Tag Archives: Lamb Development Corp.

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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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

 

 

 

Theatre Park condo foundation filling in fast

Theatre Park condo

August 25 2012: Looking toward the north end of the Theatre Park condo construction site, where underground levels are fast taking shape

 

Theatre Park condo

August 25 2012: A view of construction progress on underground levels near the midsection of the Theatre Park site. The condo property extends from King Street on the south to Pearl Street on the north.

 

Theatre Park condo

 August 25 2012: Work has progressed the farthest at the King Street (south) end of the site, where only one more underground level remains to be built

 

Inching upwards: Construction drama should start moving above grade at the Theatre Park condo tower site this fall.

The underground levels for the 47-storey tower have been filling in fast this summer. Work on the southern third of the site — next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street — has progressed the farthest, and only one more underground level remains to be constructed before that part of the building reaches street level.  The northern two-thirds of the site has some catching up to do, but isn’t far behind.

 

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Drilling rig rumbles onto Theatre Park condo site

Theatre Park condo Toronto

January 2 2012: A Rumble Foundations drilling rig has little room to maneuver on the narrow 224 King Street West construction site for Theatre Park condos. Below is a photo of the property exactly one year ago, when it was still a parking lot.

 

Theatre Park condos

 

Ready to Rumble: Construction activity has commenced on the Entertainment District’s much-anticipated Theatre Park condos, a slender 47-storey glass and steel point tower that will rise right next door to Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre.

A Rumble Foundations drilling rig recently arrived on the construction site, which for decades had been occupied by a pay parking lot.  The rig stands more than four storeys tall and is so big, it barely fits into the tight, narrow space from which the 234-unit condo skyscraper will eventually soar.

 

Lofty 10-foot ceilings

Designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance, Theatre Park boasts a variety of condominium configurations with lofty 10-foot ceilings, including 1 bedroom, 1 bedroom + den, 2 bedroom, 2 bedroom + den, 3 bedroom and penthouse-level suites.

The Theatre Park project website shows that 1 bedrooms are available in four sizes from 530 to 920 square feet; the largest is a loft-style “Palace Theatre” unit on the tower’s fourth and fifth levels. Two of the 1 bedroom designs, the “Rudolfinum” and the “Musikverein,” have small (43 to 57 square foot) balconies. The 1 bedroom + den range from 625 to 920 square feet; the “Mariinsky Theatre” and “Festival Theatre” styles have balconies either 115 or 151 square feet.

The 2 bedroom units range from 815 to 1,145 square feet; the smallest, the “Teatro La Fenice,” has already sold out, but the other sizes are still available, including 7 of the 985-square-foot “Princes of Wales” model.  The 2 bedroom + den “Moulin Rouge” offers a roomy 1,375 square feet, but no balcony, while the the 3 bedroom suites vary from 1,140 to 2,480 spacious square feet, and all come with generously-sized balconies. Two of the layouts, the “Radio City Music Hall” and the “Gershwin Theatre,” boast 397-square foot balconies.

 

Enormous penthouse already sold

The smallest unit in the “Penthouse Collection” is 850-square foot “Abbey Theatre” on floors 36 to 41, while the biggest is the 1,360-square-foot “Carnegie Hall” on the same floors. The “Sky Penthouse Collection” includes the aforementioned “Radio City Music Hall” at 1,990 square feet, and the “Gershwin” at 2,480 square feet. But the 47th-floor “Royal Alexandra” penthouse, with 3 bedrooms, a library and den in 3,270 square feet of interior space, plus a massive 2,026 square foot terrace, is already sold.

Theatre Park is a project of Lamb Development Corp, Niche Development and Harhay Construction Management Ltd.

Below is another photo of the Theatre Park construction site from this past Monday, along with a rendering of the tower from the project website.  Additional photos and renderings can be viewed in my February 19 2011 post.

 

Theatre Park condo Toronto

January 2 2011: The Theatre Park condo construction site, seen from the south side of King Street West. When complete, the 47-floor tower will block views of the 66-storey Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel + condo tower which is approaching the end of construction just one and a half blocks away, to the northeast.

 

Theatre Park condo

From the Theatre Park website, a rendering of the sleek 47-storey glass and steel point tower designed by architectsAlliance of Toronto

 

 

The King East “designer condominium” carving its niche at NW corner of King & Parliament

thekingeast designer condominium

From The King East project website, this rendering suggests how the building will look from a southeast perspective…

 

thekingeast designer condominium

…and this is how The King East condo construction site appeared when viewed from the same perspective on April 30 2011

 

thekingeast designer condominium

April 30 2011 view of excavation progress at the west end of the site for The King East condominium

 

Designer digs: Excavation work continues to progress on The King East, a 15-story condominium building billed by its developer as a “thrilling, pre-eminent architectural sculpture…crafted to push the design envelope to new heights.” The midrise condo will occupy the northwest corner of King and Parliament Streets,  “one of the most historically significant corners of the original 10 blocks of the City of Toronto,” the project website states. Being marketed as a “designer condominium,” The King East is a project of Lamb Development Corp, Hyde Park Homes and The Sher Corporation. It will be noteworthy for its facade, which the condo website says will blend “patterns of red brick with bands of concrete, artfully connecting the glass podium by rising up the east and west face.” Below is another building rendering, from the project website, along wtih photos I shot at The King East construction site recently.

The King East designer condominium

From the project website, another rendering of The King East condominium building

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: The King East condo project signage on Parliament Street

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: The far west end of the condo building construction site

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: About one-third of the site has been excavated

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: Looking down on the pit from the sidewalk along King Street East

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: This machine has a lot of digging ahead

 

The King East designer condo

April 30 2011: Excavating machines digging deep at The King East condo building site

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: A closer look at the excavators in the pit

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011:  The King East excavation viewed from Parliament Street

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: West side of the site viewed from across King Street East

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011: Looking across King Street toward the northeast side of the site

 

The King East designer condominium

April 30 2011:  A view of The King East construction site from the southeast corner of King & Parliament Streets

 

Another 32-storey condo tower for Charlotte Street

King Charlotte condo tower rendering

A rendering, from the King Charlotte condo project website, of the 32-storey tower proposed for Charlotte Street in the Entertainment District.

 

Another jewel in Clewes’ crown: It’s only two blocks long, but Charlotte Street has been getting more than its share of attention from architects and condo developers. The little north-south street, which links Adelaide and King Street in the Entertainment District, already boasts two condo buildings — Glas Condominiums and The Charlotte — and is getting a third, with Charlie Condos currently under construction. The sales centre for a fourth — Langston Hall — has been open several years; however, that development seems to have stalled, with no signs that construction might start anytime soon. Now, Lamb Development Corp. and Niche Development have proposed a fifth condo project for the street — King Charlotte.

Designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance, King Charlotte would rise at 11 Charlotte Street, a three-storey brick warehouse building that has been converted into offices. A 32-storey point tower (including six-storey podium) soaring 114 metres high, King Charlotte would offer 232 residential units in 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom configurations, plus four levels of underground parking. Part of the ground-floor level would be used for “community space.” A 33rd floor rooftop terrace will be an “entertainment oasis” with an outdoor pool and all-day sun “that will blow your mind,” Lamb Development CEO Brad Lamb promises. The tower design is basically a series of different-sized boxes stacked playfully atop each other. “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,” Lamb explains on the King Charlotte website.

Full details of the proposed project are provided in a February 28 2011 city planning department preliminary report which recommended a community consultation meeting be held to gather local input. That recommendation was approved in a March 22 2011 motion by the Toronto and East York Community Council; that public meeting should take place sometime later this spring. (Local councillor Adam Vaughan has already held one constituency meeting, in January, to discuss the project with area residents.) If approved by the City (which appears highly likely), King Charlotte would match Charlie Condos in floor count (32) and tower above the street’s existing condo buildings: Glas, a 16-storey midrise at 25 Oxley Street on the southwest corner of Oxley and Charlotte, and The Charlotte,  a 14-storey condo completed in 2002 on the northwest corner of Oxley and Charlotte. (If Langston Hall ever proceeds, it will have 12 storeys plus a penthouse.)

Meanwhile, the King Charlotte website has been launched, signs advertising the project have been affixed to the exterior of 11 Charlotte, and a marketing sales campaign is in full swing. A “coming soon to King & Spadina” King Charlotte Condos flyer I received in the mail this week says prices start at $241,900 for a 1-bedroom unit, $327,900 for a 1-bedroom with den, $435,900 for a 2-bedroom, and $558,900 for a 3-bedroom suite.

Looks to me like Lamb and Clewes have another winner on their hands. Charlotte Street is an in-demand area for condo buyers (a friend of mine sold his condo on the street in mere days, for a hefty profit), and I’m sure this project will be another Entertainment District sales success. Below are photos, taken at various times over the past three years, of the King Charlotte site and its neighbours.

King Charlotte Condos development proposal sign

King Charlotte Condos development proposal sign

 

King Charlotte Condos website architectural rendering of 33rd floor amenities area

King Charlotte Condos website rendering of the outdoor swimming pool and terrace on the tower’s 33rd floor amenities area

 

King Charlotte condo tower site at 11 Charlotte Street

November 29 2010: A view of 11 Charlotte Street; the CN Tower and the new condo M5V condo tower stand in the background. The King Charlotte building would, of course, block this Charlotte Street view of the CN Tower.

 

King Charlotte Condos development site at 11 Charlotte Street

March 29 2011: A view of 11 Charlotte from the west side of the street

 

Mountain Equipment Co-Op on King Street West

March 29 2011: The Mountain Equipment Co-Op store on King Street West will be King Charlotte’s next-door neighbour to the south.

 

King Charlotte condo development site on Charlotte Street

March 29 2011: King Street view of the 11 Charlotte Street condo development site; the Mountain Equipment Co-Op store on King is the brick building at right.

 

King Street West at Charlotte Street

March 11 2010: King Street West view toward Charlotte Street. The King Charlotte condo site is the white building with the turquoise sign on its roof (in the middle of the photo). The construction crane is building Charlie Condos at the corner of Charlotte and King; the Glas condominium midrise stands to its immediate north.


Charlie Condos and Glas Condos

November 23 2010: Charlie Condos construction site and Glas Condos

 

West side of Charlotte Street north of King Street

March 29 2011: The Charlie Condos construction site, left, Glas condos, center, and The Charlotte condos on the west side of Charlotte Street north of King.

Charlotte Street looking north toward Adelaide Street

March 29 2011: Looking north on Charlotte Street toward Adelaide Street from outside the King Charlotte condo development site (right).

 

Langston Hall condo sales centre

September 26 2008: The Langston Hall condo sales centre at the northwest corner of Charlotte Street and Adelaide Street West

 

Langston Hall condo sales centre

September 26 2008: Adelaide Street West view down Charlotte Street towards the Langston Hall condo sales centre, The Charlotte Condos, and Glas Condos.

 

The Capitol Building at 366 Adelaide Street West

March 29 2011: The Capitol Building at 366 Adelaide Street West (also known as the Hobberlin Building, from 1920) faces directly down Charlotte Street.

 

View south on Charlotte Street from Adelaide Street West

March 29 2011: Adelaide Street view of the east side of Charlotte Street.  The 8-storey brick building at left is the MacLean Building at 345 Adelaide Street West, a city-listed heritage property dating from 1914.

19 Charlotte Street Toronto

March 29 2011: This 4-storey brick warehouse building sits at 19 Charlotte, next to the King Charlotte site. It’s home to a billiard hall, restaurant and offices.

 

King Charlotte Condos development site at 11 Charlotte Street

March 29 2011: 19 and 11 Charlotte Street, viewed from across the road

 

King Charlotte development site at 11 Charlotte Street

March 29 2011: Front view of the King Charlotte development site

 

King Charlotte development site at 11 Charlotte Street

March 29 2011: South side of the King Charlotte development site. A laneway runs between the building and the Mountain Equipment Co-Op store to the south.


47-storey Theatre Park condo tower will bring architectural excitement to Entertainment District

Theatre Park condo

Tower rendering from the Theatre Park condo project website


Planning drama: I suppose it was only fitting that high drama ensued when an application to built a condo tower next to the Royal Alexandra Theatre was filed with city hall back in early 2009. Especially since the rapid pace of condo development in Toronto’s popular Theatre/Entertainment District has become a hot-button topic with area businesses, residents and City Hall. 

It just wouldn’t have seemed right if the city had simply told Lamb Development Corp. and its partner Niche Development to go ahead and “break a leg” with its plans to build a striking 45-storey point tower at 224 King Street West, a site which has been occupied by a parking lot for the past 40 years. Just as one might have expected, though, city planners balked at the Theatre Park proposal. They were concerned that the building would be far too tall for the neighbourhood, and they feared that approving the project could set a dangerous precedent that ultimately could encourage other developers to demolish historical low-rise buildings in the area and construct towers in their place.

It didn’t seem to matter that a handful of highrise buildings already were under construction within a two-block radius, including the 53-storey Ritz-Carlton and 65-storey Living Shangri-La hotel/condo towers, and the Boutique and Festival Tower condos (35 and 41 storeys tall, respectively).

When the city rejected the application, the developers decided to challenge the decision at the Ontario Municipal Board. However, the parties reached a settlement allowing construction of a tower that would be slightly shorter, but would have 47 floors instead of 45.

Background about the planning and political drama behind the project, as well as some details about the proposed tower, were outlined in a November 11 2010 story in the National Post. Less than two weeks later, the Theatre Park project received rather robust attention during an advance sales event for VIP agents and brokers.

The building design, by Toronto’s architectsAlliance, is destined to get plenty of attention, too, though it remains to be seen if it will receive rave reviews from the critics once it is finally constructed. The Theatre Park website heralds the tower design as “audacious” and “iconic,” and I think those descriptions are apt. The slender tower will have a dramatic, bold presence on the Entertainment District skyline, while its open street-level plaza next to the Royal Alex should enhance the King West streetscape (particularly since the sidewalk along the north side of King always feels too narrow, and gets claustrophobically crowded both before and after performances at the Royal Alex and the Princess of Wales Theatre a few doors west).

Below are several architectural renderings that appear on the Theatre Park website, along with some photos I snapped recently of the condo project site and its famous next-door neighbour. The website has additional renderings, floorplans, and a four-minute animated video that suggests how Theatre Park will look on the skyline.

 

Theatre Park condos

Artistic rendering of the Theatre Park penthouse


Theatre Park condos

A website rendering of the tower podium and plaza on King Street West


Theatre Park condos

Artistic impression of how Theatre Park will appear at street level


Theatre Park condos

Another website illustration of the condo plaza fronting on King Street


Theatre Park condos

Promotional billboard at 224 King Street West last November


Theatre Park condos

Theatre Park site viewed from the south side of King Street on January 3 2011


Theatre Park condos

A billboard with a tower rendering, seen here January 3, replaced the first sign


Theatre Park condos

The Theatre Park billboard was gone when I passed the site on Thursday


Royal Alexandra Theatre

The Royal Alexandra Theatre, seen here on Thursday afternoon

Theatre Park condo

View toward the Theatre Park condo tower site on February 18 2011. Only one block to the north are the Boutique condo tower, left, and the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel/condo complex, with the pink signs and construction crane.