Tag Archives: architects Alliance

Looking up at some of the new skyscrapers making their mark on the downtown Toronto skyline

RBC WaterPark Place

The new RBC WaterPark Place office tower practically blends into the clouds in this view from the west on lower York Street on September 16 2014

 

 

South Financial Core towers

while four new towers reach for the clouds above the south downtown core. At left are the Delta hotel and Bremner office tower at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Blvd. Soaring skyward at right are the two ÏCE Condos on York Street.

 

 

1 Bloor condos

The sensuous curves of the One Bloor condo tower are already adding interest and excitement to the once-drab Yonge & Bloor intersection in Yorkville.

 

 

Below are more photos of the towers shown above, as well as other hotel, office and condo skyscrapers that I photographed this past week.

 

 

RBC WaterPark Place office building

 

RBC WaterPark Place

West side of RBC WaterPark Place viewed from lower York Street

 

 

RBC WaterParkPlace

South face of RBC WaterParkPlace seen from Queen’s Quay Blvd. The tower was designed by WZMH Architects of Toronto.

 

 

RBC WaterParkPlace

Upper half of the 30-storey tower, viewed from the southwest

 

 

RBC WaterPark Place

Another view of the tower from Queen’s Quay to the southwest

 

 

Studio on Richmond condominiums

 

Studio on Richmond

Looking up the north side of the Studio on Richmond condo tower situated between Simcoe and Duncan Streets in the Entertainment District. It will top off at 31 storeys. Its 41-storey sister tower, Studio2, is currently under construction behind it on Nelson Street.

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

Studio on Richmond podium and tower viewed from the north side of Richmond Street near Simcoe Street

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

The two-tower Studio on Richmond condo complex was designed by Quadrangle Architects of Toronto.

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

A view of the Studio on Richmond condo from the west on Richmond Street near Duncan Street. The building is a project of Aspen Ridge Homes.

 

 

 Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower at Southcore Financial Centre

 

Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower

The Delta Toronto hotel (left) and the Bremner office tower are nearing completion at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Boulevard between York Street and Simcoe Street. The buildings are seen here from Roundhouse Park, near the Toronto Railway Museum.

 

 

 

Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower

The 45-storey Delta Hotel tower reflects on the west wall of the 30-storey Bremner office tower in this view from the southwest corner of Lower Simcoe Street and Bremner Boulevard.

 

 

Delta Hotel

Looking up the northwest corner of the Delta Hotel. The Bremner office tower is partially visible behind it.

 

 

 

Delta Hotel

Upper west side of the Delta Hotel. Scheduled to open in 2015, the Delta will be a premium 4-star hotel with 567 guest rooms.

 

 

Delta Hotel

The angled south face of the Delta Hotel, seen from Bremner Boulevard

 

 

 

The L Tower condominium

 

The L Tower

Upper floors of The L Tower seen from the west on Sept 16 2014. The dramatically curved skyscraper was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind.

 

 

 

The L Tower

A closer view of some of the upper levels of the 58-storey L Tower, which is located at the corner of Yonge Street and The Esplanade, directly behind the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

 

 

The L Tower

The L Tower makes an emphatic point on the downtown skyline

 

 

The L Tower

A telephoto view of the construction crane that has soared above The L Tower construction site for the past several years

 

 

The Mercer condo tower

 

The Mercer condo

Looking up the southeast corner of The Mercer condo building, which rises 33 storeys at the corner of Mercer and John Streets in the Entertainment District

 

 

The Mercer condo

The Mercer was designed by BBB Architects, and is a project of Graywood Developments Ltd. and Beaveerhall Homes.

 

 

 

Three Hundred Front Street West condominiums

 

 

300 Front Street West condos

The upper floors of the 49-storey Three Hundred Front Street West condo tower

 

 

300 Front Street West condos

Looking up the southeast corner of Tridel’s Three Hundred Front West condo. The building was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

Theatre Park condominiums

 

Theatre Park condo

The 47-storey Theatre Park condo tower is under construction on King Street West, right next door to Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre. I shot this photo of Theatre Park from two blocks to the northwest.

 

 

Theatre Park condo

Theatre Park was designed by architectsAlliance of Toronto. The condo is a project of Lamb Development Corp., Niche Development and Harhay Construction Management Ltd.

 

 

Theatre Park Condos

Glass balcony panels are gradually being installed on the tower’s north side

 

 

Theatre Park Condos

Design details on the tower’s west side

 

 

ÏCE Condominiums

 

ICE Condos

The upper west sides of the 67- and 57-storey ÏCE Condominiums, located at 12 and 14 York Street in the south downtown core

 

 

ICE Condos

The top of the 67-floor ÏCE Condo at 14 York Street. A project of Lanterra Developments, the two skyscrapers were designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

 

 

 

ICE Condos

 ÏCE Condo towers viewed from the southeast on Queen’s Quay Blvd.

 

 

ICE Condos

A view of the two towers from Grand Trunk Crescent to their northwest

 

 

 

Aura condominium

 

Aura condo tower

I shot this pic of the 78-storey Aura condominium tower from the podium green roof at Toronto City Hall. Aura is the tallest condominium building in Canada.

 

 

 

Aura condos

The upper third of Aura, viewed from several blocks to the southwest

 

 

 

Aura condo tower

A view of Aura from two blocks to the west on Elizabeth Street

 

 

Aura condo tower

Aura viewed from the northwest corner of College Park. A Canderel development project, the tower was designed by Graziani & Corazza Architects Inc.

 

 

 

Aura condos

The top of Aura, viewed from the southwest

 

 

Aura Condos

The top of Aura, viewed from the north

 

 

Nicholas Residences condominiums

 

Nicholas Residences

A view of 35-storey Nicholas Residences from the north on Balmuto Street. The condo is a project of Urban Capital and Alit Developments.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

Looking up the tower’s northwest corner, from the intersection of St Mary and St Nicholas Streets. The building was designed by Toronto’s Core Architects Inc.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

Nicholas viewed from the southwest on St Nicholas Street.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

West side of Nicholas, viewed from St Mary Street near Bay Street

 

 

 

FIVE Condominiums

 

FIVE Condo tower

Looking toward the 48-storey FIVE Condos tower from two blocks to the southeast, at the corner of Yonge and Maitland Streets.  To its right is the Nicholas Residences condo tower, two blocks north.

 

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

FIVE Condos was designed by Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

Looking up the south side of FIVE Condos from Wellesley Street West

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

The tower has a wonky appearance when viewed from the south, thanks to the undulating pattern of balconies on the east and west sides.

 

 

FIVE Condos S

Construction of the tower’s mechanical penthouse is underway. FIVE Condos is a project of MOD Developments Inc., Graywood Developments Ltd., Tricon and Diamondcorp.

 

 

 

FIVE Condos

Windows on the east side of FIVE Condos on September 5

 

 

FIVE Condos

FIVE Condos viewed from the east on the morning of September 11

 

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

A view of FIVE from the south on St Luke Lane, next to the Toronto Central YMCA Centre (left).  This view will change drastically in several years when Lanterra Developments builds its 60-storey 11 Wellesley on the Park condo tower on the property partly visible on the left side of St Luke Lane (presently occupied by a row of trees and a condo presentation centre behind them).

 

 

 

Chaz.Yorkville condominiums

 

ChazYorkville condos

Chaz.Yorkville Condominiums, on Charles Street between Yonge and Church Streets, is a project of 45 Charles Ltd. and Edenshaw Homes Limited.

 

 

ChazYorkville condos

A signature design element of Chaz.Yorkville is the large rectangular box that juts from the tower’s south side. It’s the Chaz Club, a 2-storey private club for exclusive use of condo residents.

 

 

ChazYorkville condos

The tower was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele IBI Group Architects in Toronto. It will stand 47 storeys tall when complete.

 

 

Casa Condominium and ChazYorville Condos

Chaz.Yorkville is only a few weeks away from overtaking the height of its next-door neighbour, the 46-storey Casa Condominium tower, which was built in 2010.

 

 

One Bloor Condominiums

 

One Bloor Condos

Although construction has climbed only one-third of the way to its ultimate 75 storeys, the One Bloor condo tower is already making a huge architectural statement at the Yonge & Bloor crossroads in Yorkville. I shot this photo from the southwest corner of Yonge & Charles Streets.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

I often hear passersby comment favourably on the delightful sweeping curves of One Bloor’s podium and tower.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

Looking up at One Bloor from the southwest corner of the Yonge & Bloor intersection. The building was designed by Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

A view of One Bloor from the northwest, on Yonge Street just above Bloor

 

 

 

U Condos

 

U Condos

A view of the two U Condos towers from two blocks to the south on Bay Street, at Phipps Street. The construction crane at left is building the 32-storey 1Thousand Bay condo tower at the southwest corner of Bay and St Joseph Streets.

 

 

 U Condos

The west U Condos building has topped off at 45 storeys, while the east tower continues its climb toward 55 floors. U Condos is a project of Pemberton Group, and was designed by architectsAlliance of Toronto.

 

 

 

X2 Condominiums

 

X2 Condos

Construction crews are closing in the mechanical penthouse levels of the 49-storey X2 Condominiums at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets

 

 

X2 Condos

X2 Condos viewed from one block to the southwest on Isabella Street. The tower is a project of Lifetime Developments and Great Gulf Homes.

 

 

X2 Condos

A September 3 view from the south of X2 Condos left, and the first X Condos, right, which was constructed in 2010. X2 was designed by Wallman Architects, while X Condos was designed by architectsAlliance.

 

 

Underground floors filling in fast for 1 York Street office building & Harbour Plaza condo towers

Artistic rendering of the One York Street office tower and 90 Harbour Street condo towers by Menkes Developments

This artistic rendering depicts a view from the southwest of the One York Street office building and the Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers that Menkes Developments Ltd. is constructing in the south downtown core

 

 

1 York Street office tower

January 18 2013: So far, only cranes and hoarding are visible at the construction site, as seen here from the southwest corner of York and Harbour Streets…

 

 

1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street

… but what passersby can’t see is that, behind the hoarding, construction of the underground levels for the office & condo complex is nearly at street level

 

 

Approaching grade: It won’t be long before the landmark Menkes condo and office tower development at 1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street begins to rise from the ground and significantly transform the entire look and feel of the southeast downtown core.

Hidden behind hoarding and not readily visible to most people passing by, work has been progressing quickly on the underground parking levels for the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

Only 13 months ago, excavation was just getting underway on the building site — a long, rectangular parcel of land awkwardly situated between several major traffic arteries — the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard to the north, York Street to the west, and Harbour Street and the elevated York/Bay/Yonge offramp from the Gardiner to the south. The property was formerly occupied by a 5-storey brown brick building originally constructed for the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board in 1953, and subsequently used as headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police. The building was demolished during the summer of 2011 (see my July 17 2011 post for photos showing how the site looked before it was acquired by Menkes Developments Ltd.).

By late summer of 2013, work had started on the office tower’s bottom underground level, even though hundreds of truckloads of soil remained to be excavated from the easterly two-thirds of the block-long site.

But by the beginning of December 2013, the below-ground parking floors were steadily taking shape across the entire length of the property.

Now, within weeks, the One York Street office tower will start to climb above the hoarding, finally bringing the construction activity into clear view of passersby.

 

1 York Street

December 13 2012: A crew works on the western perimeter of the future One York Street office tower location. This is a view looking south across the building site from the southeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard and York Street.

 

 

1 York Street

August 19 2013: A crew works on the bottom underground level of the One York Street office tower as excavation continues on the eastern two-thirds of the building site where the Harbour Plaza condo towers will ultimately rise

 

 

1 York Street

December 3 2013: Underground levels are quickly taking shape

 

 

 1 York Street

January 18 2014: Rebar for several support columns on the west side of the office tower building site extend almost to street level

 

 

Please turn to page 2 of this post to view additional construction photos and see more than a dozen artistic renderings of the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

 

 

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King Charlotte condo’s ground level takes shape

King Charlotte condos

November 28 2013: Construction on the King Charlotte condo tower has climbed above the hoarding on Charlotte Street in the Entertainment District

 

 

Get stacking: The last time I passed by the King Charlotte condo tower construction site with a camera in hand was on a cold afternoon back in February. Work on the 32-storey tower was still in its early stages; in fact, the excavation for the building’s 13-meter-deep, 4-level underground parking garage was less than half complete.  The entire construction site was dusted with a light layer of fresh snow.

I saw the site a couple of times during the summer, while work on the parking garage was proceeding, but didn’t make to Charlotte Street with a camera until several days ago. This time I discovered that the building is now rising above ground, with construction well underway on the main floor, which will eventually house retail and commercial space.

Over the course of the next 8 months or so, it will be interesting to watch the construction progress and see how the Entertainment District’s newest point tower literally stacks up — Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance has designed the building as a vertical series of variously-sized boxes.

“The boxes stack upon each other, and not necessarily in a fashion that one might initially imagine,” Lamb Development Corp. president & CEO Brad J. Lamb notes in a project description on the King Charlotte condominium website.

“The retail box protrudes from the podium box, the tower box appears to teeter and overhang the podium box, and the oversized rooftop amenity box actually does overhang the tower box. It is all very playful, yet incredibly clean and crisp,” he writes.

 

King Charlotte condo rendering

The King Charlotte condominium tower was designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance. This rendering appears on the King Charlotte project website.

 

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Theatre Park condo rising higher above King St.

Theatre Park Condos

November 14 2013: The Theatre Park condo tower continues its upward climb next door to Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street West

 

Over 30: The Theatre Park condo tower continues to make its mark on the Entertainment District skyline as construction continues to climb higher above King Street West.

The concrete shell for the tower, which will boast 47 residential floors when finished, is roughly two-thirds of the way up. Work was underway on the 30th and 31st floors when I passed by late last week, with a new level being poured about every three to four days. Window and cladding installation is nearly complete on floors 7, 8 and 9.

 

Theatre Park condo

An artistic rendering of the 47-storey Theatre Park condo tower, designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

 

 

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Peter Street condo tower continues to climb as nearby Tableau Condos gradually gets its legs

Peter Street Condominiums construction progress

November 14 2013: Construction has reached the 12th floor of Peter Street Condominiums at the northeast corner of Adelaide and Peter Streets …

 

 

Tableau Condos construction progress

… while at the opposite end of the same block, the ground level of Tableau Condos continues to take shape at Peter & Richmond Streets. The two condo towers will bookend the 9-story office building that sits in the middle of the block at 111 Peter Street.

 

One block, two towers: The east side of Peter Street between Richmond and Adelaide Streets is changing dramatically as construction continues to progress on two new condominium towers that will also transform the Entertainment District skyline and streetscapes in the process.

At the southeast corner of Peter and Adelaide, work on the Peter Street Condominium tower has climbed above the 11th level, bringing the building nearly one-third of the way to its ultimate 40-storey floorcount.

Just a few meters north, at the corner of Peter and Richmond, construction is progressing on the ground level of Tableau Condos, a 36-storey tower that will stand atop a distinctive table-shaped podium supported by long, tall column “legs.”

Artistic illustrations of both buildings, along with construction progress photos shot this week, can be viewed on page 2 of this post.

 

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Theatre Park condo climbing higher on King Street

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: Nearly 1/3 of its way to 47 storeys, the Theatre Park condo tower already dwarfs Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre

 

Stealing the show: When I last posted photos of the Theatre Park condos back in the spring (see my April 18 2013 post), construction was just beginning to overtake the height of neighbouring heritage buildings, including the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Three-quarters of the way through summer, the tower has now grown to about one-third of its ultimate 47-storey height. And as it continues climbing higher, Theatre Park undoubtedly will keep stealing attention from the 106-year-old landmark next door.

A project of Lamb Development Corp, Niche Development and Harhay Construction Management Ltd., the Theatre Park condominium tower was designed by architectsAlliance.

The slender point tower still has some suites available for purchase — at prices starting from $489,900, according to the condo website.

Below are several more construction progress photos I shot recently. The Theatre Park Condos album on TheTorontoBlog’s Flickr page contains several dozen photos of construction activity since December 2012.

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: Tower podium viewed from the south side of King Street

 

 

Theatre Park condos

August 19 2013: Tower construction has climbed past the 16th level

 

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: The Theatre Park tower continues to rise higher above the 106-year-old Royal Alexandra Theatre

 

 

Theatre Park condos Toronto

August 19 2013: The 66-storey Living Shangri-la Toronto hotel and condo tower (right) looks on as Theatre Park continues its climb above the Entertainment District

 

 

 

U Condos townhouse & tower construction asserts strong visual presence along Bay & St Mary Streets

U Condos construction viewed from Bay Street

August 17 2013: Above-ground construction is still in relatively early stages, but the U Condos condo tower and luxury townhouse complex … 

 

U Condos site viewed from Bay & Irwin Streets

… has already drastically transformed the southwest corner of Bay and St Mary Streets, seen here on September 26 2008 when a surface parking lot still occupied part of the development site

 

 

Strong presence: Construction of the U Condominiums complex is really beginning to turn heads on Bay Street now that one of its two towers is climbing steadily higher above its 3-storey podium and the concrete shells for luxurious townhouses that will wrap around three sides of the property.

Although passersby have been able to see above-ground construction activity since January, it has been only in recent weeks that the huge scale of the project — and the tremendous visual impact it will have on the neighbourhood — have become apparent.

The project’s  townhouse component has noticeably changed the pedestrian experience on Bay Street, while the west tower — which has climbed more than six storeys on its way to 45 — already hints at how drastically it and the even taller east tower will change the neighbourhood skyline. (Construction of the east tower has so far reached only as high as the townhouses.)

 

U Condos at Bay & St Mary Streets in Toronto

This artistic illustration, from an online promotional brochure that had been available on the U Condos website, shows how the completed towers will look when viewed from the same perspective as the two photos above.

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

Theatre Park condo

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

 

 

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Days numbered for former Bistro 990 building as demolition crews prep site for new condo

1000 Bay Condos

January 19 2013: The former Bistro 990 restaurant building — once a popular Toronto International Film Festival hangout for celebrities and Hollywood movie industry moguls — is being prepared for demolition to make way for construction of a condo highrise

 

 1000 Bay Street Condos location

This development proposal sign, seen on the site one year ago, describes the 32-storey condo tower that Cresford Developments will construct on the property

 

1Thousand Bay condos Toronto

This illustration, from the Cresford website, depicts how the 1Thousand Bay building will look. The condo was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

 

Bye bye bistro: The building that housed the once-famous Bistro 990 restaurant for nearly a quarter of a century will disappear from the Bay Street landscape soon to make way for construction of the 1Thousand Bay condo tower.

 

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Pit Stops: Photo roundup of below-ground and at-grade construction activity at 21 downtown condo, office & university building sites

Picasso on Richmond condos

As 2012 drew to a close, some noteworthy downtown building projects had reached different stages of at- and below-grade construction progress. At some sites, like this one for the Picasso on Richmond condo tower, preliminary foundation drilling work was in full swing …

 

Studio on Richmond condos

… while at others, like this one for the Studio on Richmond and Studio2 condo towers just two blocks east of Picasso, site excavation was ongoing.

 

The Yorkville condos

Over the same period of time, underground parking levels were taking shape at some building sites, like this one for The Yorkville condo project on Davenport Road …

 

X2 Condos

… while over on Charles Street East, construction had reached a milestone mark at X2 Condos, where building had started on the ground level of the tower

 

Fall photos: Until condo and office tower construction starts to climb above street level, it can be difficult to track how quickly work is progressing on the dozens of new buildings going up in Toronto’s downtown core. Ground-level views of building sites are often obscured by hoarding and security fences, plus concrete delivery trucks, dump trucks and other construction vehicles maneuvering into and out of staging areas adjacent to construction zones. I find it’s a big challenge to monitor ongoing progress at places where underground levels are taking shape, let alone keep an eye on sites where shovels are just breaking ground or preliminary work is being undertaken to prepare for full-scale construction. The vast number of projects scattered throughout the downtown core certainly doesn’t make the task any easier.

 

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U Condos construction approaches grade

U Condos

December 6 2012: A view of the U Condos building site, looking northeast toward the intersection of Bay Street and St Mary Street, as construction of the project’s underground parking floors approaches ground level. A row of 3-storey “urban townhomes” will rise in the immediate foreground — the southern flank of the 2-tower condo complex.

 

U Condos

December 6 2012: Construction progress at the southwest corner of the U Condos property, where the 45-storey west tower will rise. Townhomes will extend across this side of the site.

 

U Condos

December 6 2012: Looking southeast from St Mary Street toward the site where the 50-storey east tower will rise. Concrete will soon be poured atop the building forms in the foreground, which are nearly at street level.

 

U Condos

From the U Condos website, this photo offers an October 2012 aerial view of the construction

 

Making grade: As autumn draws to a close, construction of the U Condos tower and townhouse complex is drawing closer to ground level.

Forms have been put in place along much of the west half of the property to prepare for concrete pours that will create the ceiling of the P1 level. That area is where the 45-storey West Tower will rise, as well as a row of “urban townhomes” along on the north and south perimeters of the property. Although similar building forms haven’t yet been installed on the east half of the site, where the 50-storey East Tower will soar skyward above more townhouses along Bay Street and St Mary Street, construction progress on that part of the project isn’t far behind.

Although the two tall towers will become skyline landmarks at the east (Bay Street) end of the University of Toronto campus, the 19 townhouses that will enclose the complex will ensure that U Condos stands out at street level, too. Indeed, they will give the U Condos project a unique look on Bay Street, sharply distinguishing the complex from all nearby condo, apartment and office highrises.

 

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Structure in place for first Pier 27 SkyBridge

The Residences of Pier 27

November 19 201: Construction is complete for the metal structure of the SkyBridge that links the two east buildings of the Residences at Pier 27  …

 

Residences at Pier 27

… while concrete columns indicate where the second SkyBridge will connect the two west condo buildings. Pier 27 is located on Queen’s Quay Boulevard East.

 

Linked up: When I last reported on construction progress for the Residences at Pier 27 project in my September 13 post, iron framework had just been installed for the SkyBridge linking the two east buildings. According to a November blog update by the developer, Cityzen Developments, the bridge is now “structurally complete with all the metal work finished.”

 

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Office & condo tower complex would revitalize under-used ‘island’ site at York & Harbour Streets

1 York/90 Harbour Street

City planners have suggested the City give an official thumbs-up to a massive multi-use development project Menkes Developments Ltd. has proposed for a 1-hectare site at 1 York Street/90 Harbour Street. Their report recommends approval of a 37-storey office building, one 62-storey condo tower, and one 66-storey condo skyscraper — a significant revision from the original plan described in the development proposal sign posted on the property.

 

1 York Street office & condo site

October 4 2012: Looking east from York Street. The development site extends to the property line near the historic 6-storey Toronto Harbour Commission building at 60 Harbour Street. The heritage building was constructed in 1917.

 

1 York Street / 90 Harbour Street

September 25 2012: CN Tower view of the 1 York/90 Harbour development site, presently a surface parking lot (near center of photo).  To its right is the construction site for the 30-storey RBC WaterPark Place office building. Visible in the bottom right corner of the photo are the two ÏCE Condo towers and the Infinity3 condo complex under construction between York and Lower Simcoe Streets. At left are the 50- and 54-storey condo towers of Maple Leaf Square. Click on the photo to view a larger-size image.

 

Island bridge: City planners are recommending approval in principle of a proposal to develop a piece of prime real estate on Harbour Street into an office and condo complex with three towers ranging in height from 37 to 66 storeys.

The planners’ September 21 2012 report to Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) says redevelopment of the 1-hectare parcel at 1 York Street/90 Harbour Street — essentially an “island” of property between the Financial District and the Central Waterfront area — would “contribute to the City’s economic base, enhance the public realm of the Central Waterfront and help connect a key site in the downtown to its local context.”

The property already has been identified, in the City’s Official Plan as well as a Secondary Plan, as being “underused and in need of revitalization from its present use as parking lots and surrounded by highway ramps to something more vibrant and contributory to the community,” the planners observed in their 67-page report.

 

 

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Pit stop: X2 Condos parking floors filling in

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: Another underground parking level takes shape at the X2 Condos construction site at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets. Nearly three of the building’s six below-grade levels have been constructed so far.

 

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: A closer view of an underground floor taking form

 

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: Rebar is being put in place to prepare for a concrete pour

 

X2 Condos

September 9 201: Jarvis Street view of construction progress on the 49-storey tower.

 

X2 condos rendering

A project of Great Gulf and Lifetime Developments, X2 Condos was designed by Toronto’s Rudy Wallman Architects Ltd. The tower will have 470 suites.

 

X2 Condos tower rendering

This artistic rendering, which appears on the project website, depicts a view of the 49-storey tower from the northeast.

 

 X Condominium

X2 Condos will be a sister to the X Condominium tower on the north side of Charles Street (seen here in a view from the southeast on August 30 2011).  The 44-storey X Condos, which opened for occupancy two years ago, was designed by architectsAlliance.  Together, the developers say, X and X2 will stand as an eastern “gateway to Yorkville/Bloor.”

 

First SkyBridge taking shape at Pier 27 condos

Pier 27 condos

September 11 2012: Iron framework for the SkyBridge span has been installed atop the two condo highrises on the eastern half of the Residences of Pier 27 construction site

 

Pier 27 condos

This artistic rendering, which appears on a marketing billboard outside the Pier 27 condo construction site, shows how the SkyBridge will appear when complete

 

Pier 27 condos

September 11 201: SkyBridge construction viewed from the public sidewalk along Queen’s Quay Blvd. on the north side of the building site

 

Bridge building: Construction activity at The Residences of Pier 27 has become considerably more fascinating to passersby now that a signature SkyBridge span is fast taking form atop the B1 and B2 buildings on the east half of the condo site.

The first time I noticed that SkyBridge construction had commenced was when I passed the site on August 22, and saw several beams jutting into the air from the west wall of one of the buildings. I couldn’t get back down to the area to take another look until September 3, by which point it appeared that work on the frame was complete.

 

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