Tag Archives: Pemberton Group

U Condos townhouse & tower construction asserts strong visual presence along Bay & St Mary Streets

U Condos construction viewed from Bay Street

August 17 2013: Above-ground construction is still in relatively early stages, but the U Condos condo tower and luxury townhouse complex … 

 

U Condos site viewed from Bay & Irwin Streets

… has already drastically transformed the southwest corner of Bay and St Mary Streets, seen here on September 26 2008 when a surface parking lot still occupied part of the development site

 

 

Strong presence: Construction of the U Condominiums complex is really beginning to turn heads on Bay Street now that one of its two towers is climbing steadily higher above its 3-storey podium and the concrete shells for luxurious townhouses that will wrap around three sides of the property.

Although passersby have been able to see above-ground construction activity since January, it has been only in recent weeks that the huge scale of the project — and the tremendous visual impact it will have on the neighbourhood — have become apparent.

The project’s  townhouse component has noticeably changed the pedestrian experience on Bay Street, while the west tower — which has climbed more than six storeys on its way to 45 — already hints at how drastically it and the even taller east tower will change the neighbourhood skyline. (Construction of the east tower has so far reached only as high as the townhouses.)

 

U Condos at Bay & St Mary Streets in Toronto

This artistic illustration, from an online promotional brochure that had been available on the U Condos website, shows how the completed towers will look when viewed from the same perspective as the two photos above.

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U Condos construction approaches grade

U Condos

December 6 2012: A view of the U Condos building site, looking northeast toward the intersection of Bay Street and St Mary Street, as construction of the project’s underground parking floors approaches ground level. A row of 3-storey “urban townhomes” will rise in the immediate foreground — the southern flank of the 2-tower condo complex.

 

U Condos

December 6 2012: Construction progress at the southwest corner of the U Condos property, where the 45-storey west tower will rise. Townhomes will extend across this side of the site.

 

U Condos

December 6 2012: Looking southeast from St Mary Street toward the site where the 50-storey east tower will rise. Concrete will soon be poured atop the building forms in the foreground, which are nearly at street level.

 

U Condos

From the U Condos website, this photo offers an October 2012 aerial view of the construction

 

Making grade: As autumn draws to a close, construction of the U Condos tower and townhouse complex is drawing closer to ground level.

Forms have been put in place along much of the west half of the property to prepare for concrete pours that will create the ceiling of the P1 level. That area is where the 45-storey West Tower will rise, as well as a row of “urban townhomes” along on the north and south perimeters of the property. Although similar building forms haven’t yet been installed on the east half of the site, where the 50-storey East Tower will soar skyward above more townhouses along Bay Street and St Mary Street, construction progress on that part of the project isn’t far behind.

Although the two tall towers will become skyline landmarks at the east (Bay Street) end of the University of Toronto campus, the 19 townhouses that will enclose the complex will ensure that U Condos stands out at street level, too. Indeed, they will give the U Condos project a unique look on Bay Street, sharply distinguishing the complex from all nearby condo, apartment and office highrises.

 

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U Condos underground floors filling in

U Condos August 19 2012

August 19 2012: A view from St Mary Street of below-grade construction progress for the 50-storey U Condos east tower …

 

U Condos August 19 2012

… and for the 45-storey west tower

 

U Condos

August 19 2012: South view of below-grade progress on the the west tower, where the third underground parking level is taking shape

 

U Condos

August 19 2012: Looking toward the northeast corner of the U Condos site as the underground parking floors continue to take form

 

Parking progress:  When I last published photos of progress at the U Condos site back on March 4 2012, crews were preparing for the installation of the construction cranes while still excavating the vast L-shaped site next to the University of Toronto campus at Bay and St Mary Streets.

Since then, the underground levels for the two U Condos towers have steadily been taking shape, with work this month progressing to the third floor below ground.

 

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In Photos: Summer construction activity in north downtown and the Bloor-Yorkville area (Part 1)

77 Charles West condo Toronto

August 13 2011: Newly-installed glass curtain wall cladding on the 77 Charles West luxury condo building, seen (above and below) from St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condo Toronto

 

 

77 Charles West condos reaches 12 floors; cladding installation begins

 

Going green: Construction on the 77 Charles West luxury condo midrise could be topping off later this month, now that 12 of the building’s 13 floors have been built. Meanwhile, down at street level, the facade is beginning to reflect some of its nearby condo neighbours as its striking green-hued curtain wall cladding gradually gets installed.

I was surprised when I saw some of the first panels being put in place five days ago because the glass is turquoise green rather than blue, as renderings on the project website suggested it would be. Nevertheless, I like how it looks — and think it makes 77’s neighbours look good, too. Depending upon where I stood while looking at the new windows this morning, I saw sharp reflections of the One St Thomas Residences condo tower across the street, the Residences of the Windsor Arms at 22 St Thomas Street one block north, and other buildings in the Bloor-Yorkville area.

So far, the cladding encloses just three storeys around what will be the Charles Street entrance to the condominium homes (the 13 floors of luxury condos rise above Kintore College and Cultural Centre, a three-storey residence and educational facility for female Catholic students attending University of Toronto). I’m anxious to see how the cladding will look on the rest of the floors, especially on the curved south side of the building.

77 Charles West is a project of Aspen Ridge Homes, and was designed by Yann Weymouth of HOK.

Below are more photos of the new cladding and recent construction progress. Previous construction updates can be found in blog posts on July 5 2011, April 7 2011, and February 15 2011 —  my first report on the 77 Charles West project.

 

77 Charles West condos

August 6 2011: 77 Charles West condo construction viewed from St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: New promotional signage on the building’s north side

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Floors on the northwest corner of the building

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 6 2011: St Mary Street view of the building’s curved southwest corner

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

 August 8 2011: Crews install the first 3-storey section of glass cladding

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

 August 8 2011: Workers put the green-hued glass curtain wall panels in place

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 8 2011: A closer look at the cladding over the second and third storeys

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: New cladding viewed from Charles Street, looking west

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Cladding above the entrance that faces north up St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: The cladding reflects several nearby buildings including the Residences at the Windsor Arms, the One St Thomas Residences, 155 Cumberland Street condos, and The Colonnade apartment building on Bloor Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Street-level view of the cladding’s neighbourhood reflection

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 16 2011: Reflection of the nearby Residences of the Windsor Arms

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: One of the construction entrances on Charles Street

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: A closer look at a corner section of the glass curtain wall

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: New cladding viewed from the west end of the building

 

77 Charles West condos Toronto

August 13 2011: Cladding reflects the One St Thomas Residences across the street

 

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Enormous excavation for U Condominiums keeps getting deeper & wider

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Excavation progress along the Bay Street side of the U Condos site, where the 50-storey east tower will rise


Digging down:  Whenever I checked out excavation activity at the U Condominiums site back in the spring, it always seemed like the earth was moving at a snail’s pace. I thought it might take until the end of the year before the digging would reach anywhere near the 15-metre depth required for construction of the foundation for the project’s two condo towers, which will rise 45 and 50 storeys tall.  Excavation work appeared to be moving well along the east, south and west perimeters of the property, but a  vast amount of earth remained in the center and along the north perimeter.  Since June, however, the excavation has progressed at an amazing pace, and the big hole in the ground at Bay and St Mary Streets is now more than two levels deep across most of the property.

U Condos is a project by The Pemberton Group. Its two condo towers, along with 3-storey townhouses that will flank the north, east and south sides of the development, were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are photos showing summer excavation progress at the U Condos location.  Earlier construction photos can be viewed in my blog posts on May 7 2011, April 2 2011, March 18 2011, and February 4 2011 — my first report on the U Condos project.

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: Looking southeast toward Bay Street from the U Condos construction entrance off  St Mary Street

 

U Condos Toronto

 June 21 2011:  Looking towards the eastern side of the site along Bay Street

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: A construction supervisor watches excavation activity about 20 feet below. Bay Street is on the other side of the hoarding behind him.

 

U Condos Toronto

 June 21 2011: The southeastern corner where the 50-storey condo tower will rise

 

U Condos Toronto

June 21 2011: Excavation on the south side of the site next to St Basil’s Church

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: Excavation progress at the location for the east condo tower

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: Excavation equipment and machines near the ramp off Bay Street

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: An excavator on the south side of the site near St Basil’s Church. A row of 3-storey townhouses will be built along that edge of the U Condos property.

 

U Condos Toronto

July 3 2011: The southwest corner of the U Condos property near Brennan Hall on the University of Toronto campus

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: A substantially wider and deeper area has been excavated at the southwest corner in the past three weeks

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: An excavator sits roughly where the east tower will be constructed

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011:  Another view of the excavator from the St Mary Street entrance

 

U Condos Toronto

July 24 2011: Looking toward the southeast corner of the property from a security fence along St Mary Street

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Significant excavation progress on the eastern third of the site

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: Looking toward St Basil’s Church across the center of the site

 

U Condos Toronto

August 6 2011: The 45-storey west tower will be built at this location

 

 

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Foundation work begins on north section of the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: Foundation drilling equipment on the One Bloor condo tower site

 

Drilling starts: One of Toronto’s biggest construction events took place in the middle of July when the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the much-awaited One Bloor condo tower at the southeast corner of the city’s premier Yonge & Bloor intersection. Drilling equipment had arrived on the site weeks earlier, but it wasn’t until July 15 that executive shovels turned soil to officially kick off construction of the 70-storey tower.

A project of Great Gulf Homes, One Bloor was designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects of Toronto.  My previous coverage of this condo project includes posts on July 15 2011, May 4 2011, and January 10 2011 — my first report on One Bloor.

Below are several recent photos of construction equipment on the One Bloor property. Numerous tower renderings and a full architectural description of the building can be viewed at this page on the Hariri Pontarini website.

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

 July 13 2011: Pedestrians walk on Yonge Street south of Bloor Street, passing foundation drilling machines on the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

 July 13 2011: Yonge Street view of the One Bloor site, looking east toward the Xerox Tower at 33 Bloor Street East

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

July 13 2011: A man walks along the temporary subway station access path next to the north side of the One Bloor condo tower location

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: Foundation building equipment on the One Bloor site

 

One Bloor condo tower Toronto

August 6 2011: A ground level view of the north half of the tower site