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On just about everyone's radar right now is The Well, Toronto's largest private construction project. Located downtown at Front Street and Spadina Avenue, the mixed-use development is comprised of a 36-storey office tower, residential rental and condo buildings of 14 through 46 storeys, all rising above a major retail base.
Since our last update on the project in October, a lot has gone on at the site. As recently as last week, the Well's 36-storey, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed office tower — being built for Allied REIT and RioCan REIT at the eastern end of the site — saw its office lobby finishes advance significantly over what was there in the Fall, with the marble slabs that were previously sitting on slats now adhered to the interior walls.
Just west of the office tower along Front Street are a group of three architects—Alliance-designed residential towers that rise from commercial podiums. The easternmost podium, shared with the office tower, has recently seen quite a number of terra cotta fins installed, breaking up the green-glass window wall by adding colour and texture that ties in with Toronto's heritage red brick Victorian buildings.
Developed for RioCan Living and Woodbourne Canada Management, the easternmost residential tower on Front Street will have rental apartments. The tallest of the residential buildings, it will stand 46 storeys when completed. As it continues to rise, the glazing a few floors behind. While the south face will be all windows, the east and west sides sport staggered balconies, now having their glass installed too, with progress about halfway up the structure.
West of the 46-storey tower, a 38-storey Tridel condo tower is still under construction, and has risen to a comparable height of its neighbour, also appearing to be half-glazed. Meanwhile, the westernmost 22-storey Tridel condo right next door has reached its 16th level – with just one level of glazing seen so far.
Three Wallman Architects-designed terraced residential buildings are also under construction, this trio to the north along Wellington Street. Two of these are 16-storey rentals for RioCan Living and Woodbourne, with the third being a 14-storey Tridel condominium. These buildings have been undergoing cladding and glazing since our last update, with the two rentals further along. Both hand laid bricks and brick-embedded precast panelling is being applied to the buildings, with it just having started on the condo at the west end.
All of the buildings are collected around a BDP-designed multi-level retail galleria that sweeps through the centre of the site, sheltered by a glazed steel canopy. With the skylight tiles currently laden with snow, the interior looks darker than it will when completed, when a snow-melting system will be in operation. This space will be lined with retail and dining venues. To the right of the image below, the slim charcoal brick panels now line the walkways while the framework for connecting bridges cross from one side to the other.
Once completed, the massive project will be home to a combined 287,640m² of space. Besides residences and offices, The Well will offer a unique mix of shops, restaurants, services, and a fresh food market.
More information on this 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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