Tag Archives: Context Development

Market Wharf tower balconies making waves as crews prepare condo for move-ins later this year

Market Wharf condos

August 22 2012: Windows and cladding still must be installed on the top six floors of the 34-storey Market Wharf condo tower, seen here from the west …

 

Market Wharf condos

… but glass panels, like these ones recently installed on the long wavy balconies along the tower’s east side, give the building exterior a wonderfully wonky and fluid form …

 

Market Wharf condos

… and juxtapose nicely with wedge-shaped balconies on the tower’s south face

 

Wedges and waves:  Half a dozen top floors still await windows and cladding, and glass panels have so far been installed on just the lower third of balconies on the Market Wharf condo tower. But with construction of the 34-storey tower quickly approaching conclusion, a large orange banner on the building’s east side prominently proclaims: “Move in this year.”

Even though work isn’t finished, the tower already stands out on the city skyline, thanks mainly to its eye-catching mix of wedge-shaped and undulating balconies that conjure images of whitecaps and waves.

 

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Construction of 29-storey Motion on Bay rental apartment highrise passes the halfway point

Motion on Bay Toronto

August 11 2012: Construction of the 29-storey Motion on Bay rental apartment building at Bay & Dundas Streets has reached 17 floors, with 12 more to go

 

Halfway there: If some of the emails I receive are a reliable indication, there’s a lot of people in Toronto who think that the Motion on Bay Street building currently under construction at Bay & Dundas Streets is going to be “yet another condo,” to borrow the words of one correspondent.  After I published some construction photos on May 5, I received several private messages from people requesting information about availability and purchase prices for 1- and 2-bedroom “condos” in the building. (For some reason, a lot of people also assume I’m a condo sales rep.) With this update post, I’m already bracing for another series of similar inquiries.

 

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Market Wharf adds curves to Lower Jarvis Street

Market Wharf condos Toronto

October 30 2011: Market Wharf condo tower construction viewed from the northeast corner of Jarvis Street and Lake Shore Boulevard.

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

From the Market Wharf website, an illustration of the floorplan for the condo’s curvaceous Market Club amenities facility

 

Making waves: Construction of the 25-storey Market Wharf tower is attracting more attention these days as the condo building’s distinctively curved amenities floor and wavy “curvilinear” balconies continue to take shape while the newly-opened Shoppers Drug Mart draws traffic to the northeast street-level corner of the complex’s 8-storey podium. Occupying an entire city block near the bottom of Jarvis Street, between the railway tracks and Toronto’s historic St. Lawrence Market, Market Wharf will keep making waves as the tower climbs more prominently into view on the skyline.

Designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance, Market Wharf is a project of Context Development. The complex features a variety of suite sizes and styles, ranging from a 570-square-foot 1-bedroom 1-bath to a 1039-square-foot 2-bedroom + den + 2 baths to a 1276-square-foot 2-bedroom + 2.5 bath “duplex penthouse.” The building also boasts townhomes, in six different layouts, that have private terraces with gas barbecue hookups. Townhome prices start from $718,900, and include parking and a storage locker. The project is 70% sold to date.

Below are some of my recent photos of Market Wharf’s construction progress, along with two illustrations of the building that appear on the Market Wharf website.

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

Website illustration of the Market Wharf complex, viewed from the northeast along Jarvis Street, next to the St. Lawrence Market

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

Also from the project website, this illustration suggests how the Market Wharf complex will appear when viewed looking south along Market Street

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

 October 30 2011:  South side of the Market Wharf tower

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

October 30 2011: The Market Club amenities facility adds a striking curve to the tower, designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

October 30 2011: The Market Club throws an eye-catching curve above Lower Jarvis Street

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

October 30 2011: Another Jarvis Street view of the curved Market Club amenities floor above the building’s block-long, 8-storey podium

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

October 30 2011: Part of the “phasing” section between the tower and podium

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

August 17 2011 The curved Market Club amenities floor takes shape above the railway tracks near the foot of Jarvis Street

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011:  The Market Club floor begins taking shape atop the podium

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The condo complex occupies an entire block on the north side of the railway tracks, just south of the St Lawrence Market

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The tower rises above the Jarvis Street railway underpass

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Round conrete support pillars atop the podium’s east side

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Market Wharf’s red and white construction crane

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011 To the south of Market Wharf is the Jarvis Street railway underpass (left); the CN Tower is visible to the west

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Jarvis Street view of the building’s southeast corner

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Jarvis Street view of the building’s southeast side

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Construction forms jutting above Jarvis Street

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011:  Market Street reflects in the building’s street-level windows

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

 July 20 2011: Trees were planted several weeks after I took these photos, further complimenting the building’s presence on Market Street

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

 July 20 2011: Market Street view of construction progress on the tower base

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The tower is rising at the south end of the complex

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: A construction worker watches activity at street level

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The south end of the complex, viewed from the foot of Market Street next to the railway tracks

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Another view of the west side of the tower base

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: The curved Market Club takes shape atop the tower base

 

Market Wharf condos Toronto

July 20 2011: Looking north along Market Street at the project’s ongoing Phase 2 work (right) and the completed Phase 1 in the background

 

 

With podium and cantilevered townhouses in place, Market Wharf poised to built condo tower next

Website rendering of Market Wharf condos below St Lawrence Market


Podium finish: If you liken building construction to a competitive race, then Context Development has achieved a podium finish with its Market Wharf project on Lower Jarvis Street. And to borrow an expression from the 2010 Canadian Winter Olympic Team, Context will totally own the podium once it gets the 25-storey Market Wharf condo tower going up — the next phase in construction — and sells the remaining 30% of units that have not already been snapped up by eager buyers. 

December was a busy building month for Market Wharf:  its eight-storey-tall podium got topped off; crews began installing windows in the townhouses that cantilever over the south end of the podium; mullions were being installed for windows for the Shoppers Drug Mart store that will open in the podium’s retail level; and work continued on the base for the condo tower.

  The building was designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance. Below are photos I took of the site last week, along with another artistic rendering from the Market Wharf website where full project details and floorplans can be viewed.

 

Artistic rendering of a west view of the Market Wharf podium and tower


Market Wharf podium northwest side view January 3 2011; note how the window sizes and brickwork placement differ from the rendering above.


West side of Market Wharf podium on January 3 2011


Southwest view of Market Wharf podium on January 3 2011


Preliminary building work for Market Wharf condo tower


Getting ready to build the tower at south end of Market Wharf site


Southeast view of Market Wharf podium and townhouses


Cantilevered townhouses on the podium’s southeast corner


Another view of the cantilevered townhouses


Southeast side of Market Wharf podium along Jarvis Street


Northeast side of Market Wharf podium along Jarvis Street


Northeast corner of the Market Wharf podium (drug store to occupy street level)


St Lawrence Market view of Market Wharf podium on January 3 2010