We have been watching the construction of the Alterra Group's Westwood Condominiums in Etobicoke for several months now, and we have been taking the pictures from all the most obvious spots along local streets: the 6-storey boutique-sized building is located on Fieldway Road right where a leafy, green, single-family-home neighbourhood transitions into an office-warehouse-commercial area to the west, or the Islington subway station high-rise area to the east.

There's another vantage point from which to see Westwood though, and it may even be the view that more people see this building from than any other.

On the way in: approaching Westwood Condos and the Islington Station area, image by Craig White

Just north of Westwood is another one of those urban transitions: railway tracks, and a section of the subway where it runs at grade from Kipling station to Islington. Of the thousands of passengers riding by daily, to and from Toronto's suburbs on both GO's Milton line and the TTC's Bloor-Danforth line, we figure there must be a good number following the Westwood's progress in a slow-burn kind of way. There may even be some riders watching their new condominium coming together, and thinking about the day when their commute will be a lot shorter.

Westwood Condominiums, with Alterra's Network Lofts rising behind, image by Craig White

A portable crane lifts equipment for Westwood Condominiums, image by Craig White

A rail corridor will either be a turn-off of a view for some people, or a captivating draw for others. For those not interested in locomotives and other rolling stock, there are the trees on the south side of the building, but this side is definitely trainspotter territory. 

Close-up on cladding progress at Westwood Condominiums, image by Craig White

Recent progress on the Richmond Architects-designed development means that glazing and precast cladding now reaches to the top floor on the south and west sides. The next signs of progress on the exterior should be the remaining glazing on the north and east sides, and balcony railings. Sealing the building against the elements over the next several weeks will improve conditions for the interior work continuing through the fall and winter.

End of the ride-by: heading into the tunnel, image by Craig White

We'll be back in October to check in again. Want to know more about Westwood in the meantime? All of the renderings showing what to expect are in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to talk about it all? Choose one of the associated Forum thread links to get in on the conversation, or leave your comments in the space provided on this page.