Construction has reached a milestone for an upcoming towering addition to Toronto's skyline, as work recently hit grade level at the site of MOD Developments' Massey Tower, a 60-storey, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed condominium development on Yonge Street, just north of Queen. In addition to its 207 metre height and a slim profile, the project is notable for its incorporation of the 1905-built Canadian Bank of Commerce Building, an element of the project being overseen by heritage specialists ERA Architects. The last few months of construction have seen the completion of the structure's foundations and below-grade levels, and one week ago, the first forms were put in place for the tower's ground level.

Forms in place for the tower's ground level, April 15, image by Forum contributor drum118

Over the course of the following days, installation of the ground floor's rebar cage was completed, and by yesterday afternoon, the ground floor concrete pour was well underway at the west end of the site closest to Yonge Street.

Concrete being poured for Massey Tower's ground floor, image by Forum contributor G.L.17

At the east end of the site's footprint, a scaffold has been erected to support the floor forms for the second level of the building's 9-storey podium. Due to the narrow footprint, the development's parking garage will be located primarily above grade, hidden within the podium levels. Residents will access their vehicles via a car elevator/stacking system that features a vehicle turntable to negotiate the confined space.

Scaffold to support floor forms for the second level, image by Forum contributor G.L.17

The complex nature of the podium will mean more time will be required to construct it than the every four-to-five days the tower floors are expected to take above. The tower floor layouts will be largely unchanged from floor to floor, allowing construction crews to get into a rhythm of forming, pouring, allowing for curing, and then flying the forms another level higher to start the process again.

Scaffold to support floor forms for the second level, image by Forum contributor G.L.17

With the project now at grade, the temporary pedestrian bridge connecting the emergency exit area of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres to St. Enoch's Square was removed earlier today by crane, and lowered onto a flatbed truck waiting on Victoria Street.

Temporary bridge being loaded onto a flatbed truck, image by Forum contributor thecharioteer

The start of the podium levels marks the latest milestone in the tower's upward ascent towards a final height of 679 feet, where it will hold a commanding position on the northeastern edge of the Financial District skyline. Residents of the completed development will have access to a number of Cecconi Simone-appointed amenity spaces on the 9th level, identifiable by the open-air terrace in the image below.

Rendering of Massey Tower, image courtesy of MOD

Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the conversation? Visit the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.