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At peak efficiency, Toronto developers have multiple projects on the go, all at different stages; when one project ends, another is mid-construction, another is beginning construction, and more in the planning. This has been the model for developer Fieldgate Urban, where two of their current mid-rise construction projects will bring a boost in density to the main streets they are being built on, while delivering new retail at grade to bolster the walkable city.
At one site, construction processes are entering the final stages in Leslieville at the 6-storey The Poet Condominiums, while on the other side of town in Little Portugal, the construction of the 8-storey The Twelve Hundred is just beginning to hit its stride.
Beginning with a check-in on The Poet in Leslieville, the TACT Architecture-designed mid-rise was topped off in the Summer of 2022, and has been working through the process of exterior finishing for the last several months. The building’s two-tone precast concrete cladding appears to be successfully installed across the northern volume fronting Queen Street East, while the southern volume is still awaiting the application of the wood-patterned aluminum cladding that will seal much of the building’s back half.
Viewing the primary (north) elevation straight on, we can see that the grade level finishes, for what will eventually be the lobby/entrance on the left and a retail unit on the right, are being applied; framing for the floor-to-ceiling windows is in place with a handful of windows also installed. The same wood-patterned aluminum cladding from the southern volume will cover the grade-level columns, currently just exposed concrete in the photo below.
On the site of The Twelve Hundred in Little Portugal, the IBI Group-designed project has transformed from a hole in the ground to a full scale construction site. With shoring completed in the late Fall, the project’s lone tower crane was assembled before the end of 2022. Since the start of the new year, concrete work has been the big story, as the crew takes on the important task of creating the building’s foundations.
Zooming in on the site, we can see that a concrete foundation wall has been formed on the site’s northern edge on the right side of the photo, while in the centre, several columns now stand. We can also see the curved outline of where the parking ramp will be in the lower left portion of the below image. Still to come is a slab for the parking level. Once the slab and all the walls and columns are in for P1, work can begin on the grade level slab.
Interestingly, both of these projects were born out of the acquisition of properties formerly occupied by The Beer Store retail locations, which typically included a fair bit of surface parking, plus the one store. Their redevelopment across the city represents a much needed form of residential intensification at an appropriate scale. With 115 total units offered in The Twelve Hundred, and 69 offered at The Poet, the projects will be welcome additions to their respective neighbourhoods.
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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