This week's Throwback Thursday takes us back through almost six years of change in Toronto's Fashion District. Back in June 2015, a view southeast across Brant and Camden streets showed the ongoing demolition of a two-storey commercial building at 51 Camden Street. To the south of this demolition activity, a new condo development from Lamb Development Corp and Fortress Real Developments known as The Brant Park had just reached its final height of 11 storeys, as a white grid and glazing were in the process of defining the building's architects—Alliance-designed exterior.

Looking southeast to the corner of Brant and Camden streets, June, 2015, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

We caught this same view again in April, 2019 for a Throwback Thursday article, as construction of a new boutique hotel designed by Shim-Sutcliffe for the team of Alterra Group of CompaniesZinc Developments, and Prowinko was underway. At that time, the fifth floor of the then-unnamed hotel was taking shape, rising towards a 13-storey, 45-metre height. It has since revealed that the building will operate as the Ace Hotel Toronto. In the background, The Brant Park condo had long since wrapped up construction.

Looking southeast to the corner of Brant and Camden streets, April, 2019, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

It's been almost exactly two years since the above photo was captured, and the Ace Hotel is looking much closer to completion. The building is topped out and largely enclosed in red brick-embedded precast concrete panels, with windows of dark-tinted low-iron vision glazing with low-e coating, and a combination of bronze-tinted vision glass and insulated, back-painted, and shadow-boxed spandrel glass. The building will bring 130 luxury hotel suites to the neighbourhood upon opening later this year. 

Looking southeast to the corner of Brant and Camden streets, April, 2021, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto.

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Related Companies:  Alterra Group of Companies, architects—Alliance, Bluescape Construction Management, Egis, II BY IV DESIGN, ProWinko, Quest Window Systems, RJC Engineers