood to its north. Seventy Seven actually is two completely different buildings in one: a 13-storey condominium complex with very expensive large suites up top (prices start at a mere $1.2 million dollars), and Kintore College, a three-storey residence and educational facility for devout female Catholic university students down below, each with their own private entrance.

A project of Aspen Ridge Homes, the dual-purpose complex at 77 Charles West was designed by Yann Weymouth of international architecture firm HOK. You can read exactly how Weymouth has integrated two separate buildings into one mixed-use structure in this informative March 16 2007 column by John Bentley Mays of The Globe and Mail, so I won’t repeat those details here. Will Weymouth’s design vision for this unusual building combination succeed? We should be able to tell if he’s managed to pull it off once Seventy Seven’s glass curtain wall starts taking form, likely later this year.

But I’m more curious about something else: How do people who have bought suites at Seventy Seven feel about other new condos that will be built nearby?

Impressive views across the University of Toronto campus

The Seventy Seven Charles condo website touts all the wonderful sightlines that its residents will enjoy from their posh pads; in fact, you can click on a rendering of the building to see views in eight directions from several floor levels. Most impressive are the unobstructed west views overlooking the U of T campus, and the south views extending beyond the university all the way to the Financial District and the CN Tower. But the 45- and 50-storey towers of U Condos (currently in early stages of site excavation) at the corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets might block some southeast views, while The St. Thomas, a 23-storey luxury condo planned for the northwest corner of Charles and St. Thomas Streets, will block some sightlines to the northwest. Of course, One St. Thomas Residences, the stylish black and white 29-storey luxury condo tower designed by New York architect Robert A. M. Stern, already blocks views immediately to the north of Seventy Seven.

However, what’s probably peeving some purchasers is the prospect of a slightly taller building going up right next door, obscuring many views entirely. Loretto College, a six-storey women’s residence that is part of St. Michael’s College at U of T, sits on St. Mary Street about 50 or so feet south of the Seventy Seven construction site. Last year, the college filed an application with the city for zoning approval to redevelop its site into a new 19-storey mixed-use building with office space, 90 student residence rooms, and 87 condominium units. If that proposal gets the green light, the new Loretto College will stand three floors taller than Seventy Seven. [Editor’s Note: A revised development application was subsequently filed with the City, proposing a 40-storey institutional and residence building. The new complex would have a 2-storey podium and 38-storey tower, and would include 115 student dormitory units, a chapel, 8 1-bedroom apartment units for chapel members, and 220 apartment units. As of January 2013, the application had not gone before Toronto City Council for approval.]

I’d feel mighty miffed myself if I forked out a fortune expecting to see skylines, old university buildings and greenery from my new designer digs at Seventy Seven, only to get views into student dorm rooms and other condos close by instead. (Residents with southwest corner suites would still get a bit of a view — through the double-driveway-width space between Loretto College and U of T’s Rowell Jackman Hall to its west.)

But maybe Seventy Seven’s buyers won’t mind. They might be too busy exploring nearby museums and cultural institutions or passing their time shopping and dining. As the condo website proudly points out, “trendy Yorkville, with its cornucopia of galleries, fashion, glamour and cuisine, is just minutes from 77 Charles.” I suppose that, for some people, gazing at the U of T grounds from a luxury balcony just couldn’t compare to window shopping at Prada and Chanel or peering into the glass jewellery display cases at Cartier. Below are several more architectural renderings from the Seventy Seven Charles West website, along with some of my pics of construction progress and the building’s current and future neighbours, which I mentioned above. More photos can be viewed in the “Bloor-Yorkville condo projects” album on the Photo Sets page of the blog.

Rendering of curved upper floors and balconies at 77 Charles West

Rendering of glass walls and terraces at 77 Charles West

August 6 2008: 77 Charles sales centre and the old Kintore College building

November 22 2009: Clearing rubble from the site before excavation

November 22 2009: Clearing rubble from the site before excavation begins

November 22 2009: 77 Charles West site viewed from St. Thomas Street

Building illustration on the hoarding around 77 Charles West

November 22 2009: Construction site viewed from the east, on Charles Street. The building to the west of the site is U of T’s Rowell Jackman Hall.

November 11 2010: construction crane on 77 Charles West site

November 11 2010: Cement truck at the east end of the site

November 11 2010 view of construction activity from the east end of the site

December 3 2010: Building illustration on the hoarding along Charles Street

December 4 2010: foundation construction has reached ground level

December 4 2010: another view of foundation construction progress

December 4 2010: Construction viewed from west side of 77 Charles West site

December 4 2010: workers repairing the construction crane

Another building illustration on the hoarding along the Charles Street sidewalk

December 4 2010: Site viewed from the east on Charles Street

December 4 2010: Crane on the 77 Charles West site viewed from St Mary Street through the driveways between Rowell Jackman Hall, left, and Loretto College

January 9 2011: construction of first floor underway

January 9 2011: another view of first floor construction progress

January 29 2011: construction progress viewed from west end of the site

January 29 2011: another view of first floor construction progress

January 29 2011: first floor kept under wraps during the cold weather

January 29 2011: The driveway in the foreground leads into the underground parking garage of Rowell Jackman Hall next door to 77 Charles

January 29 2011: building progress viewed from Charles Street

January 29 2011: round support columns for first and second floors

January 29 2011: another view of construction progress above ground

February 12 2011: construction site viewed after a light snowfall

February 12 2011: construction progress viewed from east end of the site

February 12 2011: a little more progress on the second floor

February 12 2011: construction progress viewed from the east on Charles Street

February 15 2011: Construction activity viewed from Charles Street

February 15 2011: Building activity at the east end of the condo site

February 15 2011: Construction viewed from parking lot behind Loretto College

Another view of the construction from the parking area behind Loretto College

This pic shows just how close 77 Charles West sits to the rear of Loretto College

Loretto College on St. Mary Street, immediately to the south of 77 Charles West

Loretto College site redevelopment proposal sign on St. Mary Street

Loretto College viewed from St Mary Street on December 4 2010

Rowell Jackman Hall is 77 Charles’s next-door neighbour to the west

77 Charles’s easterly neighbours are two semidetached brick houses built in 1885. They are the Charles Bird House at 63 Charles, left, and the John Briggs House at Number 65. To their left are the Bay Charles apartment towers.

The St Thomas condo highrise site and sales office on the northwest corner of Charles and St Thomas Streets, right across the road from 77 Charles West

October 3 2010 view from St Thomas Street of 77 Charles West, left, and the site for The St Thomas luxury highrise condo building now on sale

Another December 4 2010 view of The St Thomas condo site directly across the street from the 77 Charles West condo location

The One St Thomas condo highrise on Charles Street across from 77 Charles West

February 15 2011: View of 77 and its neighbours on Charles Street West. The cement truck is at 77 Charles, while One St. Thomas is the building at right. The sales office for The St Thomas condos is visible on the next block.

Keeping tabs on … Market Wharf condos

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How the southeast corner of the Market Wharf Condos podium looked back on January 3 (left) and how the building appeared one month later.

Bricks & windows: What a difference a month makes for a building under construction! When I walked past the Market Wharf condo building site on the dreary, overcast afternoon of January 3, the concrete forms of the podium-top townhouses had been poured, and brickwork had been installed along large sections of the podium’s exterior walls. The podium looked considerably more finished off when I walked by the site about 10 days ago. Almost all of the windows had been installed on the east-side townhouses, while most of the podium brickwork had also been completed. Meanwhile, crews were busy building the base for the 25-storey condo tower that will rise at the south end of the podium. Below are pics from my latest Market Wharf walkby; my photos from January can be viewed in this post.

Construction underway for Market Wharf condo tower base

Concrete forms for tower base taking shape above Jarvis Street

Condo tower base viewed from east side of Jarvis Street

Another view of the condo tower base rising above Jarvis Street

Almost all the windows are installed on the townhouses atop the podium

Another view of the townhouses cantilevered above Jarvis Street

Looking up at the southeast corner of the podium and townhouses

Brickwork and windows along the podium’s Jarvis Street facade

Another view of the brickwork and windows on the podium’s east face

Windows and brickwork at the northeast corner of the podium

St Lawrence Market view of Market Wharf

Mt. Sinai adds six floors for women & infant care

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McCaul Street view, Jan’ 14, of six new floors atop Mt Sinai Hospital

Growing up: Hundreds of Toronto construction workers have been collecting healthy paycheques lately, courtesy of several downtown hospitals.

SickKids is is going full-throttle constructing a 21-storey Research & Learning Tower on Bay Street. Toronto Rehab has just built a new 13-storey rehabilitation hospital wing on Elm Street. University Health Network is starting to demolish a former nursing residence on Gerrard Street so it can built a high-tech lecture centre. And Mt. Sinai Hospital on University Avenue has been busy doing some building of its own.

Under a multi-year program called Renew Sinai, the hospital has been undertaking major structural upgrades to its main University Avenue facility, while at the same time adding six brand-new floors to the top of its west tower, overlooking McCaul Street. According to the Renew Sinai webpage, the extra floors will accommodate “the Lawrence and Frances Bloomberg Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health and other patient programs.”

At the same time, more private family spaces are being created, while “state-of-art technology” is being installed “to care for the more than 1,000 infants a year in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).”

Meanwhile, major structural upgrades — such as reinforcement of the hospital’s concrete stairwell walls, required by the building permit for the rooftop extension — are underway to strengthen the building and bring it up to date with provincial building code standards.

Below are pics I’ve taken of the new floors being built atop the west Mt. Sinai tower.

New floor construction on Mt. Sinai’s west tower on Sept. 3 2008

Elm Street view of new floor construction on September 3 2008

McCaul Street view of construction progress November 9 2008

April 17 2009: most windows and exterior panels have been installed

March 9 2010: All windows are in place on the tower’s west side…

…but two exterior elevators are back on the wall (seen January 14 2011)

January 14 2011 view of an elevator near the north end of the tower

Close-up view of the external elevator on January 14 2011

City Scene: Bloor Street keeps building up

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Looking west on Bloor Street from Avenue Road on February 12 2011

New kids on the block: The north side of Bloor Street from Avenue Road to Bedford Road keeps filling in and growing taller. Museum House condos is close to topping off and has nearly all its windows installed, while the One Bedford condo tower to its west is partly occupied and almost finished construction. Yet another condo tower — Exhibit Residences — is poised to join them. Their residents will only have to walk across the street to visit the Royal Ontario Museum (left) and the Royal Conservatory of Music, while the Yorkville neighbourhood is just around the corner.

One Bedford condo tower becomes new landmark establishing Annex end of Bloor Street’s mink mile

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One Bedford condo tower viewed from Bloor Street January 9 2011

Varsity views: I remember the huge kerfuffle that erupted when plans for the 32-storey One Bedford at Bloor condo building were announced about six or seven years ago. Many people thought the tower was too big and too tall for the Annex neighbourhood, even though it would sit on Bloor Street at the southeast corner of Bedford Road, overlooking the University of Toronto campus to the south.

Watching One Bedford go up the past couple of years during occasional walks through the Annex, I’ve never thought the condo complex felt out of place. And now that the building is nearly finished, and partly occupied, I think the highrise fits into the area quite handsomely. But while it’s a nice-looking addition to the Bloor streetscape, I’m sure it will be a catalyst for a drastic change in the character and atmosphere of the entire block.

With its limestone-clad podium, One Bedford certainly classes up a corner formerly occupied by some rather dumpy-looking low-rise buildings that housed several fast-food restaurants, including a busy Swiss Chalet location. However, shops and reasonably-priced eateries catering to the area’s huge University of Toronto student population probably can’t afford the rents at One Bedford.

Two more upscale condo projects on the same block — Museum House, currently under construction, and Exhibit Residences, now in the pre-sale marketing stage — will probably push out even more student-oriented businesses.

A Bank of Montreal branch opened in part of One Bedford’s street level retail space three months ago, and I won’t be surprised if high-end designer shops eventually lease out the remainder, extending Bloor Street’s famous “mink mile” upscale shopping district west to Bedford Road.

Perhaps the transformation was inevitable, since this stretch of Bloor Street has developed into an important culture corridor boasting such attractions as the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, and the Bata Shoe Museum.

One change I’ve noticed already is that the Bloor-Bedford intersection feels windier with the tower on the corner. Every time I’ve walked on the southern stretch of Bedford Road in the last year, either on the east side right next to the condo tower, or on the west between Bloor and the St. George subway station entrance, I have felt like I was walking through a wind tunnel. I don’t recall being blasted by such strong gusts on Bedford before the condo was built. But I suppose it’s possible all my Annex visits just happened to be on breezy days.

A project of Lanterra Developments, One Bedford was designed by Bruce Kuwabara of Toronto’s Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, with Page + Steele as architect of record. The artistic rendering (above) is from the One Bedford website.

Below are some of my One Bedford photos; you’ll find more in the One Bedford album on the Photo Sets page of the blog.

CN Tower view of One Bedford condo building (left) on November 2 2010

One Bedford viewed from corner of Bloor and Devonshire Place November 1 2010

Upper floors of One Bedford condo tower viewed November 1 2010

One Bedford streetscape along Bloor viewed on November 1 2010

One Bedford condos Bloor Street podium viewed November 1 2010

One Bedford condos viewed from Hoskin Avenue on November 1 2010

Looking up at the tower from Bedford Road

Ongoing construction work in main entrance courtyard off Bedford Road

Fireplace and building nameplate on an exterior courtyard wall

Northwest corner wing above Bedford Road

Condo facade integrates the studio of Toronto architect John Lyle (1872 – 1945)

One Bedford podium viewed from the west along Bloor Street on January 9 2011

Interior design work orders taped to the windows of a tower suite

Main entrance courtyard (still under construction) viewed from Bedford Road

North side of One Bedford complex viewed from Bedford Road on January 9 2011

North side of tower viewed from Bedford Road near Prince Arthur Avenue

One Bedford viewed from corner of Bedford Road and Prince Arthur Avenue

Upper floors of One Bedford condo tower viewed from Prince Arthur Avenue

CN Tower view of One Bedford (upper right) overlooking the University of Toronto

CN Tower view of Museum House (right) under construction near One Bedford

Residents in south-facing suites at One Bedford will enjoy a great view of sports events at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium directly across the street

Florian’s classy curves go with the Davenport flow

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The Florian’s long sweeping podium hugs the curve on Davenport Road

Ship shape: When I view The Florian from certain angles, I sometimes feel like I’m looking up at the prow of a tall, grand Cunard ocean liner, like the Queen Mary 2.

That’s the visual impact, on me, of the long, curved podium that draws to a sharp point at the east and west ends of the 25-storey luxury condominium complex currently under construction on Davenport Road, at the northern tip of Bay Street. It won’t be crossing any oceans, but from its berth along the big bend on busy Davenport Road, The Florian will overlook a steady stream of traffic flowing past. Away from the street, The Florian’s crescent-shaped site will be a sea of tranquillity, with lush secluded gardens and landscaped rooftop terraces.

And like a Cunard liner, The Florian will exude class and sophistication: though it’s more than 80% sold, suites are still available at prices ranging from $1 million to more than $3 million.

A project by Diamante Development Corporation, The Florian was designed in a joint venture by Toronto architects Young + Wright / IBI Group Architects and David Pontarini of Hariri Pontarini Architects.

Below is a rendering of the condo entrance, from The Florian website, along with a series of photos I shot recently. More renderings can be viewed at this link on the Hariri Pontarini website.

The podium’s west tip reminds me of a ship’s prow

The Florian condo tower viewed from the northwest tip of Bay Street

Upper floor construction at The Florian on January 29 2011

Safety netting and construction forms protrude from the upper floors

Billboard outside The Florian condo presentation centre

The Florian condo presentation centre on Davenport Road

Looking up at The Florian tower from south side of Davenport Road

South side of The Florian condo tower faces Bay Street

The Florian’s lower levels along Davenport Road

Graceful sweeping curve of the podium on Davenport Road

Looking up the southwest corner of The Florian tower

Brickwork on The Florian facade above Davenport Road

Another view of the west point of The Florian podium

Balconies on The Florian’s southeast corner

Columns at street level on The Florian’s long curved podium

The Florian and the new Four Seasons towers viewed from Davenport Road

Another view of The Florian and Four Seasons Toronto towers

Gracefully curved balconies on The Florian condo south side

The Florian condo podium bends with the curve of Davenport Road

Main entrance to The Florian will be under this point on the east side

Website artistic rendering of The Florian condo entrance

The Florian condo tower viewed from the east on Davenport Road

Is Toronto ready to accept another Alsop design?

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Artistic rendering of Will Alsop’s proposed design for the main entrance to the new Steeles West subway station to be built on the Spadina line

Rendering of Will Alsop’s proposed design for city and regional transit bus bays at the new Steeles West subway station on the extended Spadina line

Icon or monstrosity?: When local media this week published illustrations of the bold, dramatic designs that prominent international architect Will Alsop has proposed for a new suburban subway station, the reaction from Toronto residents was swift — and scathing.

The renderings unleashed a torrent of derision in comments posted on media websites, with the majority of writers aggressively slamming the design, the architect, the projected cost of the station, and the city’s decision to extend the subway line to York Region in the first place. In posts on the Toronto Star and CBC news websites, for instance, fewer than a third said they liked the design, with some praising it as “fabulous,” “iconic,” “interesting,” “impressive,” “creative,” and “amazing.” A few seemed indifferent, but about two-thirds of commentators considered it risible or highly objectionable in some way.

The station’s steep construction cost — an estimated $159 million — sparked considerable outrage, as did the political decision to extend the subway line north of the city instead of expanding much-needed service within its borders. “What a disgusting joke!” one person commented on the decision to spend millions building a subway stop to serve fewer than 3,800 commuters during the peak of morning rush hour — in 2031.

But most writers disparaged the design and ridiculed the architect. While one fan said the design “rocks,” many more picked up that theme and ran with it in the exact opposite direction, suggesting the structure looks like something from “The Flintstones” cartoon series. Others compared it to a castle or a children’s toy, while some said it reminded them of the ruins of bombed buildings in Sarajevo or Afghanistan or “the remnants of a building that you see in pictures of cities after nuclear war has destroyed civilization.” Words like “hideous,” “ugly,” “embarrassing,” “eyesore,” “cartoonish,” “junky” and “monstrous” peppered the comments.

Alsop came under considerable fire, too, with several writers suggesting he must have been high on drugs when he conceived the design, while another asked: “who the heck is the architect…obviously someone with no imagination.” Some said they think his subway design is just as bad, if not even worse, than his acclaimed Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) building on stilts next to the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Many believe the subway station design is impractical for Canadian winters, and predict the sweeping roof over the bus depot will either get blown away by strong winds, or collapse under heavy snow. Others said the TTC should save money by re-using the tried and true designs of existing subway stations, which they believe look better than Alsop’s.

Frankly, I think “ugly,” “hideous” and “eyesore” aptly describe most of our current stations, particularly those in the downtown core and along the Bloor-Danforth line. The majority of downtown stations are buried under streets and office buildings, accessed by nondescript entrances. The few that actually have an above-ground station presence are either completely unremarkable, just okay, or downright ugly in my humble opinion. Especially the Rosedale and Castle Frank stations, where a striking design like Alsop’s would have established a wonderful landmark on the urban landscape.

If city residents beyond the downtown core truly don’t want the design for the Steeles West station, I suggest the TTC use it to redevelop a downtown station instead, where it would probably be better appreciated. And since Alsop’s work has been compared to a castle, what better place for it than Castle Frank?

Below are several more artistic renderings of the Steeles West station that were published on the CBC news website, along with some of my photos of the exteriors of the Summerhill, Rosedale and Castle Frank subway stations, plus pics of Alsop’s iconic OCAD building.

Illustration of the interior of the main entrance to the new subway station

Illustration of the interior of the bus depot proposed for the Steeles West station

Artistic rendering of the subway platform for the new Steeles West station

The Summerhill subway station on the Yonge subway line

The Rosedale subway station on the Yonge subway line

The entrance to the Rosedale subway station on the Yonge subway line

The Castle Frank subway station on the Bloor-Danforth line

The entrance to the Castle Frank subway station

Bloor street view of the Castle Frank subway station exterior

The bus bays along Bloor Street at the Castle Frank subway station

Multi-million-dollar mansions a stone’s throw north of the Castle Frank station

The famous Will Alsop-designed OCAD building on McCaul Street

The OCAD University building viewed from Grange Park on November 7 2008

A view of Alsop’s OCAD building from inside the adjacent Art Gallery of Ontario

City Scene: Condo tower catches sun’s golden glow

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Upper floors of the 48-storey Uptown Residences condo tower, nearly finished construction on Balmuto Street, glow in late afternoon sun on Jan 29 2011.

Toronto Rehab transforms University Centre with facility renewal, new 13-floor wing on Elm Street

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Toronto Rehab’s new south wing on Elm Street, seen January 29 2011

Self Improvement: Staff and patients will be moving into the new south wing at TorontoRehab this month, now that construction is winding down on the 13-storey patient care and research facility.

Completion of the building, part of Toronto Rehab’s University Centre complex at the corner of University Avenue and Elm Street, is the most outwardly-visible component of an ambitious, multi-million-dollar plan to transform the institution into “an internationally recognized rehabilitation, research and teaching facility.” By renewing and redeveloping its patient care, research and education facilities, Toronto Rehab intends to “push the frontiers of rehabilitation science even further, so that we can make a real difference in the lives of the 4.4 million Canadians who live with disability” resulting from illness, injury or aging, its website explains. Total cost of the redevelopment project for the facility, which is publicly owned and controlled, is expected to exceed $180 million.

I have walked past Toronto Rehab countless times — it sits quietly on the west side of “hospital row,” directly south of the Mt. Sinai and Princess Margaret Hospitals, and right across the street from SickKids and Toronto General Hospitals. I’m familiar with all those other high-profile institutions, and have been inside each, but I have never once walked through the doors of Toronto Rehab and have never given the place much attention. Quite honestly, I didn’t know anything about what goes on inside its walls until I noticed that new walls were being built on the Elm Street portion of its property. (An old, four-floor south wing on the site was demolished to make way for construction.) That’s when Toronto Rehab piqued my curiosity, and I learned that it’s a leading institution in rehabilitation science, and operates the second-largest rehabilitation research program in North America.

A teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto, it runs innovative inter-professional education programs to teach rehabilitation science to students from across all health disciplines. And it provides extensive rehabilitation care through wide-ranging in- and out-patient programs.

But Toronto Rehab wanted to do more, and do it better, so in 2008 it embarked on a four-year redevelopment plan that resulted in construction of the new south wing. In addition to the new, state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital building, the redevelopment plan includes renovations to the existing 12-storey east and four-storey north wings, creation of dedicated education space for the students who receive clinical training at Toronto Rehab, and “creation of one of the world’s most advanced rehabilitation facilities.”

I’m willing to bet you didn’t know all of that before, either!

Further information is available on a special Toronto Rehab webpage describing full project details. Below are some of my pics tracking construction of the south wing since 2009.

Project sign outside Toronto Rehab building site April 17 2009

Excavation activity for hospital building extension on April 17 2009

Construction site viewed April 17 2009 from the corner of Elm and Murray Streets

March 9 2010 view from Elm Street of Mt. Sinai hospital (left) and construction progress at the new extension to Toronto Rehab

New south wing taking shape on March 9 2010

Facade exterior coming together on March 9 2010

Window installation viewed on March 9 2010

Toronto Rehab Elm Street facade November 2 2011

Simcoe Street view of Toronto Rehab’s new building on January 30

January 30 view of the windows on the new south wing

Toronto Rehab viewed from Elm Street, east of University Ave., on January 30

New skating rink open at Sherbourne Common; construction of park’s north segment nearly done

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A solitary figure skater on the new rink at Sherbourne Common

Ice Time: Sherbourne Common was an eerily quiet and almost lonely place last when I dropped by last Thursday afternoon to check out the brand-new outdoor skating rink which had just opened to the public at the beginning of the week. Besides me, there was only one other person in the entire place who wasn’t a City of Toronto parks and recreation department employee — and she had the entire rink all to herself (which, judging by her beaming face, she was quite enjoying).

It was around noon, and I had been certain I would arrive to find the rink packed with workers from the nearby Corus Quay office building getting in a quick skate during their lunch break. But the two of us were outnumbered by no fewer than seven civic employees who were busy shovelling snow and digging up the ground behind the shiny silver washroom and snack bar pavilion next to the ice oval.

It was a bitterly cold day, to be sure, but it was brilliantly sunny — an otherwise perfect day for outdoor enthusiasts to get some fresh air and savour the park’s panoramic views of the city skyline and the frosty Toronto Islands. And to take a peek at the early stages of development of downtown Toronto’s newest neighbourhood, East Bayfront, before the whole area gets built up with offices, condos and colleges.

Downtown Toronto’s newest public space, Sherbourne Common sits at the foot of Lower Sherbourne Street, between the Gardiner Expressway/Lake Shore Blvd. East and Lake Ontario. The Common is divided into two distinct park areas by Queen’s Quay, the broad boulevard that turns onto Parliament Street at its east end. Even at the height of summer when trees, plants and flowers are in full bloom, Queen’s Quay is one of the ugliest, bleakest streets in the city, if not the entire country. Thankfully, Sherbourne Common has come to its rescue, providing a pleasant stretch of green space to break up the dreary industrial gloom and greyness to the east.

The south section of the park — where the rink and pavilion are situated — officially opened last fall. The north section is still under construction, but work on playgrounds, water sculptures and a water channel is nearly finished. (The city anticipates the north Common will open as early as March or April.)

Even during the throes of a winter deepfreeze, when there’s nothing green in sight, Sherbourne Common and nearby Canada’s Sugar Beach were a treat to visit. I found both parks incredibly peaceful, even though the new waterfront campus of George Brown College is under construction right next door and more than a thousand people work at the Corus Entertainment building next door to that. I’m sure it will be a totally different story come summertime, when I’m sure the place will be crowded with Torontonians discovering a new waterfront place to hang out. And once the new George Brown College Health Sciences building opens for the fall 2012 semester, you can bet the days will be rare that there’s nobody to be seen at the parks and beach.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the near-empty parks and beach under a fluffy blanket of fresh snow. (For more information about Sherbourne Common, click on this link to a recent article by Toronto Star urban issues and architecture columnist Christopher Hume.)