It has been little more than two months since we last provided an update on the construction of Bazis and Plaza's 1 Yorkville. At that time, shoring and heritage underpinning work was just wrapping up for the 58-storey condominium development in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood, and in the weeks since, excavation has kicked into high gear as crews dig down towards the building's future foundations.

Excavation at the site of 1 Yorkville, image by Forum contributor Benito

As excavation progresses down to an eventual depth of five storeys, the installation of steel tie-backs follows closely behind. Visible in both the images above and below, the steel tie-backs—seen protruding from the concrete caisson wall in groups of two with orange caps cushioning the ends of the cables—help to anchor the caisson walls and strengthen them against the force of the surrounding soil.

Excavation at the site of 1 Yorkville, image by Forum contributor Benito

The bulk of the excavation to date has been focused on the south and west sides of the site, with a temporary soil ramp occupying much of the north and east sides. Accessed from the northeast edge of the site, the temporary ramp allows machinery and personnel to access the bottom of the pit until the installation of temporary stairs and a crane fill this need. 

Excavation at the site of 1 Yorkville, image by Forum contributor Benito

Once excavation wraps up and a tower crane is installed at the base of the pit, we can expect to see the subsequent rise of the building's five-level below-grade parking garage, set to contain 162 resident parking spaces and 329 bicycle parking spaces.

Excavation at the site of 1 Yorkville, image by Forum contributor Benito

Want to know more about this Roy Varacalli-designed building? Info and more renderings can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. You can get in on the discussion in our associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page. Earlier stories describing the building in greater detail can be found linked further down this page.

Related Companies:  DesignAgency, Groundwater Environmental Management Services Inc. (GEMS), Isotherm Engineering Ltd., Kramer Design Associates Limited, Live Patrol Inc., Monir Precision Monitoring Inc., Myles Burke Architectural Models, NAK Design Group, Plaza, Ryan Design International