A couple blocks west of the the closely followed One Bloor East, construction has begun on another long-awaited Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed development near Bay and Bloor called 7 St. Thomas. Compared to its skyscraping relative nearby, this new commercial development will only rise to a height of 9 storeys, but despite its short stature, the project's seductive curves, restored Victorian façades and fritted glazing are sure to generate quite a bit of attention from architecture enthusiasts. 

Construction at 7 St. Thomas, image by Jack Landau

Demolition is now proceeding on the rear portion of the row of historic red-brick buildings on the south side of Sultan Street east of St. Thomas, while yellow-painted steel bracing has been installed to support the remaining portions of the structures.

Construction at 7 St. Thomas, image by Jack Landau

The new building will rise from behind the restored Victorian fronts, directly north of the recent Robert A.M. Stern-designed One St. Thomas luxury condominium development. The image above provides a view of the space between the historic façades and the vehicle entrance for One St. Thomas, while the image below shows a close-up view of the empty space behind the façades.

Construction at 7 St. Thomas, image by Jack Landau

The next step in the project will be the excavation of the site and the subsequent construction of the building's below-grade floors, which is expected take several months before reaching grade in mid-2015. Full completion of the building is currently scheduled for Winter of 2016.

West facing view of the 7 St Thomas site on Sultan St., One St. Thomas visible to the rear, image by Jack Landau

Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to talk about the 7 St. Thomas? You can get in on the discussion in the associated Forum thread, or you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  Bass Installation, gh3, Hariri Pontarini Architects