Toronto KING Toronto | 57.6m | 16s | Westbank | Bjarke Ingels Group

While the existing structural shell of 495 King (the building at the back of the site) is being retained intact, and the portion of the building that is still intact, fronting on King Street at the east end of the site is also being retained, only the facades of the two buildings fronting on King Street in the centre of the site are being kept.
  • In order to start the shoring along where the existing facades are, the rest of the two buildings needs to be demolished...
  • In order to demolish the rest of the two buildings, the reinforcing steel framework has to be constructed and connected to the steel retaining beams that have been attached to the facades.....
  • In order to do the reinforcing steel framework, Toronto Hydro has to relocate the existing power lines and transformer onto new poles....
  • And waiting on Toronto Hydro seems to take forever...
However, some tiny, incremental signs of progress. Several weeks after the sidewalk curb cuts were done beside the existing hydro poles, three new, taller hydro poles have been installed - nothing connected to them yet, though, and only curb cuts in place for the other two poles still to be replaced.

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AHK said:
While the existing structural shell of 495 King (the building at the back of the site) is being retained intact, and the portion of the building that is still intact, fronting on King Street at the east end of the site is also being retained, only the facades of the two buildings fronting on King Street in the centre of the site are being kept.
  • In order to start the shoring along where the existing facades are, the rest of the two buildings needs to be demolished...
  • In order to demolish the rest of the two buildings, the reinforcing steel framework has to be constructed and connected to the steel retaining beams that have been attached to the facades.....
  • In order to do the reinforcing steel framework, Toronto Hydro has to relocate the existing power lines and transformer onto new poles....
  • And waiting on Toronto Hydro seems to take forever...
However, some tiny, incremental signs of progress. Several weeks after the sidewalk curb cuts were done beside the existing hydro poles, three new, taller hydro poles have been installed - nothing connected to them yet, though, and only curb cuts in place for the other two poles still to be replaced.

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I love the technical analysis you provide for us non technical people!
Thanks @AHK
 
Khaloody said:
Any chance these power lines would go underground?
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That would be great but i don't believe they will, i don't understand why the city does not make them at least rough it when they do the new sidewalks as this would be a great cost saving if they actually ever decide to bring the electrical delivery system into this century..
 
Is it possible/desirable/viable to require developers to bury the power lines going past their sites? Maybe as part of section 37 contributions?
 
The crew working on behalf of Toronto Hydro is back on the job today, installing the rest of the new Hydro poles in front of the King Toronto project. Now to get the cable work done and the obsolete poles and equipment removed....

Also - shoring has started along the east section of the site's King Street frontage.

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thaivic said:
That would be great but i don't believe they will, i don't understand why the city does not make them at least rough it when they do the new sidewalks as this would be a great cost saving if they actually ever decide to bring the electrical delivery system into this century..
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I believe King Street is slated to have the streetcar tracks replaced in 2023. At the time of the King Pilot, Joe Cressy alluded to the fact that if the Pilot became permanent, which it has, they would be able to do something very special when redoing the street. Now, he didn't elaborate on what "special" was but the thinking was it would be more than just replacing the tracks. Hopefully they will bury the power lines at that stage. Fingers crossed.
 
Some additional King Toronto construction details:
  1. Some of the power lines and the two transformers have been removed from the Hydro poles, and replacement cables have started to be strung on the new Hydro poles
  2. The foundation for the front facade bracing structure is starting to be prepared on the King Street sidewalk
  3. The supports for the temporary staging platform to be implemented by the King Street sidewalk are now clearly visible.
For anyone wondering why new condominiums cost so much in downtown Toronto - these are just some of the hoops a developer has to go through - in addition to land costs and development charges, before the actual construction costs, just to be able to create a new building.


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Impressed those old wires/poles have survived the winters. Any reason these haven't already been put underground? They look pretty old!
 
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