Almost exactly one year ago today marked our first visit to the site of DevMcGill's ArtHaus Residences at Arts Court—a precedent-setting mixed-use high-rise development taking shape in Canada's Capital. At that time, excavation had recently wrapped up at the site in Downtown Ottawa's Byward Market area, and the first elements of below-grade forming were underway for the 23-storey building—featuring a design by Toronto's KPMB Architects, Montréal's Régis Côté et Associés, and Ottawa's Barry Padolsky Associates Inc. Architects.

Construction at ArtHaus as seen at the start of 2016, image by Jack Landau

The complex combines an expansion of the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), new facilities for the University of Ottawa, a boutique hotel and related retail, and a luxury condominium residence to top it all off. This combination of uses has never been achieved before in Canada, marking a milestone in urban intensification and redevelopment in the country.

By the end of March 2016, forming of the complex's underground parking garage had been completed, followed by the start of work on the Concourse in mid-April. By May 2016 work had moved on to the ground floor. The image below, captured in early May, shows the forming of the ground floor's first structural columns rising at the intersection of Waller Street and Daly Avenue.

Construction at Arthaus Residences at Arts Court, May 2016, image courtesy of City of Ottawa

By the time our cameras returned to the site on September 2016, the structure had risen to a height of six storeys, exceeding the height of the existing Arts Court building, current home of the OAG, to the immediate west.

Construction at Arthaus Residences at Arts Court, September 2016, image by Marcus Mitanis

Most recently, forming of the hotel component has been completed, work has been initiated on the mechanical and electrical elements for the new OAG, and the first floors of the condominium component above are now in the process of being formed. At the same time, work is being conducted within the existing Arts Court building in advance of the new structure's integration. Among these tasks, the demolition and reconstruction of an emergency exit staircase connecting the two structures is now in progress. ArtHaus now stands at a height of 17 storeys. Over the coming months crews will continue to form the final levels of the condominium component, before the structure tops out at 23 storeys later this year.

Construction at Arthaus Residences at Arts Court, January 2017, image courtesy of DevMcGill

To find out more about ArtHaus—and see additional renderings—you can visit our dataBase file for the project, linked below. If you would like to get in on the conversation, you can click on the thread link which will take you to our sister Forum at SkyriseCities.com, or you can leave a comment in the space provided on this page.