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With the start of construction approaching rapidly for phase one of The Residences at Central Park, developer Amexon has submitted their construction plan for the master-planned community to the City, outlining both the schedule and the construction approach in depth. Offering some interesting insights into how Amexon intends to manage the complex set of limitations associated with building on a site with extensive natural heritage, the construction plan details a phased approach to deliver the mixed-used community while protecting the ecosystems of the East Don Parkland ravine.
With the Central Park community comprised of 4 residential towers and a mid-rise designed by Core Architects, as well as two existing office buildings that will be updated, the process of bringing it all about is set to begin with the construction of Tower 1, the standalone 31-storey tower just to the south of the mid-rise office buildings. Before that can begin however, an extensive amount of provisional work is required to prepare the surrounding environment for the coming years of full scale construction, a process with the potential to cause significant disruption to the existing ecosystem is proper care were not taken.
The first step, according to Amexon’s construction management report, is to establish the required tree protection zones. With the site’s entire eastern and northern borders abutting the East Don Parkland ravine, the majority of the site’s surrounding area will see the installation of protective measures along the extent of the dotted black line drawn in the image below.
Based on the standard’s of Toronto’s Urban Forestry department, tree protection zones can be created in a number of ways that vary depending on the qualities of the natural landscape. The various requirements for the structures built to protect trees in designated protection zones are detailed in the diagram below.
This preliminary stage of work also requires the establishment of proper erosion and sediment control measures in order to mitigate the risks of contamination and habitat disruption in the Don River. Similar to tree protection zones, erosion control requires the construction of a robust fencing system that prevents both natural and construction related debris from entering the river. The required area for erosion control fencing is represented by the blue line in the image below.
Once these protective systems are in place, construction will be able to proceed, seeing the shoring and excavation of the majority of the site’s south end to make way for four levels of below grade parking. This process will be followed by the establishment of the community’s new road along the site’s western edge to create new vehicle access while limiting the presence of cars in the interior of the community. Once these two stages are complete, the focus will shift to the construction of Tower 1, delivering the community’s first of four 31-storey towers.
After Tower 1, it will be full steam ahead to deliver the rest of the structures, with the remaining towers holding the next spot in line. The other three 31-storey towers will all be part of the same construction phase, as each tower will rise from a shared 8-storey podium. This phase will hold great significance in the future community, housing most of the varied offerings of the extensive Park Club amenity program.
Finally, the last two phases of construction will see the retrofitting of the existing office buildings, and the construction of the mid-rise respectively. The latter stage will also see an extension of the four-level parking facility added on the north end of the site.
While no activity has been reported yet on the North York site thus far, it’s only a matter of time until the phased construction plan begins.
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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