Fuelled by surging land values and a short supply of student housing, urban renewal is coming to Toronto's Jarvis and Dundas intersection. Following in the footsteps of Great Gulf Homes' recently-built Pace Condos standing 42 storeys over the southwest corner of the Jarvis/Dundas intersection, a pair of towering condominiums will soon rise over two of the intersection's three remaining corners; Gupta Group's Dundas Square Gardens on the northeast corner, and CentreCourt's Grid Condos on the southeast corner.

L: Dundas Square Gardens, image courtesy of Gupta Group, R: Grid Condos, image courtesy of CentreCourt

Construction of the Gupta Group's 45-storey, Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed Dundas Square Gardens officially started back in October 2015, when a ceremonial ground breaking ceremony was held in front of the Hilton Garden Inn which previously occupied the site.

Aerial view of the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel prior to demolition, image by Craig White

A few months later, the last guests checked out and the hotel closed its doors for good, priming the building for the start of demolition.

Hotel demolition as seen from the east in August, image by Forum contributor skycandy

As demolition of the former hotel progressed in August, demolition prep work began across the street at the site of CentreCourt's Grid Condos, a 50-storey, Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed condo tower. Prior to the start of demolition, the Grid Condos site was occupied by a row of low-rise commercial buildings at 175 through 189 Dundas Street East  (including a Tim Hortons at the corner), a converted home at 191 Dundas Street East, and another commercial building to the rear at 235 Jarvis.

Hoarding at site of Grid Condos in mid-August, image by Sean Marshall

By late-August, demolition had completely transformed the intersection, with all but a portion of the former hotel's south facade demolished on the Dundas Square Gardens site. Across the street, demolition of the Grid Condos site was well underway with the removal of much of 235 Jarvis.

North view over the Grid Condos and Dundas Square Gardens sites, August 24, image by Sean Marshall

By the afternoon of August 27th, demolition of the retail block had begun on the Grid Condos site, starting with the former Tim Hortons. 

Former Tim Horton's coming down on August 27th, image by Sean Marshall

That same evening, Forum contributor stjames2queenwest captured what are the last images we have seen of the former Hilton Garden Inn hotel. In them a hydraulic arm removes concrete and steel from the last portion of the structure at the Dundas/Jarvis corner, while at the same time a portable crane holds a mesh screen between the demolition and Dundas Street to protect passersby from any debris.

Demolition of the final portion of the former hotel, image by Forum contributor stjames2queenwest

As of this past Sunday, demolition of the hotel had been completed, with just a small amount of twisted metal still on site awaiting recycling. 

Former site of the Hilton Garden Inn hotel, image by Sean Marshall

Demolition work continues meanwhile on the site of Grid Condos, with work expected to wrap up shortly. 

Demolition on Grid Condos site as seen on Sept 11, 2016, image by Sean Marshall

The next step for both projects will be the shoring work, followed by the excavation of the pit. Once complete, Dundas Square Garden will bring 978 condominium units to the area, while Grid Condos will contribute an additional 563 units. Expect most suites to house Ryerson students.

Additional information and renderings of these two projects can be found in their respective dataBase files, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.