Duca Canterbury Place Retirement Res & Office Bldg (NYCC, 17s, Hendrik Op 't Root) COMPLETE

[taal]

Looks like this completely slipped under the covers. Duca (http://www.duca.com/) is demolsing their old 2/3 storey putrid small head office at 5290 Yonge Street, between Finch and NYCC and seems to be building two office buildings. From a quick glance at the rendering one seems to be between 10/15 stories and the other one shorter (all glass). The site is fairly large as they bought an adjacent smaller building. I’ll try to take pictures tomorrow as there is a render on the site but I cannot find anything online about it. This will be absolutely greater for this stretch of Yonge.

 

[Edward Skira]

I spent many nights eating at the old John Andersons. Finally it goes.

 

[taal]

Ah yes, I as well.

But, it's not gone they actually moved to a little spot north of Yonge and Finch (before the GO terminal).

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I thought about making a DUCA thread back when the hoarding went up, but I never seem to make threads.

There's a rendering via this link, page 9:
http://www.duca.com/PDFs/duca-ar-2006.pdf

Here's a report:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-6433.pdf

Low-rise DUCA offices on Yonge (not sure about retail yet) with a 17 storey seniors' home at the back - John Anderson's was demolished a few days ago and when the new part's done, construction will begin to turn the site of the old DUCA into the seniors' home...supposedly DUCA will stay open the entire time. It flew under the radar because it's not a condo, I guess. I'd also take pictures but I don't have a camera.

I'm kind of surprised that the Yonge frontage will only be 2-3 storeys, but it's certainly better than a parking lot.

Pulse is also transforming Yonge a few blocks north of there.

Oh, and the Fire Pit was always better

 

[taal]

That kinda sucks...

Hopes up for nothing I guess.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

They're just doing exactly what St. George's Anglican Church will do a block north - cash in on their property's value by first building a new institution closer to Yonge, and then throwing up a residential tower on the old part at the back.

 

[taal]

I thought it would be more substantial, Duca has been doing well as of late and this is there corporate head office. Is the building going to at least be bigger then what they had before.

 

[adma]

I wouldn't call the existing building "putrid", exactly (neat little 60s-type concrete'n'glass box), but yeah, it's no big loss either...

 

[Edward Skira]

Oh, and the Fire Pit was always better

Totally. And the original version of the Fire Pit, which was located where Empress Walk is today, was quite the after bar hang out in the 80's.

 

[p5connex]

I am not following this? Is what is tacked on the back of the lowrise section a residential tower, or the head offices? There seem to be balconies pertruding from the sides..

Anyways, as a client of DUCA I hope there is some financial return for me..? Doubtful..

p5

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Totally. And the original version of the Fire Pit, which was located where Empress Walk is today, was quite the after bar hang out in the 80's.

I don't remember it being in more than one location...it would have been more like an after kindergarten hang out for me, which explains why. Every year it gets harder to place where old buildings and businesses were on Yonge amongst all the new stuff, and I wasn't even alive when the construction boom started. I know people who grew up near Yonge but literally do not recognize it today.

I am not following this? Is what is tacked on the back of the lowrise section a residential tower, or the head offices?

The tower at the back is a seniors' home...the DUCA offices will be located in the low-rise part directly fronting Yonge.

 

[Transportfan]

I am not following this? Is what is tacked on the back of the lowrise section a residential tower, or the head offices? There seem to be balconies pertruding from the sides..

Anyways, as a client of DUCA I hope there is some financial return for me..? Doubtful..

p5

You bank at DUCA too? Small world!

 

[Edward Skira]

I don't remember it being in more than one location...it would have been more like an after kindergarten hang out for me, which explains why. Every year it gets harder to place where old buildings and businesses were on Yonge amongst all the new stuff, and I wasn't even alive when the construction boom started. I know people who grew up near Yonge but literally do not recognize it today.

Over the weekend it occured to me that the Fire Pit was located south of where Empress Walk is today. The location is that office building with the Scotiabank in it. That building went up in the mid to late 80's so the Fire Pit moved north at that point. When it moved it cut its hours of operation and it went downhill as a late night hangout. What was located at Empress Walk was the old fire station which has since moved next to the police station behind the Duca site.

I wonder if the name had anything to do with the fire station?

 

[p5connex]

Small world is true- I have been with DUCA for a long time..good bank too.

p5

 

[scarberiankhatru]

The crane's up...I'm surprised a crane is needed for a 3 storey building. Perhaps construction of the residential tower (phase II) will begin immediately after, so the crane will stay up for that.