In the two months since UrbanToronto's last update, progress at Oxford Properties' EY Tower has been continuing to move quickly. Recent images of the build site taken Friday morning reveal the progress that has been made on both the modern and heritage facades, in terms the glass curtain wall on the former, and the reassembly and installation of the heritage details on the latter. All of this has been moving along nicely, the tower now reaching well above its halfway point in height. 

EY Tower construction crew as seen from INDX, image by Jack Landau

Seen from below, the modern tower portion of the structure has really begun to take shape, the glass curtain wall, complete with its distinct, canted vertical massing and extruded mullion exterior detailing, now scaling much of the completed structure. Once complete, the overall effect will be visually striking, an architectural break from both the former Art Deco 1928 Concourse Building—the reconstructed facade of which the new tower will encapsulate—and the decidedly more staid, surrounding buildings of the Financial District.

EY Tower with canted glass curtain wall and mullioned exterior detailing, image by Jack Landau

EY Tower, alternate view of exterior cladding, image by Jack Landau

While the progress underway on the modern portions of the EY Tower is interesting to behold, the advancement of work now taking place on the reconstructed heritage facade is perhaps even more impressive, given the history of the former Concourse Building, and the level of care and attention to detail that is inherent in its completion. For though it will be some time yet before the J.E.H. MacDonald mosaic and highly decorative entranceway will be restored to their former glory, much of the precast and granite detail work can be seen taking shape, the interplay between the old and the modern becoming more and more evident with each passing day.

Mixture of old and new, image by Jack Landau

Heritage facade, reconstruction well underway, image by Jack Landau

EY Tower construction alternate view, image by Jack Landau

Seen from street level, the EY Tower is beginning to fit into its surroundings, its thoroughly modern exterior mingling well with both the reconstructed heritage facade as well as the tower's immediate neighbours. The images below offer a glimpse of how the EY Tower will look when complete, seen both from across the street as well as from afar. 

EY Tower, street level view, image by Jack Landau

EY Tower from across the street, looking up, image by Jack Landau

EY Tower as seen from City Hall, image by Jack Landau

Once complete, the 40-storey, Kohn Pedersen Fox and WMZH-Architects-desgined EY Tower will bring 900,000 sq. ft. of top grade office space to the Financial District, of which Ernst and Young (which trades as EY) will take a full 200,000 for their own use. One of the so-called "Big Four" audit firms in the world, Ernst & Young will join PWC on Adelaide West, once construction of the Tower is complete in mid-2017. 

EY Tower, rendering courtesy of Oxford Properties

UrbanToronto will continue to provide construction updates as progress unfolds, especially given the unique heritage aspect of the project and the big reveal that will be the recreation of the Group of Seven mosaic and entranceway. For more information on the EY Tower, please check out our dataBase file, linked below. Readers are encouraged, as always, to contribute any new photos, and can keep with the discussion in our associated Forum thread.