Complex engineering, and a prominent location at University and Dundas in Downtown Toronto are keeping interest high for Amexon Development Corporation's Residences of 488 University Avenue. The Core Architects-designed development's ambitious plan to add 37 floors above an existing 18-storey office building is now coming to fruition, with a massive transfer slab having been created atop the office tower over the last months, and the first residential level now being formed above.

Residences of 488 University Avenue viewed from the west on Dundas, image by Craig White

Before the new tower floors begin to increase the building's skyline presence, the 18-level office tower has undergone an exterior transformation. The previous concrete grille facade was removed in 2015, stripping away the 1968-built tower's mid-century aesthetic, the installation of a perimeter bracing system to carry the new loads to the ground, and refacing the existing tower with a more energy-efficient curtainwall cladding system.

Residences of 488 University Avenue viewed from the southwest, image by Craig White

Views from a wider distance show the current progress on the first tower floor taking shape above the transfer slab. While the existing office tower and the tabletop-like structural reinforcement system were both constructed using steel, the transfer slab and the new levels above are being built with concrete.

New level taking shape atop 488 University, image by Craig White

Views from University Avenue show that curtainwall cladding has reached in places to the new transfer slab, starting to enclose the space between the former roofline and the transfer slab which will become amenity space for residents. Glazing of the condo floors above will provide aesthetic continuity between the old and the new.

Curtainwall glazing installation continues at 488 University, image by Forum contributor Benito

Down along the building's University Avenue frontage, a three-storey atrium space is extending the tower's east face much closer to the street. This space will eventually house a reconfigured and enclosed entrance to St. Patrick subway station. For now, the unfinished space offers a close up view of where the some of the reinforcement system's steel beams meet ground level. No interior finishes seen below other than the second floor windows have been completed as yet.

Inside the atrium 488 University, image by Craig White

Additional information and many renderings of the development can be found in our database file, 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.