It may have been a cccold day in Toronto, but the Entertainment District just got a lot hotter with the ground being broken for the Monarch Group's Picasso Condos. With an avant garde design by award winning Teeple Architects, Picasso just may be the first step in reshaping the way we do condo towers in this city, one that at least provides an alternative to the all-glass box which has been nearly ubiquitous as of late. While some may see Teeple's design as too experimental for their taste, the team behind Picasso at the very least recognizes the importance of not just designing a building for its residents, but also for the people who live and work in the neighbourhood and who will see it every day.

While larger equipment looms in the background, the day began with the ceremonial groundbreaking at Picasso's Richmond Street West site.

GroundBreaking at Picasso

Pictured in the shot above are, left to right, Ron Mayer – Construction Superintendent of Monarch High Rise, Anthony DeCarli - Director of Development of Monarch High Rise, Emilio Tesolin – Senior Vice President of Monarch High Rise, Mirella Sarrapochiello – Director of High Rise Sales & Marketing, Howard Myers – Sales Representative Trade Up Realty, Esther Lay – Manager of High Rise Sales & Marketing, Brad Carr – President of Monarch, Bernie Torchia – Vice President of High Rise Construction, and Kevin King – Project Manager of High Rise.

Ground Breaking at Picasso Condos, Image by Jarrett Slaney, Operations/Marketing, TradeUp Real Estate

Ground Breaking at Picasso Condos, Image by Jarrett Slaney, Operations/Marketing, TradeUp Real Estate

This Monarch and Goldman Group building will bring 402 condominium units to the growing area when complete. Rising 39 storeys, Picasso will be mostly residential, but as in many new projects, its lower floors will be mixed use and will offer high end retail and commercial space. Along with the burgeoning neighbourhood at their doorstep, future residents will have amenities like a 24 hour concierge, a gym, a roof deck, a sauna and more available to them. Below; Picasso's future skyline presence.

Picasso Condos, Image Courtesy of The Monarch Corporation and Goldman Group

Want to Learn more about this project? Check out UrbanToronto's dataBase listing below with many more renderings, or join the discussion in our Projects and Construction Forum.