While the City of Toronto is welcoming thousands of new residents each year, formerly industrial lands are often considered as premium places to be converted into new neighbourhoods. Such is the case for the 23-acre area spreading between Lappin & Landsdowne Avenues, Davenport Road and the Barrie rail line where 5 phases of development have been completed so far, the most recent being Electric City, located in the southwestern portion of the site. Development is now happening on the north side of Dupont, where Neudorfer Corporation and Channington Developments are erecting two condominium towers, known as Fuse & Fuse2 Condos.

Rendering of Fuse and Fuse 2 Condos, image courtesy of Neudorfer Corporation

Connected to a preserved and restored warehouse where television sets were still assembled not so long ago, both of the Barrett Architect Inc.-designed buildings are making their way above grade. As seen in the picture below, the west tower (Fuse 2) is still in the very early stages of construction but will soon catch up with the now at grade concrete slab connected to Dupont Street, that will eventually lead to the two-storey high parking lot rising along the CP rail corridor at the back of the site. The 139 parking spot will serve the clients of the development's retail component as well as visitors. Residents will have their own underground private parking spaces, although the demand for those is lower than expected, confirming the trend for a carless, transit-friendly generation of buyers. 

View of Fuse 2 and the concrete slab connecting Dupont Street to the future parking lot, picture by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet

It is directly above that same structure that will rise in coming weeks the 27 floors of Fuse, situated closer to Lansdowne Avenue to the east. As seen in the picture below, TMG Builders construction workers are pouring the ceiling of the second level of the parking lot that will form both the base of the tower and a suspended park for residents to enjoy. 

As seen from Lansdowne Avenue, the base of the west tower now stands two stories above ground, picture by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet

Workers getting the next pour of concrete ready, picture by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet

A picture taken from the north side of the rail corridor gives a complete view of the site, with the parking lot emerging from the trees in the bottom-left corner of the image, and the back of the heritage building awaiting its reconstruction.  

The site of Fuse and Fuse 2 Condos seen from the north side of the CP rail tracks, picture by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet

As announced a few months ago, Metro and Shoppers Drug Mart will occupy the main floor of the preserved brick structure. A look inside shows how much work is yet to be done before the first customers enjoy the convenience of the 24-hour grocery store, although a concrete slab was poured to form the second floor, soon to be converted into lofts. On the right side of the photo, we can see a pile of the original bricks that were taken down for construction purposes. They will be reused to patch other parts of the building, contributing to a high-quality restoration work. 

The former industrial building seen from the inside, picture by Nicolas Arnaud-Goddet

Finally, a Neudorfer Corporation spokesperson confirmed that 471 out of the total 576 units have been sold so far. The first residents are expected to move in Fuse in April 2016, while the Fuse 2 buyers will have to wait for the month of July. The retail sections of the development are not expected to be complete before next summer, and discussions are still ongoing to determine which bank will occupy the base of Fuse 2. An auto-share service may occupy some spaces in the public section of the parking structure.

Want to go by the site and check it out for yourself? The Fuse Condos sales office is at the corner of Dupont and Lansdowne, just north of Dollarama. Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file for Fuse and Fuse2, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.