The Church and Wellesley Village site of Plaza's 50 at Wellesley Station is abuzz with activity, as crews excavate the footprint of the 37-storey Quadrangle Architects-designed condominium tower. The Downtown Toronto site saw its first activity last year, when the project's presentation centre was cleared to make way for shoring activity. Earlier this year, the first signs of excavation were spotted, and in the months since, a large amount of earth has been removed from the site.

Site of 50 at Wellesley Station and Vox Condos, viewed from the north on Dundonald Street, image by Jack Landau

The excavation will form the project's three-level below-grade parking garage, which will house 163 spaces, including 117 spaces for residents of the development, with 46 parking spaces on the P1 level to become a new public parking lot for the Toronto Parking Authority.

Site of 50 at Wellesley Station viewed from the south on Wellesley, image by Jack Landau

50 at Wellesley Station's excavation is special in that it is being carried out in tandem with the neighbouring site of Cresford's Vox Condominiums immediately to the west, in similar fashion as the recent excavation of Plaza's Musée Condos and Harhay's oneeleven Condos. On the Vox side of the pit, a platform for construction staging has been built over the south portion of it. The columns holding up the platform plunge deep into the ground, so as excavation continues and the pit grows deeper, more of them will be revealed.

50 at Wellesley Station with the Vox pit in the background, image by Jack Landau

Excavation for 50 at Wellesley Station is expected to wrap up in the coming months, which will be followed by the installation of a crane in the base of the pit. Cranes for both towers will be installed at different heights to allow more flexibility during construction, but the movements of one will have to take into account the position of the other.

Rendering of 50 at Wellesley Station, image courtesy of Plaza

Additional information including renderings and several floor plans can be found in the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the conversation? Check out the associated Forum threads, or join in the discussion by leaving a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.