Tag Archives: University of Toronto

Classy curves rise above downtown U of T campus as 77 Charles West condo climbs past 10th floor

77 Charles Street West Toronto condo

July 3 2011: The gracefully curved southwest side of the 77 Charles condo midrise

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto condo

July 3 2011: Construction progress viewed from the site’s southwest “corner”

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto condo

June 21 2011: Two of the newly-constructed balconies on the southwest wall

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto condo

From the 77 Charles website, a rendering of the building’s elegantly curved southwest side. The architect is Yann Weymouth of HOK.

 

 

Curves above the campus: The 77 Charles luxury condo midrise is roughly two-thirds of the way to its final 16-storey height with construction of the 11th floor well underway. The north side of the building now holds a commanding presence at the foot of St Thomas Street and has been stealing attention from One St Thomas Residences, its 29-storey black and white limestone condo tower neighbour on the north side of Charles Street.

77 Charles would be turning even more heads if it were situated on a busier street with two-way traffic where passersby could get a better look at its unique design. What I think is the building’s most appealing architectural feature is its distinctive southwest side, featuring gracefully curved glass walls and balconies overlooking the leafy University of Toronto campus. But you actually must be on the campus to take a close look, and the road with the best vantage point — St Mary Street — is a cul-de-sac terminating just a few dozen metres to the southwest of 77 Charles at the university’s Burwash Hall. Since St Mary is not heavily-travelled as a result, it will be mainly university students and staff who will get to admire 77 Charles’s curves — and even then many might not notice, unless they glance up the driveway between Rowell Jackman Hall and Loretto College on the north side of St Mary. The curves are obvious from Charles Street, too, but since it’s a westbound one-way road, only eastbound pedestrians will see them.

Below are photos I’ve taken in recent months of construction progress at 77 Charles. Earlier construction photos can be viewed in my April 7 2011 post and my February 15 2011 post, which also includes detailed information about the condo building’s neighbourhood. A project of Aspen Ridge Homes, 77 Charles was designed by Yann Weymouth of HOK Architects.

 

77 Charles West Toronto condo

April 22 2011:  77 Charles rising at the south end of St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles West condo Toronto

April 22 2011: Construction viewed from Charles Street, looking southeast

 

77 Charles West Toronto condo

April 22 2011: The ground floor at 77 Charles. The first three floors will be the new home for Kintore College, a residence and cultural centre for female university students.

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto

June 21 2011: 77 Charles now totally dominates the view down St Thomas Street

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto luxury condo

June 21 2011: Some suites are still available — for prices starting at $1.2 million

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto condo

June 21 2011: Street-level view from the north side of Charles Street

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto luxury condo

June 21 2011: The curved southwest side as seen from St Mary Street, between U of T’s Rowell Jackman Hall (left) and Loretto College (right). The One St Thomas Residences condo tower rises to the northeast.

 

77 Charles Street West Toronto luxury condo

June 21 2011: St Mary Street view of the curves on 77 Charles

 

77 Charles Street West luxury condo

July 3 2011: Street-level view from the north side of Charles Street

 

77 Charles Street West luxury condo

July 3 2011: Looking up from the north side of Charles Street

 

77 Charles Street West condo

July 3 2011: The curved wall viewed from the northwest on Charles Street

 

77 Charles Street West condo midrise

July 3 2011: A closer view of the building’s angles, seen from the northwest

 

77 Charles Street West condo midrise

July 3 2011: Lower levels on the south side of 77 Charles, behind Loretto College

 

77 Charles West condo midrise

July 3 2011: Looking up from the southwest corner of the building

 

77 Charles West condo midrise

July 3 2011: South view of condo floors above the 3-storey Kintore College podium

 

77 Charles West condo midrise

July 3 2011: Looking up at the southwest side of the building

 

77 Charles West condo midrise

July 3 2011: Another view of construction from behind Loretto College

 

77 Charles West condo midrise viewed from the south

July 3 2011: Curved balconies and upper floors on the building’s southwest side

 

77 Charles West condo midrise viewed from the south

July 3 2011: The walls and balconies will be sheathed in glass

 

77 Charles West condo midrise viewed from the south

July 3 2011: Another south view of the curves on 77 Charles. The brown brick wall at right is the west side of Loretto College.

 

 

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


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

Site viewed from the north side of College Street


U of T residence

Development proposal sign on College Street


U of T residence

Another site view from the north side of College Street


U of T Residence

A printing centre once occupied this two-storey building


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

Glasgow Street view of the proposed tower location


U of T residence

Another Glasgow Street view of the proposed tower location


U of T residence

Proposed tower location viewed from the north end of Glasgow Street


U of T residence

Proposed tower location viewed from the north end of Glasgow Street


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

View south on Glasgow Street from the proposed tower location


U of T residence

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


U of T residence

The CAMH building directly across College Street


U of T residence

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.

U Condos

Architectural rendering of U Condos towers and podium


U Condos

Billboards along U Condos Bay Street location November 14 2008


U Condos

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


U Condos

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


U Condos

U Condos site viewed from Bay Street on November 11 2010


U Condos

Billboard on U Condos site November 11 2010


U Condos

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


U Condos

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


U Condos

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


U Condos

Idle excavation equipment on U Condos site December 4 2010


U Condos

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


U Condos

All quiet on the U Condos site on Sunday January 9


U Condos

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


U Condos

U Condos site under a blanket of snow on January 9


U Condos

Pile driving machinery on January 24 after a light snowfall


U Condos

Pile driving machinery on January 24


U Condos

U Condos billboards along Bay Street on January 29


U Condos

Early stages of excavation at U Condos on January 29


U Condos

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


U Condos

U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29


U Condos

U Condos hoarding along St Mary Street January 29