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Named for the cultural offerings and clubs that dominated the area in previous decades, Toronto's Entertainment District is now synonymous with condos and hotels. Quickly becoming one of the city's most densely populated areas over the last several years, two more towers are now gearing up to join the conglomeration as construction moves along on Plaza's Theatre District Residence and RIU Plaza Hotel complex at the southwest corner of Adelaide and Widmer streets.
The mixed-use complex will comprise a pair of BDP Quadrangle-designed 48 and 49-storey towers which will host new condominiums as well as the first Canadian location of RIU Plaza Hotels. Construction at the site has been active since March, 2019 when drilling rigs began to form the site's below-grade shoring system. Excavation followed through the end of 2019, with a tower crane installed at the base of the pit in early 2020. Work on this site and many others would see pauses and slowdowns in progress due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2020, though work would reach a milestone back in November, when the complex's ground floor was beginning to be formed.
Above-grade progress in the months since has been gradual, as crews work to form the one-off floor plates of the eight-storey podiums for the towers above. Work has reached the fifth floor of the north tower's podium over Adelaide, while the fourth floor is formed for the base of the south tower. The podium volumes split above the third floor, so upcoming progress on the south podium will distinguish the two bases into twin volumes. The forming of the podium levels will accelerate in the coming months as adjacent rooftops are cleared and work moves on to the reduced floor plate sizes and repeating layouts of the towers.
Due to slightly differing floor configurations, the 48 and 49-storey towers will both reach heights of just over 156 metres. The 49-storey south tower will exclusively host condominium units, with 424 spread across the building. The 48-storey north tower—marketed as Encore at Theatre District—includes 131 condo units on the 25 upper floors while the 353-room RIU Plaza Hotel takes up the 23 floors below.
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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| Related Companies: | BDP Quadrangle, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Live Patrol Inc., Plaza, Rebar Enterprises Inc, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc. |
