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As part of the ongoing expansion of Ryerson University, the institution is currently involved in the construction of two major new structures to the east side of Downtown Toronto; the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex at 270 Church Street, and the privately owned Jarvis Street Residence at 186-188 Jarvis Street. The new Health Sciences Complex will expand the campus's learning spaces with the addition of academic, classrooms and program space occupying eight levels, as well as student residences on another 19 levels above. A few blocks to the southeast, the Jarvis Street Residence will add even more student housing to the area, improving accommodation prospects for Ryerson's student body.
The 30-storey IBI Group-designed student residence on Jarvis Street recently reached a milestone, with the start of work on the tower's ground floor. Construction of the tower's foundation and underground parking garage structure were respectively completed in Spring and early-Summer 2016, and the first signs of the tower's two-storey podium are now apparent.
Once complete, the MPI Group-owned development will contain 191 fully furnished units in 19 one-bedroom units, 57 two-bedroom units, and 115 four-bedroom units, accommodating 593 students in total. Residents will have access to nine 400 ft2 lounges, placed on every third floor of the tower, as well as four multipurpose rooms totalling 3,000 ft2, and 1,200 ft2 of additional amenity space.
The project’s opening has been tentatively scheduled for September 2018. Upon completion, Ryerson University will manage the building’s student housing administration services and residence life programs.
A few blocks to the northwest, activity is picking up speed at the site of the 27-storey, Perkins + Will-designed Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex. Following the November 2015 start of construction on the site, shoring has been completed and excavation has removed previous foundations along with tens of thousands of cubic metres of soil.
As of the end of June, the the final form of the temporary dirt ramp is in place at the north end of the site, with work wrapping up on an elevated platform, consisting of a flat portion of the engineered ramp situated midway between street level and the bottom of the pit. Due to the depth of the excavation here, the dirt ramp would be too steep to facilitate the coming and going of materials and heavy construction equipment to the bottom of the pit. The platform will provide a surface from which equipment can be lowered into and raised from the pit below with a mobile crane.
Excavation activity is expected to continue through mid-August, while preparations are currently being made for the first of two tower cranes, the base of which is now in place at the south end of the site. Installation of the first tower crane is anticipated to take place this month, with the second crane to be installed late this summer. Following the completion of excavation and the installation of the two tower cranes, crews will spend the remainder of 2016 forming and pouring the development's below-grade levels, with construction expected to reach grade in December.
Scheduled for completion in Fall 2018, the completed facility will include a podium housing the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Midwifery Education, the School of Nutrition, the School of Occupational and Public Health, the Communications, Government & Community Engagement department, University Advancement, a Food Services area and a Fabrication Zone. In addition, the project's tower component will contain 100 student rental units capable of accommodating 332 students.
You can learn more about these two developments by visiting their dataBase files, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the field provided at the bottom of this page.
| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Crossey Engineering, Eastern Construction, Trillium Architectural Products, Walters Group |
