Passersby on Yonge Street north of Queen have been craning their necks as of late, as the striking geometry of MOD Developments Inc's Massey Tower Condos pushes above adjacent rooftops. Now a dozen storeys in the air, the 60-storey, Hariri Pontarini-designed condominium tower is now looming over the 1905-built Canadian Bank of Commerce building at 197 Yonge Street, which will eventually be restored and incorporated as the residential lobby of the new tower.

Massey Tower rising above Yonge Street, image by Forum contributor skycandy

When we last checked in on the project in mid-January, forming activity had just surpassed the building's 9-storey podium, set to contain the tower's parking and amenity levels. In the weeks since this update, forming activity has progressed to reach the slab for the 14th floor of the tower, and the fourth of the building's residential levels.

Massey Tower rising above Yonge Street, image by Stefan Novakovic

As the tower grows taller and more floor forms are removed from recently-poured slabs, the unconventional geometry of the project has become more apparent from street level. The undulating curved design of the tower's floorplates—though still lacking any finishing materials—is already attracting plenty of enthusiasm from our Forum members, generating frequent photo updates as more angles are revealed.

Massey Tower's curves now apparent, image by Forum contributor skycandy

The most recent development at the Massey Tower site was the installation of a tower crane this week. With the existing side crane mounted to the north of the tower now finished its task of assisting in the forming of the building's below-grade and podium levels, the newly-installed tower crane is taking over the heavy lifting for the tower component. As Massey Tower grows taller, its tower crane will be climbed in step with the rise of floorplates.

Side crane and new tower crane at Massey Tower, image by Stefan Novakovic

The next major milestone at Massey Tower will come when work begins on the building's exterior envelope. Massey Tower's podium levels will be fully enclosed in a 4-way structural silicon double-glazed, low-e, and argon-filled curtainwall system featuring a bird-friendly frit pattern, while the residential levels will be wrapped in translucent balconies with fritted laminated glass panels.

Massey Tower, image courtesy of MOD Developments

We will keep you updated as the building rises into Toronto's skyline. In the meantime, more renderings and information can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Feel free to leave your thoughts on this project in the comment section on this page, or join a conversation in the associated Forum threads.