13K 
The arrival of heavy machinery is marking the start of construction for a new condominium development at Portland and Adelaide in Toronto’s Fashion District. The site of Minto Communities GTA's 123 Portland Street was cleared of its buildings and primed for construction earlier in the year as sales progressed for the 14-storey, Sweeny &Co Architects-designed boutique luxury project.
The first stage of construction, known as shoring, will involve the drilling of a ring of closely-spaced boreholes around the site perimeter, into which steel I beams are inserted. These "soldier piles" will form the vertical bracing for the underground retaining walls that will hold back the surrounding soil during the subsequent excavation phase. A view across the site shows some of the components in the caisson wall shoring system's construction, including the drilling rig, the steel piles, and cylindrical steel casings that will be used to form the concrete caisson wall.
Once the shoring walls are in place, excavation for the project's foundations and underground garage can start, heading down just over ten metres below street level to make space for three levels, set to house a total of 57 parking spaces, with 49 resident spaces and 8 visitor spaces.
Once construction wraps up, the building will introduce 117 new condominium units to the Fashion District. The project is promising a range of sustainability features, as well as a selection of amenity spaces appointed by interior designers U31.
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.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a new way you can track projects through the planning process on a daily basis. Sign up for a free trial of our New Development Insider here.
| Related Companies: | Live Patrol Inc., Minto Communities GTA, NAK Design Strategies, Sweeny &Co Architects Inc., Tarra Engineering & Structural Consultants Inc, U31 |
