George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: The second level of the new George Brown College waterfront campus dominates the view south from Queen’s Quay Boulevard…

…compared to August 29 2010, when only the construction cranes were visible.

April 21 2011: West view of the construction site from Sherbourne Common

April 21 2011: Southwest view of the construction from the lakeside promenade in front of the Corus Quay office building next door

Second floor takes shape: Mid-February was the last time I walked around the construction site for the new George Brown College waterfront campus. As photos from my February 5 2011 post showed, construction activity at the time was still below grade, as crews continued to form floors and walls for the building’s underground levels. From the street and the adjacent Sherbourne Common park, only the two giant construction cranes, concrete pumping machines, and assorted heavy construction machines and trucks were obvious to onlookers.

The scene was completely different when I made a return visit to the construction site on Thursday afternoon. With construction up to the second floor, the Health Sciences building now has a strong visual presence, rising well above the hoarding along Queen’s Quay boulevard. And as construction climbs higher toward its full eight-storey height, the college building will continue to steal attention away from its next-door neighbour, Corus Quay.

Below is a series of photos showing construction progress on the waterfront campus back in mid-February and as of this week.

February 18 2011: A concrete pumping machine at the George Brown College waterfront campus construction site, viewed from Sherbourne Common

February 18 2011: North view of the George Brown College construction site from the lakeside walkway between Sherbourne Common and Sugar Beach

February 18 2011: Northwest view of the construction site from the walkway between the campus and the west side of Sherbourne Common

February 18 2011: Northeast view of the George Brown College waterfront campus construction from the lakeside walkway at Corus Quay

February 18 2011: East view of the construction site shows the college building’s underground levels approaching street grade

April 21 2011: Queen’s Quay boulevard view of second-level construction activity on the north side of the campus building

April 21 2011: A view of the north side of the building through the construction entrance on Queen’s Quay

April 21 2011: A view of the center section of the building’s north side

April 21 2011: Campus construction viewed from the northwest on Queen’s Quay

April 21 2011: Second level construction underway at the northwest corner

April 21 2011: Construction on the northwest corner of the campus building

April 21 2011: The west side of the building viewed from the walkway between the campus and the Corus Quay offices next door

April 21 2011: Southwest view of the construction progress from the lakeside walkway that links Sugar Beach and Corus Quay with Sherbourne Common

April 21 2011: View toward the southeast corner of the building from the lakeside walkway near Sherbourne Common

April 21 2011: The southeast corner of the building, viewed from the walkway between the campus and Sherbourne Common

April 21 2011: Concrete delivery at the northeast corner of the building

April 21 2011: Second level construction at the northeast corner of the building

April 21 2011: Northeast view of the construction from Sherbourne Common

April 21 2011: Concrete truck at the northeast corner of the construction zone

April 21 2011: Sherbourne Common view of the college rising beside Corus Quay

April 21 2011: The east side of the building, viewed from Sherbourne Common

Rendering of the new George Brown College waterfront campus

Lakeside learning: George Brown College is giving the new Corus Quay office building some company on the waterfront.

Corus Quay, headquarters to the Corus Entertainment media company, opened last fall at 25 Dockside Drive near the foot of Jarvis Street — right beside the similarly brand-new urban park, Canada’s Sugar Beach. Along with the beach and nearby Sherbourne Common, which also opened last autumn, Corus Quay was the first project finished under Waterfront Toronto’s massive East Bayfront revitalization program. Since they moved into their new digs, the 1,100 Corus Quay employees have had the Muskoka chairs and custom park benches at Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common mainly to themselves during weekdays. But that will soon change.

The second major Waterfront Toronto project is the George Brown College Health Sciences Centre campus, currently under construction between Corus Quay and Sherbourne Common. Scheduled to open for the 2012 fall semester, the 330,000-square-foot building will accommodate 3,500 students in the the schools of Dental Health, Health and Wellness, Nursing and Health Services Management.

Designed as a joint venture by Stantec Architecture and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, the building will have eight floors including a three-storey glass podium and a rooftop terrace. Besides classrooms and office facilities for the health care faculties, the full-service campus will house a health care clinic, bookstore, administrative offices and food service operations. The project cost is $175 million, of which $61.5 million is being paid by the Ontario government, and $30 million by the federal government.

That’s just phase one of the campus development; the facility will grow further in its second phase, for which the College is still seeking to raise funds from individual and corporate “partners.” And in several years’ time, the College plans to add a third campus in the vicinity. Once all the college faculty and students start joining the Corus employees on the waterfront in 2012, the East Bayfront lakeside promenade and boardwalk should be buzzing with activity all year long.

Those lucky kids won’t even have to cut classes to hit the beach — they’ll be able to catch some rays or walk along the lake during lunch breaks or between labs and lectures. Below is a college webcam photo of construction progress at the campus site, along with some of my photos of building activity between last August and this past Thursday.