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It has been a little over ten months since we last checked in on construction progress at Streetcar Developments and Dream's Riverside Square, a mixed-use complex soon to rise on the east bank of Toronto's Don River south of Queen Street. At the time of our last update, demolition was underway to clear the site, while the first stages of shoring had commenced. In the time since, demolition and shoring were completed, while a huge excavation pit for project's four-level underground parking garage has been progressing. Following a recent OMB decision granting the project approval to move forward, a tower crane has been installed at the southeast corner of the excavated pit.
To rise form this footprint is Riverside Square's initial phase, designed by architects RAW Design, with a following phase designed by RAW along with Giannone Petricone Associates set to rise close to the Queen Street end of the pit. Remaining on the site from its former uses, the structural steel skeleton of a former concrete-clad and steel-framed warehouse visible above—previously a warehouse for moving company Tippet-Richardson—will be repurposed and incorporated into the first phase's car dealership component.
Riverside Square's first tower crane installation was accomplished with the assistance of a temporary mobile crane, which accessed the bottom of the pit via an earthen ramp leading from Queen Street to the north. Sections of the crane's tower yellow-painted mast were carefully bolted together one at a time. The three images in this article help to illustrate this process in action.
With a crane now in place, work can begin on Riverside Square's four-level-deep parking garage, which will rise to grade level over the next several months. Following the completion of the project's first phase, future residential and commercial phases will add even more life to the 4.5 acre site, while a new public park fronting Queen Street will create a new neighbourhood amenity.
For additional information and renderings for the project, visit our Riverside Square dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided on this page.
