Tag Archives: U of T

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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42-storey “luxury” student residence for U of T?

U of T residence

Diamond and Schmitt Architects rendering of proposed U of T residence


Towering Dorm: The biggest university in Canada could lay claim to having the tallest and most expensive student residence in the country if the City approves a development application for property on College Street. But will community concerns about the project’s height and density derail the proposal or knock down the height of what would be a stunning, landmark tower for the neighbourhood?

The potential development site  — 245 – 251 College Street — is situated on the south side of College, just a stone’s throw east of Spadina Avenue and directly across the street from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The university owns part of the property while a private developer, Knightstone Capital Management, owns the rest.

In an article published last July, the Globe and Mail reported that U of T had “quietly” begun plans for a new residence which Knightstone would finance and build near the university’s downtown campus. Just one month later, a rezoning application was filed with the city seeking approval to build a 42-storey tower with “academic residences” and a three-storey podium “containing retail, academic services and lecture halls for University of Toronto.”

In an article published in its online edition today, the Toronto Star offered more details about the plan. It said U of T has leased its land to the developer,  which will build a $120 million, 42-storey residence housing 1,000 students. However, the building will not be a typical university dorm housing “ordinary” Canadian students — they couldn’t afford to live there. Instead, the tower will offer expensive rental accommodation — costing approximately $15,000 per year — that is expected to appeal primarily to wealthy international students, along with some graduate and out-of-province students.  However, accommodation would not be restricted to U of T students; those attending the city’s other educational institutions could rent rooms, too, if they have the cash.

“The glass and panel tower, a series of wonky boxes stacked one on top of the other, would rise a dizzying 42 storeys above its Lilliputian neighbours on College St., commercial buildings that are two, three or five storeys at most,” the Star article says.

To the south, on the other hand, sits a vast residential area; in fact, Glasgow Street — a quiet, narrow road lined with small homes — runs north from Cecil Street, dead-ending at the proposed tower location. “If someone can get 40-storey buildings shoehorned into that neighbourhood, all of the (future development) sites will come back as 40-storey applications,” the Star quotes local city councillor Adam Vaughan as saying.

The newspaper says city staff have recommended that the developer reconsider the tower’s height, and that Vaughan hold consultation meetings with the landowners and residents. But Knightstone’s CEO,  David Lehberg, told the Star that U of T “needs bigger, shinier buildings to compete internationally.”

So, too, does the City of Toronto, in my humble opinion. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this project gets the A-OK; I think it would improve the look of the area immensely, not to mention put U of T on the radar of privileged students around the globe. With several new five-star hotel towers opening in Toronto over the next two years, the city will finally be able to attract elite tourists who have been travelling to high-end hotels in destinations elsewhere, at the expense of our local tourism industry. I say let the residence tower go up so all those wealthy parents will come visit, spend money and boost our economy while their kids attend U of T in style!

Below is another rendering of the proposed tower, by Toronto’s Diamond and Schmitt Architects, along with some photos I snapped of the project site this afternoon from College and Glasgow Streets.

 

U of T residence

Diamond and Schmitt Architects rendering of proposed residence tower


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Proposed U of T residence tower site viewed from south side of College Street


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Site viewed from the north side of College Street


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Development proposal sign on College Street


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Another site view from the north side of College Street


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A printing centre once occupied this two-storey building


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A view of the proposed development site looking east along College Street


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The tower’s neighbours include the LillianSmith library, left.


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View towards the tower site from the corner of Glasgow and Cecil Streets


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Glasgow Street view of the proposed tower location


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Another Glasgow Street view of the proposed tower location


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Proposed tower location viewed from the north end of Glasgow Street


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Proposed tower location viewed from the north end of Glasgow Street


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Proposed site viewed from a parking lot at the end of Glasgow Street


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View south on Glasgow Street from the proposed tower location


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View of the site (the short white building and the three-storey brown brick structure to its right), looking southwest from corner of College and Huron Streets


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The CAMH building directly across College Street


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Another view  of the CAMH building on College Street


Here’s looking at U, Condos

U Condos

U’s Turn: In just a few short years, things will really be looking up for the St. Michael’s College campus at the University of Toronto. Way up. From the old ivy-clad stone and brick bastions of academia to the shiny new glass and steel towers of luxury condo living 45 and 50 storeys up. That’s how high the two towers of U Condos, currently starting construction, will soar above the college campus from their perch at the southeast corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets near Yorkville. It’s going to be a huge and dramatic change for a wedge-shaped piece of property that previously contained an unremarkable asphalt parking lot and a wide field of green grass. For people who were lucky to buy in when the buildings initially went on sale, U Condos undoubtedly will prove to be an incredibly wise investment. I’m willing to bet a substantial number of buyers are real estate- and personal finance-savvy parents who scooped up suites so their kids will have accommodations when they attend U of T; after graduation day, mom and dad will sell the units at a tidy profit, perhaps even paying off the kids’ substantial university tuition bills and other education expenses in the process.  Contractors have been preparing the site for excavation since December; heavy machinery has been moving mounds of earth, while pile drivers have been punching away at several different places on the U Condos property.  Below is an architectural rendering of the U Condos podium, along with photos I’ve taken in the U Condos neighbourhood at various times since 2008.

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Architectural rendering of U Condos towers and podium


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Billboards along U Condos Bay Street location November 14 2008


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View towards Bay Street from west end of U Condos site November 1 2010


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U Condos site viewed from St. Mary Street on November 1 2010


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U Condos site viewed from Bay Street on November 11 2010


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Billboard on U Condos site November 11 2010


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View towards U Condos site from west end of St Mary Street on December 4 2010; in two years, the new towers will totally dominate this view towards Bay Street


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Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


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Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


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Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


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Last glimpse of green: This lawn, seen December 4 2010, will soon be dug up


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All quiet on the U Condos site on Sunday January 9


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Snow-covered excavation machinery at the U Condos site January 9


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U Condos site under a blanket of snow on January 9


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Pile driving machinery on January 24 after a light snowfall


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Pile driving machinery on January 24


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U Condos billboards along Bay Street on January 29


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Early stages of excavation at U Condos on January 29


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Grass has been completely cleared from the western half of the site


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U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29


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U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29