Tag Archives: RBC WaterPark Place

Looking up at some of the new skyscrapers making their mark on the downtown Toronto skyline

RBC WaterPark Place

The new RBC WaterPark Place office tower practically blends into the clouds in this view from the west on lower York Street on September 16 2014

 

 

South Financial Core towers

while four new towers reach for the clouds above the south downtown core. At left are the Delta hotel and Bremner office tower at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Blvd. Soaring skyward at right are the two ÏCE Condos on York Street.

 

 

1 Bloor condos

The sensuous curves of the One Bloor condo tower are already adding interest and excitement to the once-drab Yonge & Bloor intersection in Yorkville.

 

 

Below are more photos of the towers shown above, as well as other hotel, office and condo skyscrapers that I photographed this past week.

 

 

RBC WaterPark Place office building

 

RBC WaterPark Place

West side of RBC WaterPark Place viewed from lower York Street

 

 

RBC WaterParkPlace

South face of RBC WaterParkPlace seen from Queen’s Quay Blvd. The tower was designed by WZMH Architects of Toronto.

 

 

RBC WaterParkPlace

Upper half of the 30-storey tower, viewed from the southwest

 

 

RBC WaterPark Place

Another view of the tower from Queen’s Quay to the southwest

 

 

Studio on Richmond condominiums

 

Studio on Richmond

Looking up the north side of the Studio on Richmond condo tower situated between Simcoe and Duncan Streets in the Entertainment District. It will top off at 31 storeys. Its 41-storey sister tower, Studio2, is currently under construction behind it on Nelson Street.

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

Studio on Richmond podium and tower viewed from the north side of Richmond Street near Simcoe Street

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

The two-tower Studio on Richmond condo complex was designed by Quadrangle Architects of Toronto.

 

 

Studio on Richmond condo

A view of the Studio on Richmond condo from the west on Richmond Street near Duncan Street. The building is a project of Aspen Ridge Homes.

 

 

 Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower at Southcore Financial Centre

 

Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower

The Delta Toronto hotel (left) and the Bremner office tower are nearing completion at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Boulevard between York Street and Simcoe Street. The buildings are seen here from Roundhouse Park, near the Toronto Railway Museum.

 

 

 

Delta Hotel and Bremner office tower

The 45-storey Delta Hotel tower reflects on the west wall of the 30-storey Bremner office tower in this view from the southwest corner of Lower Simcoe Street and Bremner Boulevard.

 

 

Delta Hotel

Looking up the northwest corner of the Delta Hotel. The Bremner office tower is partially visible behind it.

 

 

 

Delta Hotel

Upper west side of the Delta Hotel. Scheduled to open in 2015, the Delta will be a premium 4-star hotel with 567 guest rooms.

 

 

Delta Hotel

The angled south face of the Delta Hotel, seen from Bremner Boulevard

 

 

 

The L Tower condominium

 

The L Tower

Upper floors of The L Tower seen from the west on Sept 16 2014. The dramatically curved skyscraper was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind.

 

 

 

The L Tower

A closer view of some of the upper levels of the 58-storey L Tower, which is located at the corner of Yonge Street and The Esplanade, directly behind the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

 

 

The L Tower

The L Tower makes an emphatic point on the downtown skyline

 

 

The L Tower

A telephoto view of the construction crane that has soared above The L Tower construction site for the past several years

 

 

The Mercer condo tower

 

The Mercer condo

Looking up the southeast corner of The Mercer condo building, which rises 33 storeys at the corner of Mercer and John Streets in the Entertainment District

 

 

The Mercer condo

The Mercer was designed by BBB Architects, and is a project of Graywood Developments Ltd. and Beaveerhall Homes.

 

 

 

Three Hundred Front Street West condominiums

 

 

300 Front Street West condos

The upper floors of the 49-storey Three Hundred Front Street West condo tower

 

 

300 Front Street West condos

Looking up the southeast corner of Tridel’s Three Hundred Front West condo. The building was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

Theatre Park condominiums

 

Theatre Park condo

The 47-storey Theatre Park condo tower is under construction on King Street West, right next door to Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre. I shot this photo of Theatre Park from two blocks to the northwest.

 

 

Theatre Park condo

Theatre Park was designed by architectsAlliance of Toronto. The condo is a project of Lamb Development Corp., Niche Development and Harhay Construction Management Ltd.

 

 

Theatre Park Condos

Glass balcony panels are gradually being installed on the tower’s north side

 

 

Theatre Park Condos

Design details on the tower’s west side

 

 

ÏCE Condominiums

 

ICE Condos

The upper west sides of the 67- and 57-storey ÏCE Condominiums, located at 12 and 14 York Street in the south downtown core

 

 

ICE Condos

The top of the 67-floor ÏCE Condo at 14 York Street. A project of Lanterra Developments, the two skyscrapers were designed by Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

 

 

 

ICE Condos

 ÏCE Condo towers viewed from the southeast on Queen’s Quay Blvd.

 

 

ICE Condos

A view of the two towers from Grand Trunk Crescent to their northwest

 

 

 

Aura condominium

 

Aura condo tower

I shot this pic of the 78-storey Aura condominium tower from the podium green roof at Toronto City Hall. Aura is the tallest condominium building in Canada.

 

 

 

Aura condos

The upper third of Aura, viewed from several blocks to the southwest

 

 

 

Aura condo tower

A view of Aura from two blocks to the west on Elizabeth Street

 

 

Aura condo tower

Aura viewed from the northwest corner of College Park. A Canderel development project, the tower was designed by Graziani & Corazza Architects Inc.

 

 

 

Aura condos

The top of Aura, viewed from the southwest

 

 

Aura Condos

The top of Aura, viewed from the north

 

 

Nicholas Residences condominiums

 

Nicholas Residences

A view of 35-storey Nicholas Residences from the north on Balmuto Street. The condo is a project of Urban Capital and Alit Developments.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

Looking up the tower’s northwest corner, from the intersection of St Mary and St Nicholas Streets. The building was designed by Toronto’s Core Architects Inc.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

Nicholas viewed from the southwest on St Nicholas Street.

 

 

Nicholas Residences

West side of Nicholas, viewed from St Mary Street near Bay Street

 

 

 

FIVE Condominiums

 

FIVE Condo tower

Looking toward the 48-storey FIVE Condos tower from two blocks to the southeast, at the corner of Yonge and Maitland Streets.  To its right is the Nicholas Residences condo tower, two blocks north.

 

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

FIVE Condos was designed by Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

Looking up the south side of FIVE Condos from Wellesley Street West

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

The tower has a wonky appearance when viewed from the south, thanks to the undulating pattern of balconies on the east and west sides.

 

 

FIVE Condos S

Construction of the tower’s mechanical penthouse is underway. FIVE Condos is a project of MOD Developments Inc., Graywood Developments Ltd., Tricon and Diamondcorp.

 

 

 

FIVE Condos

Windows on the east side of FIVE Condos on September 5

 

 

FIVE Condos

FIVE Condos viewed from the east on the morning of September 11

 

 

 

FIVE Condo tower

A view of FIVE from the south on St Luke Lane, next to the Toronto Central YMCA Centre (left).  This view will change drastically in several years when Lanterra Developments builds its 60-storey 11 Wellesley on the Park condo tower on the property partly visible on the left side of St Luke Lane (presently occupied by a row of trees and a condo presentation centre behind them).

 

 

 

Chaz.Yorkville condominiums

 

ChazYorkville condos

Chaz.Yorkville Condominiums, on Charles Street between Yonge and Church Streets, is a project of 45 Charles Ltd. and Edenshaw Homes Limited.

 

 

ChazYorkville condos

A signature design element of Chaz.Yorkville is the large rectangular box that juts from the tower’s south side. It’s the Chaz Club, a 2-storey private club for exclusive use of condo residents.

 

 

ChazYorkville condos

The tower was designed by Sol Wassermuhl of Page + Steele IBI Group Architects in Toronto. It will stand 47 storeys tall when complete.

 

 

Casa Condominium and ChazYorville Condos

Chaz.Yorkville is only a few weeks away from overtaking the height of its next-door neighbour, the 46-storey Casa Condominium tower, which was built in 2010.

 

 

One Bloor Condominiums

 

One Bloor Condos

Although construction has climbed only one-third of the way to its ultimate 75 storeys, the One Bloor condo tower is already making a huge architectural statement at the Yonge & Bloor crossroads in Yorkville. I shot this photo from the southwest corner of Yonge & Charles Streets.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

I often hear passersby comment favourably on the delightful sweeping curves of One Bloor’s podium and tower.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

Looking up at One Bloor from the southwest corner of the Yonge & Bloor intersection. The building was designed by Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects.

 

 

One Bloor Condos

A view of One Bloor from the northwest, on Yonge Street just above Bloor

 

 

 

U Condos

 

U Condos

A view of the two U Condos towers from two blocks to the south on Bay Street, at Phipps Street. The construction crane at left is building the 32-storey 1Thousand Bay condo tower at the southwest corner of Bay and St Joseph Streets.

 

 

 U Condos

The west U Condos building has topped off at 45 storeys, while the east tower continues its climb toward 55 floors. U Condos is a project of Pemberton Group, and was designed by architectsAlliance of Toronto.

 

 

 

X2 Condominiums

 

X2 Condos

Construction crews are closing in the mechanical penthouse levels of the 49-storey X2 Condominiums at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets

 

 

X2 Condos

X2 Condos viewed from one block to the southwest on Isabella Street. The tower is a project of Lifetime Developments and Great Gulf Homes.

 

 

X2 Condos

A September 3 view from the south of X2 Condos left, and the first X Condos, right, which was constructed in 2010. X2 was designed by Wallman Architects, while X Condos was designed by architectsAlliance.

 

 

Underground floors filling in fast for 1 York Street office building & Harbour Plaza condo towers

Artistic rendering of the One York Street office tower and 90 Harbour Street condo towers by Menkes Developments

This artistic rendering depicts a view from the southwest of the One York Street office building and the Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers that Menkes Developments Ltd. is constructing in the south downtown core

 

 

1 York Street office tower

January 18 2013: So far, only cranes and hoarding are visible at the construction site, as seen here from the southwest corner of York and Harbour Streets…

 

 

1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street

… but what passersby can’t see is that, behind the hoarding, construction of the underground levels for the office & condo complex is nearly at street level

 

 

Approaching grade: It won’t be long before the landmark Menkes condo and office tower development at 1 York Street and 90 Harbour Street begins to rise from the ground and significantly transform the entire look and feel of the southeast downtown core.

Hidden behind hoarding and not readily visible to most people passing by, work has been progressing quickly on the underground parking levels for the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

Only 13 months ago, excavation was just getting underway on the building site — a long, rectangular parcel of land awkwardly situated between several major traffic arteries — the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard to the north, York Street to the west, and Harbour Street and the elevated York/Bay/Yonge offramp from the Gardiner to the south. The property was formerly occupied by a 5-storey brown brick building originally constructed for the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Board in 1953, and subsequently used as headquarters for the Ontario Provincial Police. The building was demolished during the summer of 2011 (see my July 17 2011 post for photos showing how the site looked before it was acquired by Menkes Developments Ltd.).

By late summer of 2013, work had started on the office tower’s bottom underground level, even though hundreds of truckloads of soil remained to be excavated from the easterly two-thirds of the block-long site.

But by the beginning of December 2013, the below-ground parking floors were steadily taking shape across the entire length of the property.

Now, within weeks, the One York Street office tower will start to climb above the hoarding, finally bringing the construction activity into clear view of passersby.

 

1 York Street

December 13 2012: A crew works on the western perimeter of the future One York Street office tower location. This is a view looking south across the building site from the southeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard and York Street.

 

 

1 York Street

August 19 2013: A crew works on the bottom underground level of the One York Street office tower as excavation continues on the eastern two-thirds of the building site where the Harbour Plaza condo towers will ultimately rise

 

 

1 York Street

December 3 2013: Underground levels are quickly taking shape

 

 

 1 York Street

January 18 2014: Rebar for several support columns on the west side of the office tower building site extend almost to street level

 

 

Please turn to page 2 of this post to view additional construction photos and see more than a dozen artistic renderings of the One York Street office building and the two Harbour Plaza Residences condo towers.

 

 

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Downtown skyline views from the Toronto Islands

The downtown Toronto skyline as seen from Ward's Island

A Ward’s Island view of the downtown Toronto skyline earlier this month

 

Pics and video: A lunchtime bikeride on the Toronto Islands earlier this month gave me a chance to check out how much the downtown skyline has changed in the one-year period since my last trip to the islands.

Although there are dozens and dozens of condo towers and several office highrises under construction in downtown Toronto, only a handful of projects have so far made a significant impact on the skyline views.

The southwest downtown core is now dominated by the two ÏCE Condominium towers which are still under construction on York Street, while the nearby Delta Hotel tower at Southcore Financial Centre on Bremner Boulevard also makes a big impact from some perspectives. 

Off to the west, the Library District Condominium tower is a noteworthy addition to the Concord CityPlace skyline; a year ago, only its construction crane was visible.

Over on the southeast side of the downtown core, The L Tower is the most eye-catching new building, with the water’s edge Residences of Pier 27 also commanding attention even though it’s only a midrise condominium project.  Much farther east, the Distillery District is easier to locate now that construction is drawing closer to completion on the Gooderham Tower.

 

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First underground floor slowly starts taking shape at RBC WaterPark Place office construction site

RBC WaterPark Place

August 15 2012: A view of construction progress on the western two-thirds of the construction site for the 30-storey RBC WaterPark Place tower at 88 Queen’s Quay West

 

RBC WaterPark Place

August 15 2012: Building forms near the west end of the pit

 

WaterPark Place Toronto

July 3 2011: The tower will rise on the parking lot site west of the 24-storey WaterPark Place 1 tower, built in 1986 (left), and the 18-storey WPP 2 tower, built in 1990

 

RBC WaterPark Place

This artistic rendering depicts a southwest street-level view of RBC WaterPark Place from Queen’s Quay Blvd. The RBC tower was designed by Toronto’s WZMH Architects. The rendering appears on the project webpage for the tower’s developer, Oxford Properties.

 

RBC WaterPark Place site

 November 2 2010: This photo, taken from the CN Tower, shows the parking lot area where the RBC WaterPark Place tower is currently under construction

 

New bank tower: Construction crews have been busy laying the foundation this summer for the city’s newest downtown bank tower, RBC WaterPark Place.

The 30-storey glass tower, which was designed by Toronto’s WZMH Architects, will rise on what used to be a large surface parking lot immediately west of the two granite and glass WaterPark Place towers that have been fixtures at Toronto’s Harbourfront area for more than two decades. (The 24-storey WaterPark Place 1 tower was built in 1986, and the 18-storey WaterPark Place 2 tower was built in 1990.)

I recall that when the first two towers were constructed, people were predicting that a third — and possibly even a fourth — highrise would join them within just a few years. But nothing happened during the office building drought that ensued. Now, 22 years later, work is well underway on what will become RBC’s national headquarters for Canadian banking operations.

 

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