To close out our Topping Off series for 2017, we are taking a look at the 10 most popular Database files, Forum Threads, and News Stories from UrbanToronto across the entire year. This is the middle instalment in our short series.
Over the course of 2017, scores of new project threads were added to our Forum, and countless more active project threads were updated with new posts. As the year unfolded, here are the threads that you returned to the most!
10: Monde
The ascent of Great Gulf's Monde was well documented during 2017, with the tower's climb to 44 storeys and the installation of exterior cladding helping to bring the project's thread to our 10th spot for the year. Now topped out, the project's 552 units will begin occupancy later this year.
9: The Residences of 488 University Avenue
The engineering challenge of adding 37 new levels of condominium units atop an existing 18-storey office tower has kept the Forum thread for The Residences of 488 University Avenue active throughout 2017, bringing the project to #9 on our list.
8: The Well
The 2017 start of construction for The Well brought the Forum thread for the mixed-use redevelopment to the #8 spot for the year. Unlike typical master-planned developments around the region, The Well will bring together Hariri Pontarini Architects, architectsAlliance, and Wallman Architects to create some aesthetic variety, while also featuring a new public space by Claude Cormier + Associés.
7: Sun Life Financial Tower & Harbour Plaza Residences
Our top 7 threads for the year all cover projects in excess of 180 metres in height. In 7th place, the thread for the Sun Life Financial Tower and Harbour Plaza Residences complex in Toronto's South Core remained hot in 2017 as anchor tenant Sun Life moved into the office component, and residents began to populate the much slenderer Harbour Plaza condominium towers beside it.
6: 1 Yorkville
In our #6 spot, traffic has been steadily growing in our Forum thread for Bazis and Plaza's 1 Yorkville, with the 58-storey Rosario Varacalli-designed condo tower now rising above the Yonge and Yorkville intersection. Once topped out, the tower's 183-metre height will dominate the blocks north of Bloor Street.
5: Massey Tower
In 5th place, our Forum thread discussing MOD's Massey Tower has been increasingly busy as the tower rises into various cityscape views, including a prominent position when viewed from Nathan Phillips Square. Now roughly 15 storeys shy of its final 207-metre height, we can expect to see even more updates when the tower tops out later in 2018.
The Forum thread for the tallest Toronto building completed in 2017 took the #4 spot. While One Bloor East proved itself to be a fan favourite in 2017, the building's near-complete status means that the almost constant procession of photo updates seen in 2016 and early 2017 have slowed down considerably. While the updates have slowed, the thread's high traffic levels from early 2017 helped keep the project in the top 5.
Our #3 spot was captured by the newest residential addition in Toronto's South Core area. Now topping out above 65 storeys at the corner of York and Harbour Streets, the thread for Ten York continues to draw in frequent photo updates as cladding continues to rise towards the tower's peak.
In second place, the thread for Concert's 88 Scott was another to see frequent updates throughout the first half of the year. The recently completed project got one last boost in activity in November, when the project's public art component was officially unveiled.
1: The One
It may come as no surprise that our most popular project thread of 2017 was that of Mizrahi's The One. Design revisions, a sales launch, and the start of construction for the supertall luxury condominium and retail tower all helped propel the project to our top spot for the year.
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We look forward to another year of following urban growth in 2018. In the meantime, let us know what you think about this year's top threads in the comments section provided below.