A site of now demolished auto repair shop on Dundas Street between Dovercourt and Ossington Avenues is being transformed by a mid-rise condominium, and the nearly topped-off concrete shell is already turning heads. Abacus Lofts by developer DAZ and builder 59 Project Management stands out, not just for being a good deal taller than its neighbouring buildings, but for its unique form too. Abacus is like nothing else in the area, or in all of Toronto for that matter.

Construction at Abacus Lofts, image by urbandreamer

Designed by Quadrangle Architects and RAW, the building's Dundas elevation appears as a series of wedges. The fifth floor runs parallel to the angle of the street—Dundas is one of Toronto's few main streets which does not follow the city's square grid—while the floors above and below are sliced away at increasing angles. By the time the building hits both the sky and the ground, the walls meet at 90° corners.

Construction at Abacus Lofts viewed from the north side of Dundas, image by urbandreamer

At ground level, a triangular space will be formed on the sidewalk, allowing for a sizable patio space on the west side. No word yet on who the retail tenants of the space will be, but we hope to see a lively patio here in the future. Dundas West has certainly seen quite a number of cutting edge restaurants open over the past couple of years? Could this be the location of another one?

Construction at Abacus Lofts, image by urbandreamer

Residents of established neighbourhoods often show resistance to new developments on their main streets, but this wasn't the case when Abacus Lofts was first proposed. Plans for the 8-storey, 39-unit, boutique condominium development were actually applauded during an early community meeting, with local residents praising the creativity of the design and massing. Abacus terraces down to meet the two-storey homes of the neighbourhood on its south side.

Context shot of Abacus Lofts from the west on Dundas, image by urbandreamer

Along with more information, the renderings showing how Abacus Lofts will look when complete can be found in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  BDP Quadrangle, MGI Construction Corp., RAW Design, Tarra Engineering & Structural Consultants Inc