Tag Archives: Wallman Architects

A peek at the Ten York condo tower excavation

Ten York condo towe

September 16 2014: Excavation is well underway at the wedge-shaped site for the Ten York condominium by the Tridel development firm.

 

 

Ten York condo tower

This illustration, from an image gallery on the Ten York website, shows how the tower podium will look when viewed from the approximate area where I shot the excavation photo posted above.

 

 

 Ten York condo tower

This image, captured from Tridel’s construction webcam, shows an aerial view of the site on the afternoon of Wednesday September 17.

 

 

Just before I began an extended break from blogging at the end of January, I published an update about the exciting Ten York condo tower project. That post, Drilling rigs ready to rumble at Ten York condo site, included a photo of foundation drilling equipment that had recently arrived at the future tower location — a triangular piece of property awkwardly situated between Harbour Street, York Street, Lake Shore Boulevard and the elevated Gardiner Expressay.

I walked past the Ten York site yesterday and had the chance to snap a new photo from a spot on the York Street sidewalk near the project’s northeast corner.  The pic shows an excavation rig loading a dump truck in the pit, which is already several levels below grade. Once digging is complete, a six-floor underground parking garage will be constructed for the flatiron-shaped 224-meter tower (735 feet, approximately 65 storeys).

Ten York was designed by Wallman Architects of Toronto.

Below are two images from Tridel’s webpage for the Ten York project. Click on the link to obtain extensive information about condo floorplans and building details, as well as to view dozens of additional images and illustrations.

 

Ten York condo tower

This illustration shows the “community master plan” for the Ten York site

 

 

Ten York condo tower

This artistic illustration, from the Ten York project website, depicts a view of the north side of the condo tower and its podium.

 

 

Drilling rigs ready to rumble at Ten York condo site

10 York Street condo tower

January 18 2014: An Anchor Shoring rig stands on the site where Tridel will build its skyline-changing Ten York condominium tower. 

 

 

10 York condo tower

This Tridel photo illustration shows how the wedge-shaped Ten York condo tower (center) will rise to prominence between the elevated Gardiner Expressway and the Gardiner’s raised exit ramp to York, Bay and Yonge Streets.

 

 

Ten York’s turn: Preliminary construction work is starting on an eagerly-awaited condominium tower that will transform a tightly-cramped and unsightly piece of land into a premier residential address and, at the same time, greatly enhance one of the bleakest-looking blocks in the city’s south downtown core.

Foundation drilling rigs are in place at 10 York Street, where Tridel will build its highly successful Ten York tower, one of 2012’s best-selling condominium projects.

Ordinarily, the oddly-shaped property would seem an unlikely place to build a skyscraper — let alone one that people would love to live in.

Roughly triangular in shape, the site is completely surrounded on all sides by busy roads that are often clogged with traffic — Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner Expressway to the north, Harbour Street and the Gardiner’s elevated off-ramp to York, Bay and Yonge Streets to the south, and of course York Street itself to the east. These high-volume thoroughfares, along with a large above-ground parking garage on the south side of Harbour Street, make the pie-shaped area from York to Lower Simcoe Street one of the darkest, ugliest and noisiest places in the downtown core. The block presents pedestrians and cyclists with a harsh and unpleasant streetscape they wouldn’t want to linger on, but would rather hurry past to get somewhere nicer.

But Ten York should improve the pedestrian experience enormously — as should a three-tower mixed-use development that will revitalize another similarly dismal strip of land on the east side of York Street. (See my January 26 post, which profiles construction progress on a Menkes project that will transform a 1-hectare site at 1 York Street into a vital new residential and employment hub.)

Together, the Tridel and Menkes projects will renew and repurpose two “islands” of under-utilized real estate — roughly half a kilometer in length — that have long been a visual and physical barrier separating Toronto’s popular Harbourfront district from its bustling commercial core. In addition to enhancing the public realm, the new buildings will  establish a pleasant gateway between the two neighbourhoods — especially if the City ever follows through on plans to remove or reconfigure the Gardiner off-ramps that pass beside the development sites.

 

Ten York condo 

A Tridel image showing a street-level perspective of the prow-shaped Ten York podium. The 69-storey skyscraper was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

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Ivory on Adelaide & Post House condo towers adding more height to Toronto’s Old Town area

Post House Condos

December 10 2013: Looking up the west side of the Post House Condominium under construction on George Street, just a few steps north of Adelaide Street, in Toronto’s historic Old Town neighbourhood

 

Twenty somethings: Two condo towers under construction just two blocks apart from each other on Adelaide Street East are adding some more height to the steadily changing southeast downtown skyline.

On George Street, just a few steps north of Adelaide, the Post House Condominium tower has climbed over 18 storeys on its way to 21. Just two blocks east, the Ivory on Adelaide condo complex has risen 20 floors on the way to 22.

Although their heights pale in comparison with condo towers under construction along Adelaide Street West, where several new buildings in the Entertainment District will soar twice as tall, Post House and Ivory still stand out in the historic Old Town area of Toronto. Though they’re not the first highrises in the neighbourhood, and will be joined by a handful more within the next several years, they do add obvious height and density to what is one of the most pleasantly walkable residential and commercial districts in the downtown core.

 

Ivory on Adelaide Condos

December 10 2013: Looking up the southwest corner of the Ivory on Adelaide condo under construction on Adelaide Street just east of Sherbourne Street

 

 

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The Yorkville Condominiums on the rise

The Yorkville Condominium

November 19 2013: A view of construction progress on The Yorkville Condominiums, rising at the corner of Davenport Road and McMurrich Street

 

Climbing higher: Reconstruction of the Davenport Road & Bay Street intersection isn’t the only distraction for motorists driving through Yorkville these days — construction of The Yorkville Condominiums tower is changing the look and feel of the landscape, too.

Work on the building’s concrete frame has passed the 10 floor mark, bringing the structure nearly one-third of the way to its 31-storey final floorcount. Even with completion still a long ways off, the building already exerts a strong presence on Davenport Road, and is drawing some attention away from The Florian, a recently-finished condominium right next door to the west.

A project of Lifetime Developments, The Yorkville Condominiums was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects. The 233-suite project includes tower suites as well as six luxury townhomes along the McMurrich Street side of the property. The building interiors have been designed by Tomas Pearce Interior Design Consulting Inc., and renderings of their work for The Yorkville can be viewed on the firm’s website.

More photos of The Yorkville can be seen on page 2 of this post and in The Yorkville Condominiums album on thetorontoblog.com’s Flickr page.

 

The Yorkville Condominiums

This was how The Yorkville Condominiums site appeared only three years ago (November 1 2010, to be precise), before construction had commenced. The Florian condo tower next door was just halfway up, and several low-rise buildings still occupied The Yorkville’s prime corner site. Those buildings had formerly housed offices for the firm of Moriyama and Teshima Architects.

 

 

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Peter Street condo tower continues to climb as nearby Tableau Condos gradually gets its legs

Peter Street Condominiums construction progress

November 14 2013: Construction has reached the 12th floor of Peter Street Condominiums at the northeast corner of Adelaide and Peter Streets …

 

 

Tableau Condos construction progress

… while at the opposite end of the same block, the ground level of Tableau Condos continues to take shape at Peter & Richmond Streets. The two condo towers will bookend the 9-story office building that sits in the middle of the block at 111 Peter Street.

 

One block, two towers: The east side of Peter Street between Richmond and Adelaide Streets is changing dramatically as construction continues to progress on two new condominium towers that will also transform the Entertainment District skyline and streetscapes in the process.

At the southeast corner of Peter and Adelaide, work on the Peter Street Condominium tower has climbed above the 11th level, bringing the building nearly one-third of the way to its ultimate 40-storey floorcount.

Just a few meters north, at the corner of Peter and Richmond, construction is progressing on the ground level of Tableau Condos, a 36-storey tower that will stand atop a distinctive table-shaped podium supported by long, tall column “legs.”

Artistic illustrations of both buildings, along with construction progress photos shot this week, can be viewed on page 2 of this post.

 

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X2 Condos turning heads at Jarvis & Charles

X2 Condos

April 17 2013: Construction of the X2 Condominium tower has climbed 5 floors on the way to 49, as seen in this view from the northwest on Charles Street. Click on the picture to view a larger-size image.

 

 

Eye catcher: When 2012 drew to a close, construction of the X2 Condos at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets was just beginning to rise above the hoarding that blocked most of the site from the view of passing motorists and pedestrians. As New Year’s approached, a couple of support columns for the 49-storey tower’s ground floor were taking shape near the west end of the building site — the first signs of construction progress visible from street level.

With construction now up to five floors, passersby can’t help but notice the building — and get an early sense of the tremendous visual impact it will have in the Bloor-Jarvis neighbourhood once construction is complete.

I have walked past the X2 Condos site three times in the past two weeks, and on each occasion have noticed that the building is commanding considerable attention from people passing by both on foot and in vehicles. I saw pedestrians pause to watch the construction work, and noticed dozens of vehicle drivers and passengers checking out the site while waiting for traffic lights to change at the busy Jarvis-Charles-Mt Pleasant intersection.

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U/G parking floors filling in at Post House Condos

Post House Condos

A red construction crane rises behind hoarding along the west (George Street) flank of the Post House Condos site

 

Filling in: The last time I passed by the Post House Condos site in August, crews were just installing the red construction crane that is helping to build the 21-storey structure.  I got another brief glimpse of the site this afternoon, where construction of four underground parking floors is progressing quickly. Two of the floors appear to have been built, with just two more to go before the construction reaches street level.

Located on the east side of George between Richmond and Adelaide Streets, Post House Condos is just steps from the St James Campus buildings of George Brown College, one block from St James Park, and a short walk from the interior design and furniture shopping strip along King Street East. The world-famous St Lawrence Market is only two blocks to the south, while the historic Distillery District is just a 10-minute stroll to the southeast.

 

 

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300 Front Street West condo construction passes 45 storeys on way to 49th-floor topping-off

300 Front Street West

September 18 2008: The northwest corner of Front and John Streets used to be a parking lot just steps away from the CBC Canadian Broadcasting Centre at 250 Front Street West (right), the Metro Hall Civic Centre at 55 John Street (right rear), and the Rosemont Residences at 50 John Street (center rear) …

 

 

300 Front Street West

… as seen in this view from the CN Tower on September 22 2008

 

 300 Front Street West

But during 2010 and early 2011 Tridel excavated the site …

 

 

300 Front Street West

… and began building the foundation and underground levels …

 

 

300 Front West

… for its 300 Front Street West condo complex, depicted in this artistic night view rendering by Rudy Wallman of Toronto’s Wallman Architects.

 

 

 

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Promotions start for controversial 365 Church condo tower in low-rise McGill Granby Village

365 Church condo

January 28 2013: This sandwich board sign with a rendering of  the forthcoming 365 Church condo by Toronto developer Menkes

 

 365 Church condo

… has appeared on the development site, currently a surface parking lot at the northeast corner of Church & McGill Streets …

 

365 Church condo

… while this “pre-sale” promotional flyer has been distributed to hundreds of households in the area by a Thornhill, Ont.-based real estate brokerage firm.

 

Sales launch approaching: Promotional activity has begun to rev up for the 29-storey 365 Church condo tower that will rise in the heart of the McGill Granby Village low-rise neighbourhood near Church & Carlton Streets.

A “coming soon to this location” sandwich board sign, bearing an architectural rendering of the rectangular glass building that Menkes plans to build at 365-375 Church Street, was set up just in the past couple of days in the parking lot that presently occupies most of the development site. And last week, a Thornhill, Ontario real estate brokerage firm distributed flyers promoting a website and “pre-sale seminar” for the 365 Church project to hundreds of households in the surrounding area.

But an official full-scale sales launch for the project could be weeks or even several months away, since a legal proceeding concerning the development is due to be heard by the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in mid-March. 

 

 

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Tridel previews trimmed Ten York condo tower as redesigned project goes to TEYCC for approval

Tridel Ten York condo tower

Making a strong point: The prow-shaped podium for the proposed Ten York condo tower will add tremendous visual interest and excitement for eastbound drivers emerging onto Harbour Street from the dark Lake Shore Blvd corridor beneath the Gardiner Expressway. This artistic rendering, provided courtesy of Tridel, depicts a view of the podium from its western point.

 

Tridel Ten York condo tower

This illustration, featured in current Tridel marketing promotions, depicts the dramatic impression the 65-storey, flatiron-shaped Ten York condo tower (center) would make on the Toronto skyline. Ten York was designed by Toronto’s Wallman Architects. Click on the image to view the illustration in a larger format.

 

Back in the spotlight: It was one year ago this month (November 22 2011, to be precise) that the announcement of plans to build Ten York, a 75-storey condo tower near the foot of York Street, became the talk of the town — and the focus of news headlines and discussion right across the country. Ten York remained a popular conversation topic for weeks afterward, with people continuing to comment as much on its soaring floor count as its unlikely location — a triangular site tightly wedged between three of downtown’s busiest traffic arteries, the Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Boulevard and Harbour Street. Ten York even dominated cocktail chat at holiday parties and get-togethers I attended throughout the holiday season  (asking the question: “Who would want to live so close to the Gardiner and Lake Shore?” always sparked a lively debate).

 

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Pit stop: X2 Condos parking floors filling in

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: Another underground parking level takes shape at the X2 Condos construction site at the southwest corner of Jarvis & Charles Streets. Nearly three of the building’s six below-grade levels have been constructed so far.

 

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: A closer view of an underground floor taking form

 

X2 Condos

September 9 2012: Rebar is being put in place to prepare for a concrete pour

 

X2 Condos

September 9 201: Jarvis Street view of construction progress on the 49-storey tower.

 

X2 condos rendering

A project of Great Gulf and Lifetime Developments, X2 Condos was designed by Toronto’s Rudy Wallman Architects Ltd. The tower will have 470 suites.

 

X2 Condos tower rendering

This artistic rendering, which appears on the project website, depicts a view of the 49-storey tower from the northeast.

 

 X Condominium

X2 Condos will be a sister to the X Condominium tower on the north side of Charles Street (seen here in a view from the southeast on August 30 2011).  The 44-storey X Condos, which opened for occupancy two years ago, was designed by architectsAlliance.  Together, the developers say, X and X2 will stand as an eastern “gateway to Yorkville/Bloor.”

 

Pit stop: The Yorkville Condominiums tower site

The Yorkville condo

August 30 2012:  North view across the excavation for The Yorkville Condominiums, a 31-storey tower being built at the NW corner of Davenport Road and McMurrich Street …

 

The Yorkville condo tower site

… seen here November 1 2010 when construction was just approaching the halfway mark on The Florian condo tower next door. This also was more than a year before low-rise buildings and trees were destroyed for pre-construction site preparation.

 

One up, one to go: Excavation work is in full swing for the second of two condo towers that will completely transform the look and feel of the curved north side of Davenport Road between Bay and McMurrich Streets in Yorkville.

As work on The Florian condos draws close to completion, crews are still digging out the adjacent site to the east where The Yorkville Condominiums, a 31-storey tower, will rise during the next two to three years. Several low-rise buildings once occupied the corner property, including the former offices of Moriyama and Teshima Architects.

 

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Crane installed at Post House Condos site

Post House Condos

August 22 2012: George Street was closed between Richmond and Adelaide Streets today while a construction crane was installed on the Post House Condos construction site …

 

Post House Condos

… seen here from the west side of George Street as the crane installation work neared completion this afternoon

 

Crane up: Construction of the 21-storey Post House Condos will rev up now that a construction crane has been installed on site.

A project of Alterra Group, Post House Condos derives its name from its George Street location directly behind Toronto’s First Post Office at 260 Adelaide Street East — a historic building that dates from 1833.

Besides the 179-year-old post office, the condo highrise site tucked is behind two other heritage buildings on Adelaide East– the Bank of Upper Canada Building and the de la Salle Institute Building.

 

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Move-ins to start this fall at Garrison condos

Garrison at Fort York condos

August 15 2012: Bathurst Street view of Garrison at Fort York condos, which is nearing completion on a wedge-shaped site on the north side of the elevated Gardiner Expressway

 

Occupancy soon: Within just a few months, people will start moving into the Garrison at Fork York condos, a midrise building which is nearing the end of construction on a triangular piece of property wedged between the Gardiner Expressway, Bathurst Street and Fort York Boulevard.

A large banner on the north side of the 12-storey building advertises “Move in this fall with 10% down,” while the project website says units are still available from $207,900 “with only 5% down” — also with fall move-in dates.

 

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Public meeting Tuesday for Ten York condo plan

 

illustrations of proposed Ten York condo tower Toronto

Images from developer Tridel’s website show the 75-storey Ten York condo tower that has been proposed for a former parking lot site wedged between Lake Shore Boulevard, the Gardiner Expressway, Harbour Street & York Street

 

Tight squeeze: A community consultation Tuesday evening will let members of the public tell city planners what they think of Ten York, the proposed 75-storey condo tower that made national headlines when the project was unveiled late last fall.

The public session starts with a 6.30 p.m. open house followed by a meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. at the PawsWay Toronto Centre at 245 Queen’s Quay West.

Typical community consultations include a brief presentation during which a representative for a developer (often, the building architect) describes highlights of a highrise condo proposal and shows slides illustrating the shadow impacts the tower is expected to have on its neighbourhood. That’s usually followed by a comment, question and answer period chaired by the city planner in charge of the file. City planners consider community input when making final recommendations on actions Toronto City Council should take with respect to planning applications.

 

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