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Construction is speeding along at the Jarvis and Queens Quay site of Daniels Waterfront - City of the Arts' first phase, a RAW and Rafael + Bigauskas Architects-designed office building known as 130 QQE. The office component's 11 and 14-storey tower volumes topped out earlier this summer, and the ongoing installation of cladding now gives a good idea of how the building will look upon completion next year. As construction brings the project closer to the finish line, a new announcement has been made regarding the businesses locating in the building.
Several private companies and institutions have already signed on to move in to some of the building's 280,000 ft² of office space, including new facilities for George Brown College, OCAD University, and a new Artscape space outfitted by Quadrangle. Now, CORE Architects and animation studio House of Cool have also announced that they will occupy 20,000 ft² and 6,000 ft² of space within the building, respectively.
Praising the work of the fellow local architects who designed 130 QQE, CORE principal Babak Eslahjou said in a prepared statement that the project was "tailor-made for Core Architects in its feel, overall design and spirit,” continuing that “the playfulness of the waterfront, combined with the creative, inspirational space within the development, will give us the work-play balance imperative to our firm’s success.”
With the first occupancies scheduled to take place in the fall of 2018, crews are racing to install exterior cladding, which will allow work to advance on interior spaces. A row of dark multi-toned curtainwall cladding now seals off much of the future Artscape space, while other glazing elements now reach up to the fourth floor. Precast frames of embedded red and black brick now cover much of the building's lower eight storeys. The red brick installation for the east volume is now practically complete, while the black brick will continue up the full height of the west tower volume.
The building still has 30,000 ft² of available office space for sale on the 12th and 13th floors, with office condominium owners and their employees being given shared access to a number of common spaces like bookable boardrooms and lounges, as well as a 4,000 ft² patio overlooking Toronto Harbour.
Up to 55,000 ft² more office space—in this case freehold ownership—will be offered at 9 Lower Jarvis Street, in the podium of one of the residential towers now under construction to the north. Slated for 2019 occupancy, this office component will be accessed via a dedicated lobby entrance from The Yard—a retail-lined promenade bisecting the site—and will offer 20’ ceiling heights in office spaces, as well as a 650 ft² terrace.
Additional information along with renderings can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.
