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A major addition will soon rise at the west end of the 1974-built LuCliff Place at Gerrard and Elizabeth streets in Downtown Toronto, with construction already well underway for the Kingsett Capital-led, Quadrangle-designed development. The plan adds 32-storeys of new residences to the west end of existing 24-storey apartment building, while adding new levels above the existing building.
Construction commenced in late 2017 with Priestly Demolition removing a two-storey westerly extension of the complex, and of the west end of the five-level garage below it.
Once the P1 level had been painstakingly removed, one chunk of reinforced concrete at a time, a drilling rig installed tiebacks around the perimeter walls. The process was then repeated with the removal of the remaining underground parking levels and the drilling of additional tiebacks. Once all floors were gone, a massive 100,000 lb rig drilled 49 caissons into the base of the pit to support the structural load of the new tower. Most recently, the first of two tower cranes was erected this past weekend in the base of the pit.
Below, a time-lapse video produced by PCL Constructors Canada summarizes the last several months of construction since work moved below grade and out of the public eye.
While work on the addition proceeds, plenty is going on behind the scenes to prepare the existing apartment tower for its upcoming six-storey overbuild. Carbon fibre reinforcement is being installed underground and above grade in selected areas to support the load of the 6-level addition, while steel grillage will be installed atop the existing tower's roof to support the weight of the second tower crane, planned for installation early in June.
Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, 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.
