Tag Archives: Monarch Group

Pit Stops: Photo roundup of below-ground and at-grade construction activity at 21 downtown condo, office & university building sites

As 2012 drew to a close, some noteworthy downtown building projects had reached different stages of at- and below-grade construction progress. At some sites, like this one for the Picasso on Richmond condo tower, preliminary foundation drilling work was in full swing …

… while at others, like this one for the Studio on Richmond and Studio2 condo towers just two blocks east of Picasso, site excavation was ongoing.

Over the same period of time, underground parking levels were taking shape at some building sites, like this one for The Yorkville condo project on Davenport Road …

… while over on Charles Street East, construction had reached a milestone mark at X2 Condos, where building had started on the ground level of the tower

Fall photos: Until condo and office tower construction starts to climb above street level, it can be difficult to track how quickly work is progressing on the dozens of new buildings going up in Toronto’s downtown core. Ground-level views of building sites are often obscured by hoarding and security fences, plus concrete delivery trucks, dump trucks and other construction vehicles maneuvering into and out of staging areas adjacent to construction zones. I find it’s a big challenge to monitor ongoing progress at places where underground levels are taking shape, let alone keep an eye on sites where shovels are just breaking ground or preliminary work is being undertaken to prepare for full-scale construction. The vast number of projects scattered throughout the downtown core certainly doesn’t make the task any easier.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Pages: 1 2

Window and cladding installation close to completion at Couture Condominium tower

Leave a reply

September 1 2012: Couture Condo’s east side, from Mt Pleasant Road

Glassing in: Window and cladding installation is nearly finished on the Couture Condominium tower under construction at 28 Ted Rogers Way (the northernmost block of Jarvis Street, just below Bloor Street). With glass balcony panel installation currently in progress, the tower exterior should look complete within a few weeks.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Pages: 1 2

Couture Condos quickly catching up to X’s height

Leave a reply

March 16 2011: Couture Condos, left, has now climbed to 42 storeys. X Condos, right, has 44 floors, but once Couture’s mechanical penthouse is built, Couture will stand a full 3 meters taller than its next-door neighbour

More details and photos on the next page.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Pages: 1 2

Halfway there: Couture Condos climbs to 21st floor as cladding installation gets underway

Leave a reply

November 4 2011: Looking up the west side of the Couture Condominium tower (center) from nearby Hayden Street. Now 21 storeys, Couture will soon overtake the 28-storey Residences on Bloor apartments to its north (left) and ultimately rise nearly as high as the 44-floor X Condominium tower to its south.

November 4 2011: Couture Condominium viewed from the southwest. Cladding installation has commenced on the second floor.

November 4 2011: Newly-installed grey cladding on the tower’s southwest corner

November 4 2011: Another view of cladding on the tower’s west side

Halfway up: The Couture Condominium tower continues its ascent half a block south of the intersection of Bloor & Jarvis Streets. When I passed by the project site last Friday, a construction supervisor told me that crews were working on the 21st floor — almost the halfway point for the luxury condo highrise. (The Couture website states that the tower will have 44 floors, but the supervisor and a construction worker both insisted the building will be topping off at 42. However, a September 2011 construction update on the website says “the project consists of a 2 level podium, from which the 42 storey tower emerges.” )

It won’t be long before Couture climbs higher than its next-door neighbour to the north, the 28-storey Residences on Bloor rental apartment building at 235 Bloor Street East. But it still has a few more months of construction to go before it begins drawing serious attention away from its next-door neighbour to the south, the 44-storey X Condominium Tower at 110 Charles Street East.

A highly successful project of Monarch Group, Couture is 97% sold with only 9 suites remaining for sale. They include a 558-square-foot, 1-bedroom 1-bath “Tokyo” unit going for $349,340, and a 665-square-foot 1-bedroom + den with 1 bathroom “Milan” suite on the second floor, listed at $360,990 on the project website. (Interestingly, when I last reported on Couture’s progress in a September 3 2011 post, I noted that the website had listed a slightly larger “Tokyo” suite for a considerably lower price — $292,490 for 590 square feet.)

Couture Condominium was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga.

Below are more photos from last Friday afternoon. Photos of Couture’s earlier progress can be viewed in my posts on September 3, June 23, March 5, and January 25 of this year.

November 4 2011: Looking up from Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street) at the X Condominium (left), Couture Condominium, and the Residences on Bloor (right)

November 4 2011: Street-level view of Couture’s northwest corner, where the entrance to the tower’s underground parking garage is situated

November 4 2011: Looking up the tower from the northeast, along Ted Rogers Way

November 4 2011: Couture Condominium viewed from the northeast

November 4 2011: Lower east side of Couture Condominium

November 4 2011: Couture hoarding along the west side of Ted Rogers Way

November 4 2011: Upper east floors (so far) overlooking Ted Rogers Way. Last Friday, construction crews were working on the 21st floor.

November 4 2011: Construction entrance at the site’s southeast corner

November 4 2011: Southeast view of Couture (left), and the 28-storey Residences on Bloor apartment buildings at the corner of Bloor & Jarvis Streets.

November 4 2011: Looking up the tower’s south side from the laneway between the Couture Condominium and X Condominium properties.

November 4 2011: Residents on the south side of Couture and the north side of X Condominium will be close enough to compare each others’ interior decorating tastes through their living room and bedroom windows

November 4 2011: Cladding on the second floor’s southwest corner suite

November 4 2011: Another view of the cladding on the southwest corner unit

November 4 2011: Glass panels above the balcony on the southwest corner unit appear to be tinted a substantially darker shade than the grey cladding

November 4 2011: West view of Couture and X Condominium

November 4 2011: West view of Residences on Bloor, Couture and X Condominium.

November 4 2011: Couture was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga, while X Condominium was designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance

November 4 2011: The upper floors (so far) on Couture’s west side

November 4 2011: The exterior construction elevator rises only to the 10th floor, but the tower itself has reached 21 storeys

November 4 2011: The west side of Couture viewed from Hayden Street, outside the entrance to the Bloor Walk condominium building. Couture residents will have access to Bloor Walk’s indoor pool, which is situated between the two condos.

November 4 2011: Charles Street view of Couture rising to the north of X

November 4 2011: Another Charles Street view of Couture and X

November 4 2011: Southwest view of Couture and X

Couture condo construction climbs to 8th floor

Leave a reply

September 3 2011: Construction has begun on the 8th floor of Couture Condos, seen here in a southwest view of the tower’s rear side …

… and in this front view from Ted Rogers Way (Jarvis Street)

Couture climbs: Last time I reported on Couture Condominium in my June 23 2011 post, the building was beginning its climb above grade, with forms for some of the walls on the first floor being put in place. By the end of the first week of August the first two floors were poured, and by August 19 crews were up to the fifth floor. Now they’ve begun work on the eighth level, bringing them more than one-sixth of the way to the tower’s ultimate height of 44 storeys. Meanwhile, design elements of the tower’s two-storey podium and indented front facade have already become apparent.

According to the Couture Condominium website, the project is 97% sold, with only 11 suites remaining. They range from a 590 square foot 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom “Tokyo” suite for $292,490 to a 665 square foot 1-bedroom + den and 1 bathroom “Milan” unit for $360,990.

Couture Condominium is a project of Monarch Group. The slender glass tower was designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississauga.

Below is a series of my photos showing Couture’s construction progress during July, August and so far this month, along with two building renderings from the project website.

From the Couture Condominium website, an artistic rendering of the sleek glass tower and its two-storey podium along Ted Rogers Way (Jarvis Street)

From the Couture Condominium website, an artistic rendering of the 44-storey tower designed by Mississauga’s Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc.

July 16 2011: First floor has been poured and construction starts on second level

July 17 2011: A view of Couture Condominium’s first floor construction from the east side of Ted Rogers Way (formerly known as Jarvis Street)

July 17 2011: Southwest view of Couture Condominium construction progress. The ground-level section of property behind the tower (left side of photo) will be a landscaped outdoor amenities area.

August 6 2011: Southeast view of construction starting on Couture’s third level

August 6 2011: Looking west at the front of the Couture tower. The glass building at upper left is Casa Condominium, two blocks west on Charles Street.

August 6 2011: A view from Ted Rogers Way of Couture’s northeast corner. The entrance to the tower’s underground parking garage is located at this corner (it’s partly visible behind the two grey portable toilets).

August 6 2011: Couture’s two-storey podium takes shape. The black glass and steel tower to the south is the 44-storey X Condominium on Charles Street.

August 6 2011: Stacks of building materials at the building’s southeast corner

August 6 2011: Looking north at columns supporting Couture’s two-storey podium

August 13 2011: Couture construction viewed from the west on Hayden Street

August 13 2011: Southwest view as construction starts on the fourth floor

August 13 2011: A view of the first two floors on the tower’s south side

August 13 2011: Looking up the south side of the building

August 13 2011: Construction viewed from the building’s southeast corner

August 13 2011: Sidewalk view of the Couture Condos podium

August 13 2011: Looking to the south along the Couture podium

August 13 2011: Another view of the podium

August 13 2011: Construction forms on the podium’s east side

August 19 2011: Couture viewed from the southwest. In several months, the tower will rise above the 28-storey concrete apartment building to its north.

August 19 2011: Southwest view as construction starts on the fifth level

August 22 2011: A view of the northeast corner of Couture

September 3 2011: Couture Condos viewed from the southeast on Ted Rogers Way

September 3 2011: Looking up eight floors from the tower’s southeast corner

September 3 201: Street-level view of Couture’s southeast corner

September 3 2011: Looking up at the building’s southeast corner

September 3 2011: Couture podium viewed from the southeast

September 3 2011: Couture billboard inside the hoarding along Ted Rogers Way

September 3 2011: Looking to the south along Couture’s two-storey podium

September 3 201: Columns on the east side of Couture’s podium

September 3 2011: X Condominium looms large to the south of Couture

September 3 2011: The indented center section of Couture’s east facade

Pit Stop: Work starts on Couture Condos P2 level

Leave a reply

Couture Condos foundation construction progress on February 28 2011

Filling in: Winter weather has made it challenging for construction crews to stay on schedule, but the Monarch Group says it is pleased with building progress on the underground levels of its Couture Condominium tower going up at the corner of Charles Street and Ted Rogers Way (aka Jarvis Street).

If everything goes according to plan, construction should reach street grade by early June, Monarch’s High-Rise Division director of customer care, Ian H.H. Johnson, says in the condo project’s February newsletter. He said construction workers have finished shoring the perimeter of the site, and are now starting to remove the temporary ramp on the south side of the tower excavation.

“This will allow us to continue with footing installations, in order to complete the rest of the P4 level, which is the lowest parking level. The forming of columns, walls and concrete slabs is ongoing in stages, with the P4 mostly complete, the P3 level roughly 50% complete, and work starting on the P2 level.”

Below is a Couture website rendering that suggests how the 44-storey glass tower will look once construction is complete, along with photos I shot in February of progress on the tower foundation.