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The ongoing 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival is bringing a tremendous amount of buzz and excitement to the Entertainment District, as stargazers and film buffs flock to King Street West to take in the festivities. The sounds of mingling crowds and camera shutters aren't the only notable noises emanating from the Entertainment District this month, as shoring work recently got under way at the King West and Blue Jays Way site of Greenland Group's King Blue, just a half block west of the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Ground was officially broken at the site of the 44 and 48-storey Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed condo towers back in April, followed by the fencing off of the site in August. Last week, the first signs of shoring activity were spotted at the western end of the site, and the pace of work has increased noticeably in the days since.
This phase of construction is vital for a safe excavation, and involves the insertion of hollow steel casings deep into the soil. After the casings are driven into the ground, augers are used to drill out the soil, after which it is replaced with concrete. The final step involves the removal of the steel casings, leaving behind concrete piles. Once the site has been shored, excavation of the complex's below-grade levels will commence.
The completed development will add 807 new residential units to Toronto's Entertainment District, as well as a 122-room Primus Hotel occupying the podium's King Street frontage, and the new home of the Theatre Museum Canada occupying 9,000 square feet in the podium's Mercer Street frontage. Residents and hotel guests alike will have access to a variety of Studio Munge-appointed amenity spaces, plus outdoor spaces landscaped by NAK Design Group.
You can learn more about King Blue by visiting 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 in the space provided at the bottom of this page.
