Toronto Waterlink at Pier 27 | 43.89m | 14s | Cityzen | a—A

Am I wrong, or did they take all of the cranes down? I haven't seen any progress on this building for quite some time now - at least 1.5 - 2 months.

Any information as to why this is?
 
RiverCity1 said:
Makes sense. I can also see that people would chose to buy here, THEN complain about being next door neighbours with Redpath. I'm pretty sure that the sugar industry is doing fantastic (considering that sugar is now in everything...even in sugar :p), and that they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

The highest and best use of that site is a sugar factory. Plus, it's a monument to our industrial past...and I like it...just not sure I'd want to live right beside it as the fumes give me a headache when I shop at Loblaws.
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Yeah, even John Campbell (CEO of WT) thinks it adds to the "theater of the harbour" and in the past said that he thinks the waterfronts where all hints of the past have been erased are boring/sterile. I tend to agree, but I really do think the odour issue will be a big one. I have lived near the Cadbury factory for around 7 years in total, and it's quite heavenly most of the time - but the days when they make the caramel it can almost be sickeningly sweet. I've heard people refer to the smell at Redpath as burnt marshmallows, which would get old pretty quickly.

udo said:
Thank you guitarchitect for all the insight you are sharing. Very interesting.
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Glad there's some who find it interesting! :) If anyone has questions let me know... I haven't touched the project since 2007 since I no longer work for the architecture office, but I can at least speak to the thinking that went into the project at the early stages and some of the difficulties that were faced. It was one of my babies while I was there and I put a tonne of time into it, so I have enjoyed keeping up with the pics posted in the thread over the years. I have one that I'll upload when I have the time, from the DO weekend. Something else that might be of interest -

The waterfront surrounding the development is public and not private. There's a public boardwalk going along the Yonge St. Slip (coming from the west) that wraps around the site along the water and continues east to Redpath, where it stops for obvious reasons. There's a public road going between the main developments which terminates in a turning circle - it was landscaped in a way that would let you walk from the turning circle to the boardwalk on the water's edge. Should Redpath go away, that boardwalk will continue east. The original intent was that the spaces between all of the buildings would allow public access, but those quickly became public/private because as a function of lobbies + amenities + OBC complications, the buildings needed to be connected at grade with long glazed walkways. That made it impossible to create full through-spaces between the buildings, so the client opted to make the area to the south a private amenity space. But the boardwalk area is still public, as is the large space between the two buildings which aren't connected by a bridge.
 
The rather interesting discussion on Harbour Square and the 1970s waterfront has been moved to this thread.
 
Bump for info:

Am I wrong, or did they take all of the cranes down? I haven't seen any progress on this building for quite some time now - at least 1.5 - 2 months.

Any information as to why this is?
 
The took down the cranes because all the structural work is completed for this phase, just not the cladding. And there has been significant progress on that front in the last two months.
 
p5connex said:
Bump for info:

Am I wrong, or did they take all of the cranes down? I haven't seen any progress on this building for quite some time now - at least 1.5 - 2 months.

Any information as to why this is?
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Depending on the work being done, they may not actually need a crane for anything else so they took them down. You often mainly need it for the foundation and superstructure (IE - all of the concrete and structural steel.) When you hit a certain point, everything can (and/or needs) to be done with a crane truck or small forklifts. Window wall, for example, is typically designed so that the units can be carried by two people (~50sf max) and the exterior cladding is often much lighter. You can also deploy small forklift-like trucks in a project to move the really heavy stuff around. Anything Monolithic (IE - massive and unwieldy to carry) can be done with smaller crane trucks, and if they need to pour any more concrete they can do so with a pumper truck+crane.
 
Thanks for the explanations. I am aware of the building requirements, but there is nothing of the facade up on the bridge components, which I would assume would be taken care of with the cranes. However, I seem to be mistaken.

Cheers,

p5
 
p5connex said:
Thanks for the explanations. I am aware of the building requirements, but there is nothing of the facade up on the bridge components, which I would assume would be taken care of with the cranes. However, I seem to be mistaken.
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Depends on the glass size. Typically Curtain Wall (which is what was going on the bridge when I was involved) goes up as a series of sticks (the framing) and then it gets glazed on-site. So rather that crane in large prefabricated units, they will more likely frame it up and then set up a small crane or swing stage (basically hanging scaffolding, like a window washer might use) to put the glass on from the outside. I didn't see how they did the Corus building but I'm guessing because of the wind coming off the lake they won't be doing much craned-in glazing.
 
Makes sense. I didn't think about the wind from the lake - that does make for a different scenario. You are right though -generally you are installing the mullions between the sealed glazing units and then fabricating as you go along. I was just curious as I was taking the GO train for a while and was noticing very little in the way of advancing beyond the super-structure.

guitarchitect said:
Depends on the glass size. Typically Curtain Wall (which is what was going on the bridge when I was involved) goes up as a series of sticks (the framing) and then it gets glazed on-site. So rather that crane in large prefabricated units, they will more likely frame it up and then set up a small crane or swing stage (basically hanging scaffolding, like a window washer might use) to put the glass on from the outside. I didn't see how they did the Corus building but I'm guessing because of the wind coming off the lake they won't be doing much craned-in glazing.
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The condo developer isn't the only one!

Condo developer wants Captain John’s gone

Toronto developer Sam Crignano promised buyers of his upscale Pier 27 condo development some of the best waterfront views in Toronto. He just never thought they would include the rusting Captain John’s Restaurant.

For months now, Crignano has been offering to do whatever it takes, including financial assistance, to get the waterfront relic — a former tourist attraction and seafood restaurant — towed out of sight, as he had expected it would be years ago.

“I keep asking the question: ‘How long? How long?’ Something has to give before the end of this year. That thing is just ugly,†say Crignano, president of Cityzen developments......

....Crignano has warned Waterfront Toronto officials that time is running out. Owners of the Pier 27 condos, ranging from more than $500,000 to $3 million, are slated to start moving in late this year. Come fall, the parking lot where the gangplank now sits is supposed to be turned into a public promenade 45 metres wide.

It will run north-south, from Queens Quay and connect to a promenade that will run east along the harbour wall, in front of the four condo buildings. It is supposed to be a new public gathering place for nautical activities, such as the recent visit of the tall ships, and a key part of Waterfront Toronto’s efforts to bring life to prime lakefront land that has been dominated by parking lots for decades.....
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AlbertC said:
Phase 3 renderings: http://www.architectsalliance.com/projects/large/pier-27
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Blech. I really don't like their new website - looks amateurish. Not a big fan of Phase 3 either, it kinda turns the development into a couple of long+dark tunnels, since the buildings weren't designed as though they were midrise buildings along a street (not to mention they lack the refinement of phase 1 and 2... but obviously I'm heavily biased...)
 
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isaidso said:
What's next, asking that Redpath vacate? Don't move to an area and expect it to change to suit you. I suppose eventually we'll get new condo owners complaining about Skydome so close to them and ask that it be moved somewhere else.
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So we should let the rusting pile of junk rot there on a piece of prime real estate in perpetuity just because it was there first? If it was a defining business or cultural element of the neighbourhood (like Redpath and Skydome) I would agree with the sentiment, but other than it being a landmark known for its rusting hull and nasty food I fail to see how Captain John's could be considered an important part of the neighborhood fabric.
 
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