A lot has been going on at the site of Plaza's Bijou on Bloor in Bloor West Village, just west of Jane subway station in Toronto's West End. Since our last story on the project back in September, demolition at the site is nearing its end, most recently seeing the shuttered Humber Cinema almost fully taken down.

In mid-September, the red brick theatre was still standing, but it was being dismantled from the inside out, with debris being taken away from the site. 

Theatre being dismantled from the inside out in September, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

A couple weeks later, crews started to fill and level the ground on the already cleared west side of the site, with many pieces of GFL equipment and workers always there. Crews used gravel fill to complete the levelling, which continued into mid-October. 

Gravel fill being applied to level the site in October, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

Shortly after, a mobile crane was brought in to hoist scaffolding into place along the Bloor Street sidewalk in front of the cinema, preparing for its impending demolition.

Machinery brought to the site, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

Days later, a shoring rig appeared at the site, and shoring began. This was followed by the top levels of the theatre starting to be dismantled in early November. 

Upper levels of the theatre beginning to be dismantled in early November, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

With only part of the steel structure of the former theatre remaining by mid-December, dump trucks arrived at the site to remove the debris.

Dump trucks lined up to remove debris from the site, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

As of late-December, only the ground level and basement steel skeleton remained of the cinema, while the west side of the site has been levelled and compacted. We now wait for the demolition to be completed in the coming weeks. Once excavation begins, a pit will be dug that will make room for the building's 3-level underground garage.

Final remnants of the theatre as of late-December, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ottawan

Upon completion, the BDP Quadrangle-designed condominium development will be comprised of 20% retail and 80% residential use, housing a total of 195 condo suites. The project is scheduled for completion in 2025.

Bijou on Bloor, image courtesy of Plaza

More information on the development will come soon, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, 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, Counterpoint Engineering, Live Patrol Inc., Myles Burke Architectural Models, NAK Design Strategies, Patton Design Studio, Plaza, Rebar Enterprises Inc