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45 Strachan, a high-rise development that will add one of Toronto’s fastest growing urban canyons, is now officially on the rise, after below grade formwork was completed late last year. As construction continues on the 39-storey BentallGreenOak rental development, the project’s promise of delivering 433 new rental units while adding a new member to the class of young towers lining Garrison Point is quickly becoming a reality.
The earliest stages of work on the Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed development date back to the summer of 2018, when demolition began to clear the West Toronto site ahead of shoring. Located immediately east of Liberty Village at the northeast corner of Strachan Avenue and Ordnance Street, the site was previously home to a 2-storey industrial building. Once the site received a green light for demolition, the existing building was swiftly brought down, reduced to rubble in just over a month’s time.
Over the next while, the process of shoring picked up, followed by excavation which commenced shortly after. The two tasks were carried out simultaneously, creating a pit deep enough to accommodate the development’s four levels of underground parking while breaking through some extensive layers of bedrock in the process.
The next time the project saw a notable milestone was in January of 2022, when the tower crane was installed. By February, the makings of the project’s lowest parking levels could be seen from an aerial view, and would continue to evolve over the course of the year.
Now just over a year later, we are starting to see some of the first ground level changes in the site, as the building’s formwork emerges above grade. Captured in an image from late January, we can see that the building’s grade level slab has been poured and set, and the various columns and walls that will hold the second floor aloft all appear surrounded by construction equipment as well. We can also see that a concrete pump (in blue and white) has now joined the lone tower crane, adding another piece of heavy machinery to the site.
The tower will feature a total of six podium floors, occupying the majority of the site area before step-backs on all sides reveal the tower above. The tower differentiates formally from the podium in many ways, dropping the orthogonal profile in favour of a hybrid massing that features a curved-edge volume climbing the full 39 storeys, and a more angular volume that terminates about three quarters of the way up.
Upon completion, 45 Strachan will complete an impressive assembly of towers on the east side of Strachan Avenue, all sharing one common trait: they were designed by Hariri Pontarini. The prominent Toronto architecture firm has successfully worked with several developers to deliver a master-planned community of sorts, designing a suite of towers that respond to each other formally while remaining distinct developments in their own right.
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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| Related Companies: | BentallGreenOak, Bousfields, CCxA, Egis, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc. |
