At the southeast corner of Duncan and Adelaide streets in Toronto's Entertainment District is Westbank Corp and Allied Properties REIT's 19 Duncan. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the tower has been on the rise since construction commenced in mid-2018, and has recently reached the 39th of its 58 levels. Particularly exciting of late, though, is that a section of the building's restored heritage facade has recently been revealed. 

At its base, the building includes the preserved south and west facades of the 1908-built Southam Press Building, with the complex's heritage elements being handled by specialists ERA Architects. When construction began, the weathered heritage structure — with windows removed — looked like this:

Looking southeast to 19 Duncan's heritage base in 2021, image by Forum contributor Red Mars

The heritage walls have been hidden behind a white tarp-covered scaffold for a couple years or so while construction and restoration work has advanced on the lower levels and has continued upwards. Now, one section of tarp and scaffold has been removed… 

The single heritage section that has been revealed, image by UT Forum contributor Blixtein

…and we have to say, it's looking pretty good! 

Up-close shot of restored heritage facade, image by UT Forum contributor Blixtein

Taking a step back to get a full view of the tower, we can see that the podium glazing has been completed, while the glazing and cladding work on the tower portion continues to follow upwards as forming work takes the building ever higher above Adelaide Street. 

19 Duncan continues to rise to 58 storeys as cladding and glazing follow, image by UT Forum contributor Blixtein

The podium floors will be the new Toronto home of news media giant Thomson Reuters. The tower levels that rise above it will house purpose-built rental residential units, with the exception of levels 52 through 55 which are reserved for a collection of 40 hotel suites. Upon completion, some retail and restaurant spaces will also open on the ground level.

Looking south to 19 Duncan, image via submission to City of Toronto

UrbanToronto will continue to follow updates for this development, 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:

Hariri Pontarini Architects, Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc., Rebar Enterprises Inc