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The former Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC) site at King Street West and Charlotte Street has seen many changes over the last few months, gearing up to welcome a 49-storey, BDP Quadrangle-designed condominium tower from Plaza, named for its address at 400 King Street West.
To recap the work that has gone on at the site over the last few months, at the beginning of March 2022, scaffolding and hoarding went up around the existing MEC building.
Just days later, demolition began at the northwest corner of the site.
By the middle of the month, demolition of the existing building was about halfway completed.
By mid April, the entire site had been levelled, with just rubble from the demo left to be cleared out.
Most of the site had been cleared away by early May, with just the edges of the former ground level left to be taken apart and removed from the site.
This was completed and cleared by late June, with the site ready for shoring to commence by early July.
Normally, when an existing structure is demolished to make way for a new development – especially in the city's downtown area – all remnants of the former structure are removed, the site is backfilled as required, and new shoring and excavation are done right up to the perimeter lot lines.
In the case of 400 King West, UrbanToronto Forum contributor AHK speculates that, "it looks like the basement walls from the former MEC building are to be retained and incorporated into the new building, with shoring and excavation to take place within the perimeter of the existing walls."
"Tie backs," they continued, "have been installed all the way around in the existing basement walls. It probably helps that the former MEC building was basically lot line to lot line in the first place."
AHK also managed to snap a shot of the tie back machine sitting in the south-east corner of the former MEC's basement...
...as well as catch a worker cutting off the protruding stubs of the most recently installed tie backs with a skilsaw.
Upon its completion, 400 King West will feature a brick-clad base meant to compliment nearby heritage buildings, a shaft with windows framed by white piers that emphasize the tower's height amongst the area's cluster of high-rises, and finally, a tinted crown to cap off the building.
The condo will bring a total of 612 units to the area, starting at 600ft² in area. Residents will also be able to enjoy a set of amenities including a fitness centre, a party room, and a swimming pool.
We will continue to follow progress on the development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, 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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