Construction is heating up at the site of 609 Avenue Road by the State Building Group and Madison Homes, where a new 19-storey Richmond Architects-designed condo tower will soon add to the growing stretch of high-rise density in Toronto's tony Forest Hill area. We last checked in on the project earlier in the year, when shoring activity was in the process of prepping the site for excavation of a four-level underground parking garage, set to contain 166 parking spaces and 145 spots for bicycles. In the time since, excavation has wrapped up, paving the way for a construction milestone earlier this month.

Crane installation at 609 Avenue Road, image by Edward Skira

Photos captured on September 9th show the installation of a tower crane at the base of the excavated pit. During the installation, a northbound lane of Avenue Road was closed for a mobile hydraulic crane used to hoist crane sections into place.

Crane installation at 609 Avenue Road, image by Edward Skira

With the crane now assembled, forming has started for the tower's foundations, the base of the elevator core, and the first columns of the underground garage's P4 level. At the northeast corner of the pit (top left in the image below), a network of rebar is taking shape along a waterproof membrane applied to the pit's excavated walls, marking the first signs of a foundation wall.

Below grade forming at the site of 609 Avenue Road, image by Craig White

Forming of the underground levels is expected to continue over the next several months. Underground parking levels are often some of the most complicated within a building due to the non-repeating layouts and sloping grades. The completion of these levels will bring about the next project milestone, when construction reaches street level and work begins on the first of 19 storeys.

609 Avenue Road, image courtesy of Madison/State Building Group

We will keep you updated as construction progresses. In the meantime, further information can be found in our database file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or join one of the ongoing conversations in our associated Forum threads.