With road testing already under way for the TTC's new Bombardier Flexity Outlook LRVs, construction is coming along on the massive new TTC streetcar maintenance and storage facility rising at the southeast corner of Leslie Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East. The facility, which will be officially known as the Leslie Barns, is closing in on structural completion, with the building's expansive steel frame now predominantly assembled.

Looking east across Leslie Street, image by Craig White

Once the project is completed—currently slated for early 2015—the Strasman Architects-designed facility will include landscape features such as a new storm water management pond, scores of new trees, and enhanced streetscaping from landscape architects Brown + Storey, features we covered in detail in this article from the Fall of 2012.

Steel work continues on the roof of Leslie Barns, image by Craig White

While construction by Pomerleau and AECOM of the building itself is making significant progress, infrastructure elements both onsite and nearby are moving forward as well. The facility is being built to service streetcars, and for that reason, the yard outside of the large carhouse is seeing the installation of poles to support the overhead catenary lines which will power the light rail vehicles.

View looking east across Leslie but slightly south, image by Craig White

View of the Leslie Barns construction site, looking southeast across Lake Shore, image by Craig White

For a better understanding of both the location and context of this transit facility, we turn to a preliminary site plan released in 2012, showing the layout of the project from above.

Leslie Barns site plan, image courtesy of the TTC

Beyond the facility to the north—and in effect of this past Monday—the Queen and Leslie intersection is now fully closed to both vehicles and transit until June 21 for underground utility upgrades and for streetcar track installation. This work is required to upgrade aging utilities, sewers, water-mains and install the new streetcars tracks which will connect the Leslie Barns to the existing streetcar network. Traffic and closures in the area are an issue for both TTC commuters through the area and for Leslieville's local business owners. Earlier this month, the TTC's Andy Byford and Brad Ross appeared in a short YouTube video explaining how the TTC would be mitigating the effect of the temporary closures.

We will return for an updated look at Leslie Barns in the coming months. In the meanwhile, additional information can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the project's Forum associated thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.