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Thanks to the development efforts of Hines, Toronto is seeing a collection of new projects introduced into the built form that bear the mark of Danish design. Working closely with Copenhagen-based architects 3XN on a mix of commercial and residential developments in different corners of the City, the duo’s most centrally located project at 64-86 Bathurst Street is beginning to take off. Climbing towards 17 storeys above the northeast corner of Bathurst and Wellington Streets, the mixed-use, mostly residential tower has begun to emerge from its three-storey podium and is growing fast.
Work on the site has been active for almost two years now, with demolition initially having gotten underway in August of 2021. Clearing the site of four low-rise industrial/commercial style buildings as well as two semi-detached Victoria-style houses, demolition work moved quickly and shoring was able to begin by September that year.
Excavation commenced in the following months and continued into Spring. We can see in the image, from May of 2022, that the project employed a mix of shoring methods, using a standard wooden pile and lagging shoring wall for parts of the eastern limit and the majority of the site’s south and west borders. A more robust caisson wall, however, was constructed along the northern limit and the upper half of the east side to provide more reliable support for the adjacent structures, including Toronto’s oldest bar, The Wheatsheaf, located immediately to the north.
By Summer of 2022, about a year after demolition began, the site bottomed out, and the first of two cranes was installed in August. The second would follow a month later, and with both cranes active, concrete work began to form the extent of the project’s foundations and below grade parking.
Jumping ahead to this week, the last seven months have seen the completion of the project’s below-grade footprint as well as the entirety of the concrete frame for the three-storey podium. Referring to the image below, we can see where the tower volume begins, separated from the podium by a step-back from the Bathurst Street frontage and the thicker concrete transfer slab seen at the fourth level. We can also make out the massing of the street-wall, which incorporates two subtle step-backs across the north-south spanning frontage.
Looking at the site from above, the L-shaped footprint can be seen more clearly, with the podium volume extending to the west, parallel to King Street. The step-backs of the tower will allow the project to enjoy a outdoor amenity terrace on the roof of the podium, which the renderings indicate will be planted extensively to create a park-like atmosphere.
The 3XN-designed tower will continue to rise for several more months as it moves closer towards its 17-storey target. Slated to offer 307 rental units as well as two floors of commercial office space in the podium plus grade-level retail, the project is intended as a finely-crafted addition to the edge of Toronto's Fashion District.
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: | Crossey Engineering, Hines, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, Live Patrol Inc., WZMH Architects |
