Keeping an eye on the development taking place in the GTA’s rapidly growing urban centres, Pickering has come forward as an emerging node with a number of projects close to the GO station now in the process of delivering greater density. One of the projects leading the way on that front is Universal City, a master-planned community from Chestnut Hill Developments that will eventually comprise seven residential towers just to the east of the GO Station.

With the project’s first tower already occupying and the second tower topping off, we took our drone out to Pickering for a flyover and catch up with the latest work taking place on the expansive site.

For the most part, our video captures the extent of the progress being made on the construction of the first phase, which consists of three different towers, dubbed UC1, UC2, and UC3. Of this set, UC1 was the first to get started, and the first to be completed. The 17-storey tower saw finishing work wrap up earlier this year and was welcoming its first occupants before the end of the 2022. 

UC2 got its start not long after UC1, but with a storey count of 28, concrete forming for this one has just reached its goal in the last few weeks. Referring to the image below, taken from our drone video, we can see that UC2 (left) has topped off. The exterior envelope is also making good progress, with only seven floors left to be clad before the tower is fully sealed, while much work still needs to be carried out inside. 

Looking east at UC2 (left) and UC1 (right), image by Edward Skira

As for UC3 — seen at the bottom of the video below the blue crane — it still has a long way to come before phase one can be marked complete. The building will be the tallest of the first phase towers at 31 storeys, and will hold the title of the tallest building in Pickering until the realization of phases two and three, which are both set to exceed that number. Being constructed with a single crane, UC3 is nearly through the forming of its podium levels, and should see a significant amount of vertical growth before the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, the wider site remains cleared and ready for work to begin on the next phases, which will see the construction of The Grand and Universal and Universal City East, followed by phase three's UC4 and UC5. 

looking northwest at the complete concept of the master-planned Universal City, image from submission to City of Pickering

UrbanToronto will be sharing more video drone content in the coming months, adding another dimension to our ongoing coverage of development in the GTA. If you'd like to learn more about the Universal City project, you can visit the Database files linked below. You can also join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum threads 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.

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