The densification of Toronto's Liberty Village neighbourhood continues as work is getting going on Liberty Market Tower. Just to the southeast of the Brazen Head pub, Lifetime Developments' latest development will rise 28 storeys on East Liberty Street, with a design by Wallman Architects that features a large glazed box projecting from near the top of the tower's west facade.

Liberty Market Tower, image via submission to City of Toronto

After an over five-year planning and approvals process, the project got its start in mid-2018 when demolition permits were approved and teardown began for the east end of the Liberty Market Building at 171 East Liberty Street. After taking down the portion set for redevelopment and partitioning off the remainder of the building, shoring began at the end of 2018. The first signs of excavation followed in the early weeks of 2019 as shoring continued elsewhere on site.

Looking southeast across Liberty Market Tower site, image by Forum contributor drum118

Recent photos show that excavation is already well underway for the 3.5-level, 298-space underground garage. A horizontal drilling rig can be seen in action within the pit, working on the first row of tiebacks, steel anchors that secure the site's caisson wall and pile and lagging shoring systems in place.

Looking west across Liberty Market Tower site, image by Forum contributor drum118

Crews will excavate down to a 13.85-metre depth before a tower crane is installed to begin forming of the foundations and underground parking levels, still at least several weeks away. From there, it will be another few months before work reaches grade and the building begins its ascent to a height of 99.9 metres.

Looking southwest across Liberty Market Tower site, image by Forum contributor drum118

While a portion of the Liberty Market Building—a heritage warehouse building that serves as a retail and office hub for the community—was taken down to make way for the tower, the new development's podium has been designed to read as a modern interpretation of the warehouse's style, and will feature new ground-floor retail while levels 2 through 7 of the podium will house office space. The tower above will house 281 condominium units.

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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