In the couple months since our last constriction update at Great Gulf's Yonge & Rich, excavation progressed significantly for the 45-storey, architectsAlliance-designed condominium tower in Downtown Toronto. At the time of our last story, crews from Michael Bros. Excavation had just begun digging: the hole's a lot larger now!

East view into the pit of Yonge & Rich Condos, image by Edward Skira

The pit now extends several levels below the intersection of Victoria and Richmond streets, with crews and machinery now accessing the site via temporary stairs and a steep earthen ramp respectively. Once the two tower cranes are in, they will be able to hoist the construction machinery out of the pit, allowing for the excavation of the area currently occupied by the ramp.

Ramp at the site of Yonge & Rich Condos, image by Edward Skira

More insight about the project can be drawn from a video on the Vimeo page for TLogic, which is a virtual construction and design platform offered by builder Tucker Hi-Rise. The video uses 3D animation to show a detailed view of the project's construction process, from the shoring phase all the way to the completion of forming.

Excavation at the site of Yonge & Rich Condos, image by Edward Skira

Once complete, Yonge & Rich's conjoined tower volumes will contain a total of 669 residential units. The project's podium—clad in pre-weathered Corten steel—will provide a contextual bridge between the new structure and the fine-grained historic built form at the northeast corner of Victoria and Lombard. The project's public realm will benefit from a landscaping plan by DTAH that will help to tie the development in with the surrounding pedestrian environment.

Yonge & Rich Condominiums, image courtesy of Great Gulf

We will keep you updated as construction continues, and the project begins to make its mark on the streetscape. In the meantime, further information is available via our dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a comment in the space on this page, or join the ongoing conversation in our Forum, where regular photo updates are also posted.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Graziani + Corazza Architects, Great Gulf, Isotherm Engineering Ltd., McIntosh Perry, Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc., Quest Window Systems, TUCKER HIRISE Construction