Tag Archives: Maple Leaf Gardens

Application filed with City to build 45-storey condo tower at NE corner of Church & Carlton

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70 & 72 Carlton Street

A 45-storey condo tower with retail and institutional space is being proposed for the property currently occupied by the two low-rise buildings at 70 and 72 Carlton Street, seen here from the intersection of Church & Carlton Streets …

 

SE corner of Church & Wood Streets

… but it is unclear if the development site includes this surface parking lot behind the two buildings, at the corner of Church & Wood Streets.  The lot is seen here from Wood Street, looking toward Maple Leaf Gardens on Church Street.

 

 

New neighbour for the Gardens: Details are sketchy, but a proposal to build a 45-storey mixed use tower at the northeast corner of Church & Carlton Streets — directly across the street from Maple Leaf Gardens — has been filed with the City’s planning department.

An undated entry on the development projects page of the City of Toronto website says that applications have been filed for site plan control, zoning bylaw amendment and rental housing demolition for property at 70 Carlton Street. The site would be redeveloped with “a 38 storey tower atop of a 7 storey podium separated by a two-storey reveal comprising of 35149m2 of residential space 845m2 of retail space and 17m2 of institutional/other space. There will be a total of 202 parking spaces,” the website entry states.

 

 

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From NHL hockey shrine to food-lovers’ paradise: Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store poised to open

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Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

November 20 2011: Crews prepare to install a Loblaws sign on the south side of Maple Leaf Gardens at the corner of Church Street…

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

… a similar sign had earlier been installed just around the corner on the building’s east facade along Church Street …

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

… while yet another sign listing all the new tenants of the renovated heritage building sits on a flatbed truck, awaiting installation at the Gardens’ northeast corner at Church and Wood Streets

 

Month-end opening: The public will get its first peek inside the revitalized Maple Leaf Gardens on November 30 — the day the new flagship Loblaws grocery store will officially open its doors for business.

Scores of construction crews have been buzzing around the inside and outside of the building this week, hurrying to finish the store in time for its much-anticipated and months-overdue opening. Today, crews were installing Loblaws signage atop a new canopy at the southeast corner of the Gardens, where the grocery store entrance is situated, as well as working on the underground parking garage entrance at the southwest corner of the building. Work also is continuing on the new Maple Leaf Gardens marquee along Carlton Street, and inside the upper levels of the Gardens, where the new Ryerson University Athletics Centre is being built. (Unlike the grocery store, the sports & recreation complex is not scheduled for completion until next spring.)

 

8 a.m. opening on November 30

In a press release issued today, Loblaw Companies Limited said “Toronto’s new crown jewel of food stores” will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 30.  Although the company is keeping most details about the new store under wraps for now, it did drop “some delectable tidbits about the food experiences that will be found on Food’s Greatest Stage™ under the legendary roof located at 60 Carlton Street.” The media release said some of the store’s highlights include a complete ACE Artisan Bakery, an 18-foot-tall “Amazing Wall of Cheese” boasting more than 400 varieties of cheese from around the world, a patisserie featuring handcrafted chocolate and a huge assortment of pastries baked in-store, a tea emporium, an omelet station, a sushi Bar, and an open kitchen preparing take-home breakfast, lunch and dinner meals.

From what I’ve heard, the Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws will be the most impressive grocery store in downtown Toronto, providing an unrivalled shopping environment that will dazzle and delight foodies who have been starved for alternatives to the congested and dumpy-looking food stores currently serving the fast-growing condo and apartment neighbourhood. Last week, I spoke to several newly-hired Loblaws employees who had just received their first tour of the historic building where they soon will be working. Since the site is still a construction zone, with crews putting finishing touches on the building’s interior and exterior, they had to wear hard hats and safety boots throughout their orientation tour. But they said the store basically looks set to open, with all shelves already fully stocked with merchandise. Describing the Loblaws as easily “the nicest grocery store” they’ve seen “in all of downtown,” they said customers will be amazed by both the look and feel of the interior as well as the extensive product line-ups that will tempt their tastebuds and pocketbooks.

According to the Ryerson University website, the architectural team for the Gardens transformation includes Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. for the “base building” and BBB Architects Inc. for the “Ryerson fit up.” Heritage consultant is E.R.A. Architects Inc.

Below are more photos I took outside Maple Leaf Gardens this afternoon. Photos of earlier construction activity at the iconic hockey shrine can be viewed in my posts on November 3, June 14, April 14, March 29 and February 2.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

November 20 2011: Crews working outside the parking garage entrance at the southwest corner of the Gardens on Carlton Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

November 20 2011: Workers on a portable crane attend to details on the wall above the underground parking garage entrance.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Loblaws store Toronto

November 20 2011 There is one level of parking underneath the grocery store

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: Work continues on the Carlton Street marquee. The entrance to the Ryerson University Athletics Centre will be here.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: Sign installation above the Loblaws entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: The new canopy above the Gardens’ southeast corner

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: Workers prepare to erect a vertical sign on the northeast corner of the building, at Church & Wood streets. A Joe Fresh clothing shop, an LCBO liquor outlet and a medical clinic will also be opening soon in the Gardens.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: The Gardens’ northeast corner, at Church & Wood Streets

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: Construction cranes and elevators along Wood Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: A crew prepares to install a vertical sign at the northeast corner of the building

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: The slender sign is set in place

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 20 2011: The service entrance on the north side of the Gardens, along Wood Street, was punched into the brick wall of the historic building.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 17 2011: Construction activity on the north and east sides of Maple Leaf Gardens. On weekdays, the building is constantly surrounded by cranes, equipment supply vehicles, and concrete delivery trucks and pumpers.

 

November opening still uncertain for Loblaws store in Maple Leaf Gardens; Ryerson anticipates winter finish for athletics centre on building’s upper levels

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Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

November 1 2011: A mid-morning view of Maple Leaf Gardens at the northwest corner of Church & Carlton Streets

 

Coming soon:  “When is it finally going to open?” That question is almost constantly on the minds of thousands of people who live and work near the intersection of Church and Carlton Streets, where construction activity both inside and outside the Maple Leaf Gardens building continues at a relentless pace.

For residents of nearby condos, co-ops and apartments, the long-overdue opening of the historic hockey arena’s new occupants — including a Loblaws grocery store, an LCBO liquor outlet, and Ryerson University’s Athletics Centre at the Gardens — won’t happen soon enough. They are weary from months of traffic restrictions on sidewalks and streets adjacent to the Gardens, as well as the daily disruption, dirt and noise from both construction work and the heavy concrete trucks, equipment and supply vehicles, and portable cranes that steadily stream to and from the project site.

Also eagerly anticipating an end to construction are hockey and heritage fans, as well as countless other people who are simply curious to see how the Gardens’ interior has been transformed during the two years since the revitalization project began.

Relief for all is now in the foreseeable future since the grocery store appears poised for a possible November opening, while the Ryerson athletic centre is on track for completion and occupancy sometime during the upcoming winter months.

 

Massive recruitment drive

Although a Loblaws spokesperson told me yesterday that details for the grocery store opening date haven’t been determined yet, the neighbourhood has been buzzing with word it could be open for business in as few as two to three weeks’ time. Loblaws recently launched a massive recruitment drive, hiring hundreds of part-time staff to work in what is shaping up to become the chain’s premier flagship store. Several new staff told me they’ve been training at various Toronto Loblaws stores during the past three weeks. They said they initially were advised they would be working in the Gardens by the end of this week, but the date was pushed back and they’re now expecting to start work in the new store shortly after the middle of the month. Similarly, staff at a nearby liquor store said they have been told the new LCBO Gardens outlet should be open sometime between the middle and end of November. From what I could see through windows and open doors earlier this week, however, a Loblaws opening closer to December appears more likely.

Meanwhile, Ryerson students will have to wait several more months before they’ll get to check out the university’s new sports and recreation facilities. According to the Ryerson University website, the sports centre is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy in “winter 2012.” A status update on the website says some of the construction activity currently underway includes “work on the roof dormers along the west side of the dome roof. Roof dormers are connected to the dome and are openings that provide ventilation to allow air to flow into the arena from the mechanical system. Work on the Carlton Street marquee is also underway; this canopy over the main entrance is being reinforced by additional steel and is being prepared for the installation of the historic ‘Maple Leaf Gardens’ signage. The installation of glass windows on the street level, light fixtures in the stairwells and the fire alarm system is also in progress. Work on the mechanical system continues, including installing piping for the gas, sprinkler and the hot and cold water systems.”

The Loblaw Companies Limited website doesn’t provide any information about its Gardens location, but the Ryerson University website says the architectural team for the Gardens transformation includes Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. for the “base building” and BBB Architects Inc. for the “Ryerson fit up.” Heritage consultant is E.R.A. Architects Inc.

Below are some of my recent photos of activity on the outside of Maple Leaf Gardens. I haven’t been able to photograph inside the building; however, if you want to see what’s been happening there, the Ryerson Builds webpage features a slideshow with 42 photographs showing construction activity inside the Gardens between January 2010 and September of this year (I have posted one of those pics below). The homepage of the Turner Fleischer website includes a direct link to more photos, from December 2009 to October 2010, in an album entitled “Maple Leaf Gardens Progress.” Additional photos can be viewed in my previous posts on the Gardens makeover: June 14 2011, April 14 2011, and March 29 2011.

 

Ryerson Athletics Centre at the Gardens

 From the Ryerson Builds webpage, this photo from September 2011 shows building progress on the NHL-sized hockey rink at the university’s new athletics centre. A slideshow on the webpage includes 41 more photos of construction activity inside Maple Leaf Gardens.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto

 November 1 2011:  The Carlton Street facade of Maple Leaf Gardens. The public sidewalk next to the building, along with one lane of westbound traffic, have been closed virtually all of this year.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens Carlton Street entrance marquee

November 1 2011: The canopy over the Carlton Street entrance is being reinforced with extra steel. Maple Leaf Gardens signage will be installed on the marquee.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: The entrance to the Loblaws grocery store will be at the Gardens’ southeast corner.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: Part of the frame for the corner canopy was put in place several weeks ago, but entrance doors haven’t yet been installed

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

September 3 2011: Looking west from Church Street at the sidewalk and street closure along the Gardens’ Carlton Street facade.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

October 1 2011: Passersby will be able to see into the new Loblaws grocery store through these windows which were installed in the Gardens’ Church Street facade

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

October 8 2011: Another view of the new windows along Church Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: New sidewalks being installed on Church Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: Although new sidewalks are being installed on Church Street, work on the east wall of the Gardens is far from finished

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: Grocery store windows on the east side of the building. Traffic on Church Street was restricted during sidewalk replacement work.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: The northeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens, at Church and Wood Streets. The stretch of Wood Street next to the Gardens is usually crowded with cranes, concrete trucks, heavy construction vehicles and equipment.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: Newly-installed windows near the northeast corner of the building. During the spring and summer, this was one of three separate spots where concrete trucks and other vehicles could access the interior of the Gardens.

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Maple Leaf Gardens November 1 2011

November 1 2011: A crew uses a portable lift to work on the Wood Street facade. A red construction elevator rises from the building’s north side, providing access to the Ryerson sports facilities being built on the upper levels inside the Gardens.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 1 2011: Looking east along Wood Street at the external construction elevator and a truck delivering concrete for the Ryerson Athletics Centre at the Gardens. This stretch of street is usually jammed with cranes, lifts and trucks.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens November 1 2011

November 1 2011: Trailer-sized mechanical equipment on the roof of the Gardens dwarf two construction supervisors looking down onto Church Street.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

August 2 2011: This mechanical equipment is a new Gardens fixture; it was installed only this year, during the spring and summer.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

November 3 2011: Two men on a portable lift work on the Church Street facade

 

 

Pre-Thanksgiving opening in sight for Loblaws store under construction inside Maple Leaf Gardens

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Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Carlton Street view of Maple Leaf Gardens, looking northwest

 

Talking turkey: If all goes according to plan for the Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project, downtown residents will flock to the historic hockey shrine to shop for Thanksgiving turkeys this fall. Construction of a 70,000 square foot Loblaws grocery store inside the Gardens fell behind schedule this year (it was supposed to be open by now), but I’ve been told that Loblaws anticipates work will finish within the next three months. The goal is to open the store by summer’s end so Loblaws can cash in as shoppers rush to fill their kitchen cupboards for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. On the other hand, a completion date remains far from certain for the Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre, which is being built on two levels directly above the Loblaws store, since substantial construction work remains to be done there. When I got a peek inside the ground level of the Gardens a few days ago, I didn’t think the Thanksgiving target would be achievable.  When I asked one of the site supervisors if work would be finished by October, he chuckled and said: “As we say in construction,  ‘it will be finished when it’s finished.'” But another man in a white hard hat told me that once the “shell” of the grocery store is finished, which he said should happen soon, the grocery store interior will take shape rapidly.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot happening outside the Gardens, too. Scaffolding that has shrouded much of the building’s south wall along Carlton Street is gradually being dismantled as crews complete window installation and work on the brick facade. From street level, the most noticeable change has been the removal of the long blue and silver Maple Leaf Gardens marquee above the main entrance; it will be replaced. Just around the corner, southbound traffic on Church Street is disrupted frequently when portable cranes pull up to hoist steel bars and other building materials for the Ryerson sports complex onto the Gardens roof (a supervisor said that’s how most construction supplies must be loaded into the Ryerson section of the Gardens now that the grocery store has filled out most of the ground level).  The dome atop the Gardens roof is being refurbished, too, and once that is done, a new maple leaf logo will be painted on the broad white surface and Canadian flags will be raised to flutter from the empty rooftop flagpoles. Below are photos I have shot since late April of construction activity outside and on top of Maple Leaf Gardens. To view photos of earlier stages of construction, check out my posts from April 14 2011, March 29 2011, and February 2 2011.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 29 2011: Roof work underway on the north side of the Gardens’ dome

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 29 2011: Another view of revitalization work on the roof of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Scaffolding covers the middle third of the Maple Leaf Gardens south wall along Carlton Street. The Canadian flags and the blue and silver marquee above the main entrance will be removed as work proceeds on the building.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Scaffolding rises from the marquee above the main entrance all the way to the top of the building’s south wall.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: A view of the main entrance before the marquee is removed

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: Window replacement and brickwork is underway behind the shrouds

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

April 30 2011: The sidewalk and one westbound lane on Carlton Street have been closed so crews can finish exterior work on the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Construction workers on the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Workers atop the dome’s northeast corner above Church Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A truck pumps concrete through the Maple Leaf Gardens roof and into the Ryerson University sports complex being built on the upper two levels

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Concrete pumper above the southeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: Pumpcrete vehicle delivering concrete for the sports complex

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: The long boom of the Pumpcrete truck rises to the roof

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A closer view of the Pumpcrete machine

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

May 13 2011: A concrete truck outside the Gardens’ Carlton Street main entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 1 2011: A crane hoists a load of steel bars to the roof of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 1 2011: A worker guides the load to the rooftop

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 3 2011: With the roof recovered, brickwork proceeds on the north wall

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 3 2011: Workers replace a window on the Wood Street wall of the Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: A crane hoists building materials to the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Another load of construction material rises to the rooftop

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Two construction workers watch as the crane hoists its load

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Workers watch and wait while the crane hoists supplies to the roof

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Scaffolding rises up the south side of Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: The scaffolding is gradually being removed as brickwork is finished

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: A metal frame (bottom) is all that remains of the long blue and silver marquee that used to hang above the Gardens’ Carlton Street entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

June 14 2011: Another view of scaffolding above the Carlton Street entrance

 

 

 

 

Revitalizing Maple Leaf Gardens: from the rooftop to the basement, on the inside and out

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Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project rooftop work

April 14 2011: A worker walks on the roof of Maple Leaf Gardens below a row of platforms that descend the building’s big white dome

 

Top to bottom, inside and out: Construction crews were tackling the giant Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project on three fronts today: on the roof, outside walls, and in the cavernous interior. But they still have a very long way to go before the inside begins to even remotely resemble the Loblaw grocery store and Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre that will occupy the historic building. My last glance inside the Gardens was late last month, when an open construction entrance gave me the chance to take a few photos which I published in a March 29 2011 post. When I passed the Gardens again today and got another peek inside two different construction entrances, I could see machines pumping concrete into forms for upper-level floors and walls, while crews removed segments of a disassembled construction crane from the building. But from those vantage points, it was difficult to tell if much progress has been made in the past three weeks; the interior didn’t look substantially different than last time. Progress has been more visible outside, where work is underway on the roof and on the Gardens’ facades along Church and Carlton Street, where holes are being knocked in the walls, presumably to create windows for the Loblaws store. Below are several pics of today’s revitalization activity.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project exterior work

Maple Leaf Gardens exterior wall work at the corner of Church & Carlton

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

Workers watch as a machine tears a hole in the Gardens’ SE corner

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

The wall was exposed last week; today it was being taken apart

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

The view inside the construction entrance at the Gardens’ northeast corner. Concrete is being pumped for the floor of the third level above street grade.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

Construction equipment inside the north end of Maple Leaf Gardens today included an excavator (foreground), concrete pumper (center) and crane (right)

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

The north side of the Maple Leaf Gardens interior, along Wood Street

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

A concrete delivery truck and pumper wait their turn outside the Wood Street construction entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

Construction vehicles on Wood Street outside Maple Leaf Gardens

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

Platforms descend the SE corner of Maple Leaf Gardens’ domed roof

 

Grocery store & Ryerson University sports centre gradually taking shape inside Maple Leaf Gardens

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Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization project

Construction progress inside Maple Leaf Gardens on March 29 2011.


Under the big top: The enormous cavern under the big white domed roof of Maple Leaf Gardens keeps buzzing with construction activity. But there’s an awful lot of work remaining to be done before the interior of the historic hockey shrine starts looking like a grocery store and a university athletic facility. Latest word is that the Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization is scheduled for completion in December but — as is always the case with any construction project — that deadline isn’t cast in concrete and is always subject to change. In my February 2 post about the project, I mentioned what little construction progress I had been able to see when passing the Gardens while one of the construction entrance doors was open. I’ve since had a few more quick glimpses inside and today was lucky to have my camera with me when doors were opened to allow construction vehicles in and out of the building. I managed to snap a few photos which appear below, along with some other recent pics of Maple Leaf Gardens.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

The interior arch on the west side of the hockey arena’s famous domed roof is visible above the spotlights. The new Ryerson University sports and recreation centre will occupy two floors under the dome. It will have an NHL-sized ice rink as well as a running track, basketball and volleyball courts,  a fitness centre, gym and academic space. The university facility alone is costing more than $60 million.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

Maple Leaf Gardens interior viewed from the northeast corner of the building

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

The revitalized Maple Leaf Gardens will become home to a 70,000 square foot Loblaw grocery store at street level, with one floor of underground parking below it (partly visible at the bottom of the photo).

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

This is a typical street view of the cavernous interior of Maple Leaf Gardens — a dark, dusty space buzzing with activity as the Loblaw corporation and Ryerson University transform the Gardens into a unique multi-purpose facility.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

A concrete pumping truck slowly backs into the Maple Leaf Gardens construction entrance on Wood Street. Earlier this winter, a hole was knocked into the wall to create an extra entrance at this location.

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

It’s a tight squeeze, but the truck manages to ease inside in less than a minute

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

February 20 2011: Windows will eventually be installed for the grocery store

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

Wide windows along the Church and Carlton Street walls of Maple Leaf Gardens will create a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape

 

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

February 20 2011: The southeast corner of Maple Leaf Gardens on Carlton Street

Maple Leaf Gardens revitalization

March 25 2011: Scaffolding above the Gardens’ Carlton Street entrance

 

Maple Leaf Gardens

March 25 2011: The boarded-up Carlton Street entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens


Work on massive Maple Leaf Gardens renovation project still largely hidden from public view

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Maple Leaf Gardens

Maple Leaf Gardens rendering from Ryerson University website


Landmark lives on: From the outside, there have been few signs that the iconic Maple Leaf Gardens hockey shrine is gradually being transformed into a multipurpose facility housing a giant grocery store and a university athletic centre. Last fall, scaffolding and green safety nets shrouded the east and south facades during brickwork and window replacement activity. For the past two months, crews have been busy working on utilities beneath the Carlton Street sidewalk and Church Street pavement at the southeast corner of the building. Over the same period, teams have been doing some roofing work atop the arena’s famous white dome. And the past two weeks, workers have been chiselling brickwork from a section of wall on the north side of the Gardens, along Wood Street.  None of the work gives any indication that the storied, historic Gardens soon will be living a renewed life as a modern retail and recreation facility.

However, it’s a different story altogether if you get to peek inside the loading door at the northeast corner of the building whenever a cement or construction supply truck comes out or goes in. Over the past six months, I’ve had that opportunity a handful of times, managing to catch quick glimpses of the cavernous construction zone that’s largely hidden from public view. Unfortunately, I’ve never had my camera with me, so I haven’t been able to track the interior construction progress in photos. In November, I got a brief look inside while the construction workers were on their morning break. With beams of light streaming through the narrow, small windows on the Gardens’ upper walls, the dusty interior had an eerie, haunting atmosphere. The building was just a gigantic brick shell; the inside had been gutted, and the ground was being dug out to create an underground parking garage. I couldn’t see anything holding up the huge walls and vast domed roof, but assume there must have been some kind of support for all that weight. The last few times I peeked inside, it appeared that excavation work was nearly complete; meanwhile, forms several storeys tall were being assembled so concrete could be poured to build walls and floors for the 70,000-square-foot Loblaw supermarket that will occupy the ground level of the “new” Gardens. Just last week I got another look, and it seemed obvious there is an incredible amount of work still to be done to create the upper levels that will house the 150,000-square-foot Ryerson University Sports and Recreation Centre.

The Centre is a $60 million project for which the federal government is contributing $20 million under the Canada Infrastructure Stimulus Fund (the university and Loblaws are responsible for the rest). However, projects that qualify for stimulus funding must be completed by March 31 of this year — and there is clearly no way on earth the Maple Leaf Gardens transformation will be done in time. Certainly looks like an extension or exemption will be required here. I’m anxious to see work start on the building exterior — the installation of street-level windows for the supermarket, the pedestrian entrances to the two separate facilities, and of course the vehicle entrance to the underground lot. Project details are provided in a Ryerson University press release available at this link. The complexities of the Maple Leaf Gardens transformation are outlined in this article from the Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, while seven construction photos by The Globe and Mail‘s Fred Lum can be viewed at this link on the Globe website. Below are some of my photos of the Gardens exterior at different times over the past several years.

Maple Leaf Gardens

Southeast view of Maple Leaf Gardens on November 28 2008


Maple Leaf Gardens

Former Carlton Street entrance to Maple Leaf Gardens on November 28 2008


Maple Leaf Gardens

East wall brickwork and window replacement on September 4 2010


Maple Leaf Gardens

Scaffolding was removed from the east wall in early December 2010


Maple Leaf Gardens

New windows in the east wall along Church Street


Maple Leaf Gardens

Work crew atop the Maple Leaf Gardens domed roof December 21 2010


Maple Leaf Gardens

Exterior work on the west end of the Carlton Street facade December 26 2010


Maple Leaf Gardens

Ryerson University and Loblaws sign on the Church Street wall


Maple Leaf Gardens

Brick removal from the Wood Street wall on January 14 2011


Maple Leaf Gardens

Construction equipment along Wood Street on January 30 2011


Maple Leaf Gardens

Facade work continuing along Wood Street on January 30 2011


Maple Leaf Gardens

Maple Leaf Gardens viewed from Wood Street on January 30 2011


Watching T.O. grow

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A construction crane at sunset April 8 2010

Construction season: We Canadians have long joked that our country sees only two seasons: winter and construction. Lately, however, Toronto has been under the influence of a microclimate that produces just one season lasting all year long: construction.

Toronto has been experiencing a building boom of unparalleled proportions since the early 2000s. There have been major construction projects in nearly every downtown neighbourhood, with more on the way. It’s almost impossible to walk more than a few blocks without passing a building site, a sandwich board sidewalk sign advertising a new condo development, or a zoning notice advising the public that a proposal has been submitted to City Hall to develop a specific property. On downtown streets, cement mixers and dusty dump trucks are as common a sight as buses and streetcars. So are scaffolding, sidewalk detours and traffic lane closures. And if you look up, you’re bound to see a nearby construction crane reaching skyward.

Just from my apartment balcony, I can see two office towers, one five-star hotel and seven condo highrises — each more than 30 storeys tall — that have been built in the past two years alone. I can see the tallest skyscraper in Canada, First Canadian Place, getting a $100 million facelift as new cladding is installed on its 72-storey façade.  I can see the historic Maple Leaf Gardens hockey arena being converted into a mixed-use facility featuring a Loblaws grocery store and a student athletic centre for Ryerson University. In just a few weeks I’ll be able to see a new condo tower going up on Bay Street, and by spring I should be able to see as many as five cranes — three for condo projects, one for the Hospital for Sick Children’s new Research and Learning Tower,  and one for a new Women’s College Hospital building.

I think it’s cool to see so much construction activity on the skyline – my balcony view is constantly changing, and there’s always something different to see. But when I walk around downtown and discover how much development is already underway or proposed for the near future, I’m almost blown away. Toronto is growing by great leaps and bounds. I have stumbled across fully-finished new buildings where I saw only a zoning sign or an excavation the last time I passed through the neighbourhood. Or I’ll notice that I can no longer see the CN Tower from a certain area because a tower under construction has completely blocked the view. Entire streetscapes and neighbourhoods change so rapidly, I can barely remember what they looked like before new highrises started going up. I daydream about construction frequently, imagining how the city streets and skyline will  look with dozens of additional skyscrapers.

A few years ago, I began carrying my camera during walks downtown, so I could snap photos of construction projects and sites for proposed developments – just to keep track of what’s going on, and to show friends who used to live here just how much the city has changed since they left. Thanks to my little hobby, I’ve now got thousands of photos of dozens of different building projects. Organizing some of those pics into a blog seemed like a logical next step, so here you have it: The Toronto Blog. If you’re a resident or fan of Toronto, or just an architecture or construction aficionado, I hope you’ll come along as I track the building boom and watch T.O. grow!