Major new office developments are extending the boundaries of Toronto's Financial District. Like the CIBC SQUARE development happening in the South Core, Cadillac Fairview's 160 Front Street West is bringing a new office tower to Simcoe and Front, expanding the Financial District to the southwest. The new 46-storey office tower, designed by AS+GG Architecture working with B+H Architects, celebrated its ground breaking three months ago, and crews have been busy ever since. 

Demolition at 160 Front, image by Forum contributor parthent

At the time of the April ground breaking, shoring had begun and demolition was already in the process of carefully clearing a six-storey commercial warehouse building, the south wall of which will be incorporated into the new tower. Since then, installing shoring piles appears to have wrapped up, allowing for the start of excavation. During this phase of work, the ground will be dug out to a depth of four storeys.

Excavation at 160 Front, image by Forum contributor parthent

The heritage work has also made noticeable progress since the ground breaking. The heritage facade's lower floors are being preserved and restored in-situ, with the help of a steel retention frame resting on drilled concrete caissons south of the facade. 

Demolition at 160 Front, image by Forum contributor parthent

The upper four levels are being carefully panelized and dismantled during construction, and will eventually be reinstalled above the in-situ heritage preservation late in the construction progresses. A view captured on Front Street several blocks to the east shows a flatbed truck hauling away panelized brick sections to be conserved off-site until needed again.

Brick sections from 160 Front, image by Forum contributor skycandy

160 Front West is expected to open its doors in the fall of 2022. The 1.2 million square feet of office space—100% leased before construction began—will incorporate a number of efficiency measures to achieve LEED® Platinum and WELL Building Standard® certifications, while also meeting the standards of Cadillac Fairview's Green at Work® sustainability program.

160 Front West, image courtesy of Cadillac Fairview

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.

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