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The leading edge of a high-rise development tidal wave is already breaking on the eastern shores of Toronto Harbour. Massive pits carved into the post-industrial landscape mark the locations where skyline-altering towers will soon emerge, creating a new downtown neighbourhood as the buildings rise.
Among the first wave of buildings set to fill in the gap between Harbourfront and the East Bayfront, construction is progressing for three towers of Menkes Developments' Sugar Wharf community, located on what have been known as the LCBO Lands. Sugar Wharf Condos Phase 1 marks the first pair of architectsAlliance-designed condominium towers coming to the northeast corner of the 11.5-acre development site. We last checked in on construction back in July, when work was just getting going with the start of shoring for the site's below-grade caisson walls. With them created, excavation of the four-level underground garage has progressed.
New photos of the site show that excavation is close to wrapping up, with the site largely bottomed out aside from a temporary soil ramp being used by personnel and equipment to access the pit. In the photo below, workers and machinery 13.5 metres (44.3 feet) below grade, at the bottom of the pit, offer a reference for its sheer scale.
Meanwhile, construction is well underway on the below-grade levels of the 100 Queens Quay office tower just to the south. Between the condo towers to the north and the 25-storey, B+H Architects-designed office tower, a strip of land has been reserved for the eastern extension of Harbour Street. It will become a new neighbourhood street, creating more walkable blocks in the area between Queens Quay and Lake Shore, Yonge and Jarvis.
A look across the pit for the office tower reveals a connection being dug through the office tower's north caisson wall. Below the coming Harbour Street extension, what's just a hole in the wall now will eventually link the underground levels of both sites to allow for an integrated deliveries and waste collection servicing area for both blocks of buildings. At the same time, the under-street link will also include a pedestrian PATH tunnel to link the P1 levels of both sites.
Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
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