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The first above-grade progress has been recorded on a new office tower that will have a prominent place on the Toronto skyline: 160 Front Street West at Simcoe Street on the west edge of the Financial District. The 46-storey Cadillac Fairview development is set to bring 134,766 m² (1.2 million ft²) of new office and retail space to the area, contained within a distinctly curved massing—designed by AS+GG Architecture of Chicago working with Toronto-based B+H Architects—that will set itself apart from the largely rectilinear built form surrounding it.
Work has accelerated in recent weeks, following a July site accident involving the north tower crane. With the site cleaned up and the crane replaced, recent photos show that crews have begun forming the central elevator core at the building's ground level, as forming of the final underground sections progresses to the north.
With the majority of the four underground parking levels and a mezzanine level with bicycle parking now in place, the pouring of the first concrete above street level marks the first few metres in the project's ascent to an eventual height of approximately 240 metres.
The elevator core will take on a rectangular shape with curved north and south sides, with shafts for 28 elevators divided into banks serving low-, mid-, and high-rise sections of the tower. On lower levels, the elevator core will take up a significant share of the building's footprint, tapering down as the building rises, with fewer elevators reaching upper floors.
Surrounding the elevator core, forms for the ground-floor slab are now in place, as pipes and conduits are topped by rebar in advance for the ground-level concrete pour. From here, steel fabricators and constructors Walters Group will begin erecting the first elements of the 9500 tons of structural steel and 1.07 million ft² of metal decking that will form the tower. Walters Group's website indicates that structural steel installation is due to begin this month.
Upon completion, the building and its prominent illuminated signage for anchor tenant TD Bank—occupying 840,000 ft² of office space across 33 floors of the building—will add a notable presence to a number of popular city views. Among the views that will be affected by the new building's ascent is the Financial District from the CN Tower observation deck, evident by the site's placement at the lower centre of the view shown below.
A rendering below from before the TD anchor tenant signage was released offers a preview of the new office tower from this vantage point.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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