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In the full year since we checked in on the disassembly and cataloguing of historic details at the former 1928-built Loblaw Warehouse at Bathurst and Lake Shore, much work has been done for the West Block Est. 1928, The LakeShore, and The LakeFront complex by Loblaw Companies, Choice Properties REIT, Wittington Properties Limited and Concord Adex. Following the Spring 2016 completion of façade disassembly and structural demolition, shoring began last May. By the Summer months, excavation was underway for the project's three-level underground parking garage.
Excavation has since reached its targeted three-storey depth throughout much of the site's footprint, with large earth ramps providing access to the base of the pit for equipment and personnel. At the north end of the site—below the Gardiner Expressway—excavation has carefully progressed around sets of structural bents supporting the elevated highway. Originally built right through the single-storey northern volume of the Loblaws warehouse, these supports are different and visibly more weathered than the revitalized structural elements to the east and west. Their revitalization will be part and parcel of the new construction below the highway.
The south side of the site fronting Lake Shore Boulevard will be where the development’s seven-storey commercial component—known as West Block Est. 1928—will rise, the name a reference to the site's historical importance. Designed by architectsAlliance with heritage work overseen by ERA Architects, the project's commercial elements will include the eventual reconstitution of the former Loblaws warehouse façades around a 50,000 ft² Loblaws flagship supermarket, along with an 11,000 ft² restaurant, and 88,000 ft² of additional retail—including a pharmacy, wine store, and a clothing boutique—with new office levels to be built above. The rebuilt Loblaws façades will consist of almost 100,000 bricks reclaimed from the heritage structure.
To the north, the development's 37- and 41-storey Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed condominium towers will rise 120.2 and 130.8 metres along the south side of the Gardiner Expressway, separated by a central courtyard featuring a pool and fountains. Known as The LakeShore and The LakeFront, these two condominium towers will contain 396 and 444 units respectively, adding further density to the edge of the already well-populated Concord CityPlace community. North of the condo towers and underneath the Gardiner Expressway, a café and public art installation will animate a cleaned-up space, reclaiming it for public use, and tying it into the greater plans for the pedestrianized 'Bentway' corridor below the elevated arterial road.
Additional information and renderings can be found in the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Visit the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
