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The vacant site of Honest Ed's is turning heads at Toronto's Bathurst and Bloor intersection following the iconic retailer's recent demolition. The stored monument to kitsch was just one of many buildings on the over 200,000 ft² footprint to become a multi-tower rental and retail community. Mirvish Village, retaining the name of the Markham Street shops it will incorporate, is being remade by Westbank. Selective demolition of smaller structures continues to the south and west, with many to be maintained and restored.
Along Bloor just west of Markham Street and the former Honest Ed's site, a two-storey building that used to contain a karaoke bar has been demolished. The abutting three-storey structure at the corner will have its heritage facade saved, while the structure behind will come down to be replaced by a modern one.
To the south, work continues along both sides of Markham Street, where preserved Victorian residential architecture will mingle with contemporary buildings and new public spaces.
The scope of the demolition activity is illustrated in a construction diagram from builder EllisDon, included below. This colour-coded diagram shows in light green which buildings are being demolished, and which buildings or facades are being incorporated into the new development by heritage specialists ERA Architects. You can expand the image by clicking on it for a closer look at the legend.
Following demolition, there will be months of work involved to facilitate the rise of the development's 13, 19, 24, 25, and 26-storey towers, designed by Henriquez Partners Architects of Vancouver with Toronto-based Architect of Record Diamond Schmitt. This phase of work will be followed by pre-excavation works including basement removals, backfilling, shoring and de-watering. A diagram outlining this phase indicates that caisson wall shoring system will be used, with the site's east side and northwest quadrant to be shored separately.
Once shoring has wrapped up, a crane raising will mark the start of forming for the site's five-level underground parking garage. At the peak of activity, five tower cranes will operate on the site simultaneously. Early-occupancy plans would see the three tallest towers continue construction as rental occupancy begins for the two shorter towers and smaller buildings to the south and west.
Additional information and renderings of the project can be found in our Mirvish Village database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
