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Exactly one year since First Gulf and HOOPP broke ground on their new office tower in Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood, site clearing continues to prepare the Adelaide Street East and Ontario Street site of The Shift. This Sweeny &Co Architects-designed office tower will rise 23 storeys from behind a preserved heritage facade, and will eventually bring 460,000 square feet of office space and 4,000 jobs to the neighbourhood.
Before drilling rigs can begin installation of an earth retention-shoring system to support excavation, crews are demolishing most of the concrete and steel frame behind the Art Deco envelop on a building that, among other uses, once housed the failed Sun Network News television station. As crews carefully gut and demolish sections of the building, original Art Deco details are being preserved behind protective membranes, with their preservation and incorporation into the new project being overseen by heritage specialists ERA Architects.
Views into the old building show that all interior walls, electrical, and plumbing has been removed, and demolition is now progressing on the building’s structural elements. While the west and north facades are being preserved in-situ, a portion of the recently-demolished east facade will be reconstructed from the original bricks.
Tenants are already signed on to occupy portions of the building, with co-working firm “Spaces” occupying 105,000 ft² across six floors, including a 2,200 ft² terrace, while Think Research will take up 88,000 ft² of space across four floors.
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 below.
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