Tag Archives: Clear Spirit Condos

Snow day! Photos of some downtown construction sites after a light morning snowfall dusts Toronto

West Don Lands Community Toronto

The vast construction zone for the new West Don Lands Community is seen in this image taken by a Waterfront Toronto webcam this afternoon. The 80-acre site was blanketed with light snow this morning, less than 24 hours after Waterfront Toronto and Infrastructure Ontario announced that long-awaited construction is finally commencing on the new mixed-use residential community a short distance east of the downtown business district. The highrise under construction at upper left is the 40-storey Clear Spirit condo tower in the nearby Distillery District.

 

Aura at College Park Condos Toronto

Construction progress on the 75-storey Aura at College Park condo tower is seen in this image captured from a webcam on the Aura website.

 

Nicholas Residences condo construction Toronto

Excavation activity at the Nicholas Residences condo site near Yonge & Bloor

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

Shoring work continues on the FIVE Condos site at Yonge & St Joseph Streets

 

FIVE Condos site Toronto

Snow-covered steel I-beams and construction equipment on the FIVE Condos site

 

ETFO office building Toronto

A worker directs traffic past the ETFO office building site on Isabella Street

 

ETFO office building Toronto

Another view of progress on the 4-storey ETFO office headquarters

 

X2 Condos Toronto

Overlooking the long, rectangular excavation for the 49-storey X2 Condos tower under construction at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets

 

X2 Condos Toronto

Crews have nearly completed digging the deep excavaton for the X2 Condos tower. The construction crane is expected to be installed soon

 

45 Charles Street East Toronto

Interior demolition work continues on the eight-storey office building at 45 Charles Street East, future site of the Chaz.Yorkville condo tower.

 

45 Charles Street East Toronto

Despite the light snow cover, a drilling rig (rear right) was busy jackhammering a concrete pad at the northwest corner of the Chaz.Yorkville site

 

Burano Condos and Women's College Hospital Toronto

Two major construction projects at the southwest corner of Bay & Grosvenor Streets: Burano Condos, left, and the Women’s College Hospital redevelopment.

 

Womens College Hospital Toronto

The new Women’s College Hospital building has risen five floors so far on what was formerly the site of the hospital’s multi-level parking garage

 

Burano Condos on Bay Street Toronto

The soaring glass atrium on the north (Grosvenor Street) side of Burano Condos

 

Burano Condos Toronto

A view of the atrium from the north side of Grosvenor Street

 

Burano Condos Toronto

A publicly-accessible piazza, designed by landscape architects Janet Rosenberg + Associates, will be constructed next to the atrium

 

Burano Condos Toronto

The sharply angled glass panels of the atrium provide a striking contrast to the condo tower that soars 50 storeys straight up above it

 

Harbourfront Centre York Quay parking garage construction

A Harbourfront Centre webcam image of progress on the new underground parking garage for York Quay Centre. Concrete floor slabs have been poured for the 3 below-grade levels, and work will start soon on the ground-level roof over the structure. New outdoor public spaces will be created on top.

 

 

Keeping tabs on … Clear Spirit condo construction

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

Above is a Cherry Street view of Clear Spirit condo tower construction progress at the Distillery District on March 17 2011. Below is a screenshot of a recent aerial view of the building site, captured by the condo project’s website webcam.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

 

Prominent podium: With four floors of its large rectangular podium poured, and work underway on its 40-storey tower, the Clear Spirit condo building now has a noteworthy presence on the southeast side of the Distillery District. In several months’ time, as the tower climbs taller, Clear Spirit will start standing out on the city skyline, too. It will be joined in just a few short years by a sister tower, the Gooderham condominiums, a 35-storey condo building that will be constructed right next door at the corner of Cherry and Mill Streets. (Pre-excavation pile driving and other site preparation work have been in progress at the Gooderham location all winter.) Together, the two shimmering glass towers will demarcate the eastern perimeter of the historic 13-acre neighbourhood, adding a contemporary flare to the Distillery District’s mix of 19th Century brick and limestone buildings. Both buildings were designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance. Below are renderings of the Clear Spirit and Gooderham towers (my apologies…in my February 16 post about the Clear Spirit, I incorrectly identified an illustration of the Gooderham building), along with recent photos of Clear Spirit’s construction progress.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower rendering

Rendering of the Clear Spirit condo tower, from the project’s website

 

Gooderham condominium tower at the Distillery District

architectsAlliance website rendering of the Gooderham condominium tower

 

CN Tower view of the Distillery District

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Distillery District. The crane for the Clear Spirit construction site is visible near the middle of the photo. The glass tower toward the left is the 32-storey Pure Spirit tower, built several years ago.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit condo podium progress viewed from the construction entrance at the southeast end of the Distillery District parking lot

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The south end of the Clear Spirit condo podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The south end of the Clear Spirit condo podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The south end of the Clear Spirit condo podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: East view toward Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Southwest corner of the podium base

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Upper three floors of the podium’s southwest corner

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium construction progress

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: A view of the south end of the Clear Spirit building site

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: I have absolutely no idea what this concrete structure is!

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: West view of the odd-looking concrete structure. If you know what it’s for, please let me know!

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: West side of the podium viewed from Case Goods Lane

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit condo podium viewed from Case Goods Lane

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Construction progress on the west side of the podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium construction viewed from Tank House Lane

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium construction viewed from Tank House Lane

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The podium rises behind the Mill Street Brewpub

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Clear Spirit podium behind the Mill Street Brewpub

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Northwest corner of the Clear Spirit podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the podium’s east side

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the Clear Spirit tower construction

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The 32-storey Pure Spirit tower rises in the background

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The CN Tower is visible in the distance from the entrance to the Gooderham condo construction zone at the south end of Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Cherry Street view of the Clear Spirit condo podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: I believe the tall round columns with the mustard-yellow sleeves will be supports for the 40-storey tower, which will rise at a slightly-skewed angle above the rectangular podium.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The Clear Spirit podium and the construction entrance to the Gooderham condominium tower building site

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: A construction crew builds a support pillar (left) while two more workers survey the construction site from a blue lift.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: Tall round support pillars on the east side of the podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction

March 17 2011: The construction crane operator’s cab high above Clear Spirit

 

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

Clear Spirit condos

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

Clear Spirit condo building rendering from the architectsAlliance website


Clear Spirit condo

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building lobby


Clear Spirit condo

Clear Spirit condo website rendering of the building podium and tower


Clear Spirit condo

Podium construction rising above Tank House Lane on February 3 2011


Clear Spirit condo

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


Clear Spirit condo

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


Clear Spirit condo

Foundation construction viewed from Stone House Walk on November 9 2010


Clear Spirit condo

Another view of Clear Spirit condo construction on November 9 2010


Clear Spirit condo

Podium construction obvious from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011


Clear Spirit condo

Podium rising above the Mill Street Brewery on February 3 2011


Clear Spirit condo

Podium progress viewed from Tank House Lane on February 3 2011


Cleaer Spirit condo

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


Clear Spirit condo

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

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