This week's Throwback Thursday takes us back approximately eight years, comparing two very different views across Spadina and Front in Downtown Toronto. In February, 2012, the intersection's northwest corner was home to the Toyota on Front auto dealership, with the then-headquarters of news giant The Globe and Mail located to the immediate west on Front Street. At the time, the site was the planned home of a replacement headquarters for the newspaper, a plan which was never realized, with the whole block being sold off to a team of developers in November 2012.

Looking northwest from Spadina and Front, February 2012, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

The Globe and Mail eventually moved in a new head office in 2017, a few kilometres to the east at King and Parliament. Now, the site of their former headquarters and adjacent auto dealership is the largest construction site in Toronto. Known as The Well, it is being developed by RioCan REITAllied Properties REITDiamond CorpTridel, and Woodbourne Canada Management, the seven-building complex features its most prominent building—a 36-storey office tower—right at the intersection where the dealership once stood. A view captured in late March, 2020, shows the rising office tower's prominent impact on the intersection.

Looking northwest from Spadina and Front, March 2020, image by Forum contributor drum118

Once the development is complete, the Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed office tower for Allied and RioCan will be accompanied by other buildings and spaces in the massive complex. Other architects working on portions of the 3.2 hectare site include architectsAllianceWallman Architects, and BDPAdamson Associates Architects are Architect of Record for the whole site.

Looking northwest to The Well, image courtesy of RioCan REIT

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto. In the meantime, you can submit your own Throwback Thursday comparisons in our dedicated Forum thread for your chance to be featured in next week's edition.

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Related Companies:  Adamson Associates Architects, ANTAMEX, architects—Alliance, ASSA ABLOY Canada Ltd., Bass Installation, BDP Quadrangle, BVGlazing Systems, CCxA, Diamond Schmitt Architects, Doka Canada Ltd./Ltee, EQ Building Performance Inc., Figure3, First Gulf, Hariri Pontarini Architects, II BY IV DESIGN, Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Knightsbridge, Kramer Design Associates Limited, Live Patrol Inc., LiveRoof Ontario Inc, LRI Engineering Inc., Mulvey & Banani, New Release Condo, Ontario Panelization, Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc., Pliteq, Precise ParkLink, Rebar Enterprises Inc, RioCan REIT, RJC Engineers, The Fence People, Tridel, Trillium Architectural Products, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc., Urban Strategies Inc., Vortex Fire Consulting Inc.