Downtown Toronto’s Entertainment District is about as central as it gets in this City, with exceptional transit access, a diverse set of employment opportunities all within walking distance, and a nearly unlimited shopping, dining, and nightlife destinations. Naturally, every square inch of land in the area is under constant scrutiny to determine where the next developable site is, and as the selection grows more sparse, developers have gotten more creative. 

This was the case at the site of 30 Widmer Street, where just four years ago, a simple row of Victorian houses and a former gas station stood. Interestingly, if you return to the site today, you will see that the houses are still there, but you would be hard pressed to miss the pair of towers climbing skyward around them as the site is now the home of the Theatre District Residence & Riu Plaza Hotel. A Plaza development designed by BDP Quadrangle, since our last update the project has made strides in both height and cladding, and is entering the new year with much to look forward to.

West-facing view of the complete design of the Theatre District Residences & Riu Plaza Hotel, image from submission to City of Toronto

To chart the latest developments on the site of the 2-tower project, we begin with a look at where things were at in August. In the image below, we can see that both towers are standing at about half of their final heights of 48 and 49 storeys. The amber-coloured precast brick cladding was beginning to cover more of the lower volume of the south tower more extensively, while the silver aluminium finish of the upper towers is making progress of its own. 

Looking north at the south tower, pictured in August, image by UT Forum contributor AHK

Zooming in on the primary (east) elevation of the south tower about a month later, the crew had installed windows across four podium storeys and five tower storeys. As is common in tower construction, getting the lower portion of the building sealed while the upper sections are still being built allows the interior finishing crew to get started on those floors. 

Looking west at the primary elevation of the South tower with windows installed, image by UT Forum contributor Rascacielo

Fast forwarding to December, the vertical growth of the building is especially clear in the image below, looking east towards across Adelaide Street to the north tower. The concrete frame now stands roughly two thirds of its final height, and the same is true of the southern tower which can be seen tucked behind the larger building in the centre of the frame. 

Looking east at the north tower emerging above the buildings on Adelaide Street, image by UT Forum contributor Northern Light

As for the cladding efforts, the precast brick paneling spreads much more extensively across the two towers compared to where it was in August. The image below shows the extent of the progress specifically on the north tower, which now features brick panels on all elevations, and even some windows on the lower levels. The active nature of the site is also reflected in the image, as a precast panel can be seen in mid-installation just to the right of the hoist on the east elevation.

Looking southwest at the precast cladding on the north tower, image by UT Forum contributor ProjectEnd

With one more floor of cladding to install on the hotel portion of the north tower, the condo suites portion starts with the projecting balcony slabs above.

Viewing the north tower from the north, we get a better understanding of the brick finish in context, selected specifically to be complementary to the neighbouring heritage Commodore Building. 

The precast brick was selected for its resemblance to the neighbouring heritage building, image by UT Forum contributor ProjectEnd

Upon completion, the project will offer a mix of hotel accommodations and condo units in the north tower, while the south tower will be occupied exclusively by condos. With the new year getting underway, the topping off is now just months away. 

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this 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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UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.

Related Companies:

BDP Quadrangle, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Live Patrol Inc., Plaza, Rebar Enterprises Inc, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc.