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Now a vacant lot, the former Ontario Government office complex was methodically disassembled in the early months of this year, leaving the site at 880 Bay Street vacant by late March. Located at the intersection of Bay and Grosvenor, the site was previously occupied by a seven storey office building, with Infrastructure Ontario's (IO) demolition—which began in late 2016—chronicled in a new time-lapse video.
According to IO, the demolition was the largest project in Ontario's strategic demolition program to date. Designed to help spur a "circular economy" through environmentally friendly disassembly of built form, the strategic demolition program ensures that building parts are recycled and reused as much possibly. The demolition of 880 bay Street achieved an exceptionally high waste diversion rate of 95%, meaning that only 1/20th of building materials were sent to a landfill. Another notable element of the demolition process is that shipping containers were used for hoarding, with window openings in the pedestrian walkway for natural lighting.
For the time, the site will remain a paved lot, which could potentially be used as a staging area for the Province's extensive retrofit of the neighbouring MacDonald Block office complex. While no active plans to redevelop the site have been tabled, the high-value site is very likely to be redeveloped with new density in the longer term.
In 2011, a rezoning and Site Plan plan for a 45-storey Government office tower—designed by WZMH Architects—was approved, though that redevelopment proposal was ultimately shelved by the Province. In lieu of the new office space, the Province is now advancing the 8-year interior reconstruction of the MacDonald Block complex (including the historic Whitney Block), home to some 3,600 Government employees.
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Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the dedicated Forum threads for both 880 Bay Street and the MacDonald Block Office Complex at 900 Bay, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.
