Tag Archives: Trinity Street

8-storey Trinity Lofts throws a curve into condo building boom in downtown’s Lower Eastside

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

This rendering of the curvelinear Trinity Lofts building appears on signage posted on hoarding at the condo construction site on Eastern Avenue

 

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking west toward the Trinity Lofts condo construction site and the skyscrapers of Toronto’s Financial District

 

Curved condo: The sharp bend in the road where Eastern Avenue meets Front Street is going to get a lot more visually interesting for passing motorists in just a few months’ time. Right now, all that passersby can see is a tall red crane soaring above the middle of a wedge-shaped piece of property on the north side of Eastern Avenue, between Trinity and Erin Streets. Behind the poster-covered wooden hoarding that surrounds the site, work is progressing three levels below grade on the foundation for Trinity Lofts, an eight-storey condo building with a dramatic curvelinear design that will match the bend on Eastern Avenue. As building progresses above street level, likely sometime in late summer, passersby will get to watch the curve take shape.

A project of Streetcar Developments, Trinity Lofts will have 81 loft condos in floorplans ranging from a 535-square-foot 1-bedroom (with prices starting at $329,900) to an 813-square-foot 2-bedroom + den with 101-square foot balcony (starting at $491,900). The building will have two townhomes; TH01 is a 1,697-square-foot 2-bedroom with den and 582-square-foot garden going for $809,900.  Occupancy is expected for around this time next summer.

Streetcar certainly picked a great location for this project, one of several small condo complexes it has either already built or is currently constructing in the downtown’s booming Lower Eastside (a July 9 2010 article from the Toronto Star describes the various projects). Located one block south of King Street, the building is just a short streetcar ride from the Financial District, only a two-minute walk from the Distillery District, and within reasonably short walking distance of furniture and grocery stores, including the St Lawrence Market. It’s also just a short walk from the new Don River Park that is being built to the southeast as one of the Lower Eastside developments underway for the 2015 Pan Am Games. Loft owners feeling too lazy to walk anywhere won’t have to go far to find wheels — there’s several car dealerships right across the street and around the corner. And the location should feel extra-safe and secure for anyone except fugitives on the lam: It’s right right across Erin Street from the Toronto’s 51 Division police headquarters.

I’ve walked and cycled past the Trinity Lofts site several times in recent months, but haven’t been able to see what’s happening behind the solid wall of construction hoarding. However, the photo below (a screen shot from the Trinity Lofts project website) shows construction progress as of last month. The others are photos I’ve snapped recently showing the condo location viewed from different perspectives on Eastern Avenue.

 

Trinity Lofts condo foundation construction

Foundation construction progress photo from the Trinity Lofts condo project website

 

Trinity Lofts condo Toronto

July 1 2011: Eastern Avenue view of the construction site, looking north

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

July 1 2011: The Trinity Lofts condo building site extends along Eastern Avenue from Erin Street (left) to Trinity Street

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

July 1 2011: Northeasterly view of the site from Eastern Avenue

 

Trinity Lofts condos Toronto

April 30 2011: Like most new condos, Trinity Lofts will have street-level retail

 

 

Clear Spirit condo tower continues upward climb over Distillery District’s southeastern corner

Clear Spirit condo construction at the Distillery District

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit condo tower construction at the Distillery District viewed from Cherry Street looking west toward the CN Tower (rear left)

 

River City and Distillery District condo construction

July 1 2011: Looking from the Queen Street bridge above the Don Valley towards the Distillery District (upper right). Clear Spirit (with crane) will rise 40 floors to overtake the 32-storey Pure Spirit condo tower (top right). The construction zone in the foreground is where the River City condominium complex is being built.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower construction at Distillery District

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit rises above the Gardiner Expressway in this view from the bike trail along Cherry Street near the Keating Channel in the port lands.

 

Rising higher: As the Clear Spirit condominium tower soars taller, it’s becoming a lot easier to spot Toronto’s historic Distillery District on the city skyline. Nearly one-third of the way toward its 40-storey peak height, the condo tower frame and construction crane are now clearly visible from many different parts of downtown and Riverdale. Clear Spirit is the second condo tower that Toronto’s architects Alliance has designed for the Distillery District. The first, Pure Spirit, was built at the northwestern corner of the district in 2009, and stands 32 storeys tall. The Distillery District’s master plan calls for yet another condo tower — the 35-storey Gooderham condominiums — to be constructed on the northeast corner of the property, right next to Clear Spirit, along with what the architects Alliance website describes as “a low ‘ribbon building’ with a planted roof.” Renderings of the various buildings can be viewed at the link I’ve provided to the aA website. Photos of recent Clear Spirit construction progress can be viewed below, while earlier photos can be seen in my March 20 2011 post and in my February 16 2011 post.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit seen from the bike path along Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: The south side of the Clear Spirit tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Supervisors checking out the construction

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from the parking lot along the southwest side of the Distillery District. The building in the foreground is the Pump House; the one in the middle is the Case Goods Warehouse, home of Artscape Studios

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Construction of the Clear Spirit condo tower climbs above The Case Goods Warehouse building

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Looking up the SE corner of the tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Distinctively angled floorplates on the tower’s south side

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011:  Clear Spirit and the Gooderham tower will transform a site that is approximately one-fifth the size of the entire Distillery District

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Construction forms protruding from the Clear Spirit tower

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011:  Entrance to the condo’s underground parking garage

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011 Clear Spirit condo tower construction viewed from Tank House lane near Trinity Street in the Distillery District

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

June 21 2011: Clear Spirit viewed from outside the Distillery District entrance at Mill and Trinity Streets

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit (left) and Pure Spirit (right) viewed from the intersection of Cherry & Mill Streets. The 35-storey Gooderham condo tower will be built near the left of the area shown in this photo.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: The low-rise building on the corner is one of three Tank Houses now home to the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. The Gooderham tower will be built immediately south of the Young Centre.

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Clear Spirit soaring above the Distillery District’s Tank House Lane entrance off Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking up from Cherry Street at the Clear Spirit and its crane

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Construction entrance off Cherry Street

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Project team poster and site plan map

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Looking up at the east side of the building

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: The east side of the tower and its podium

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: Tall support pillars on the tower’s east side

 

Clear Spirit condo tower Distillery District Toronto

July 1 2011: One of the support pillars stands at a slight angle