10K 
The redevelopment of the largest remaining surface parking lot on the east side of Downtown Toronto has been progressing since early 2017. Construction is now wrapping up for the first phase of the multi-tower 88 Queen East community—a 27-storey condominium tower from St Thomas Developments known as 88 North—and the early stages of work are now beginning for the next phase, which will bring a pair of purpose-built rental towers to the interior of the site.
Placed between the nearly complete 88 North along Shuter Street and the future 51-storey condominium tower along Queen Street, the second phase of the community will include a pair of mid-block rental towers from Fitzrovia Real Estate set to rise 27 and 28 storeys. The pair of towers—designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects with Architects of Record Turner Fleischer—are set to house a combined total of 550 rental apartments upon their expected completion date in mid-2022.
The first signs of construction activity for the new phase were spotted in early-December, when the section of surface parking immediately south of 88 North was closed and fenced off. By the middle of December, a drilling rig and an excavator had appeared on site, gearing up to begin work on the site’s shoring system. Shoring work has now been ongoing for over a month, with the single rig boring holes around the site’s perimeter to create the pile and lagging shoring system being employed.
A more recent aerial view of the site shows that the drilling rig has successfully drilled boreholes around the north, east, and west sides of the site, allowing the first couple metres of earth to be excavated from the site. The initial digging is being followed by lagging between dropped between piles to create the shoring walls, which will hold back the surrounding soil as the pit grows deeper.
In the meantime, the remainder of the parking lot has now been closed to the public, with the area where the last phase 51-storey condo is set to rise now functioning as staging ground for the construction of the rental towers.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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