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While a number of developers have had a hand in transforming Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) into a dense urban community at the end of TTC’s University Line 1, few have been as active in recent years as Menkes Developments. Partnering with QuadReal Property Group, the development team has been working towards the creation of their own city within VMC, known as Assembly Park.
While the building of the whole community will continue over years, a number of the buildings that will kick start this ambitious city-building project are already under construction, including Festival Condominiums, designed by Arcadis — the Amsterdam-based global firm that acquired Toronto-based IBI Group in Fall 2022. With each of the development’s four towers now rising above Highway 7, we flew our video drone over the site to provide a comprehensive update on the project’s construction progress. Check out the video below!
The first thing that stands out when viewing the project from the sky is that the first phase is now a clear contributor to the character of the VMC Skyline. Occupying the western half of the Assembly Park site, the pair of towers currently stand at about half of their complete heights, and will continue to rise until they reach counts of 48 and 59 storeys. As for the second phase, our aerial vantage point illuminates the complexities of forming a building’s podium levels, with massive floorplates and a variety of programming making for a technical process.
What this all looks like from ground level is a distinct presence above one of Vaughan’s major east-west thoroughfares, and a presence that is only going to grow. Viewing the site from the northeast corner in the image below, we can see traces of the curved podium coming together beneath the formwork. The building will resemble the first phase closely, with two more towers rising from the shared podium, hitting storey counts of 41 and 55 floors, and boasting a similar exterior expression.
Of course, the other exciting update on the project is the progress made installing the exterior envelope on the first phase towers. The first pieces of cladding, pictured in the image below, were applied to the northwestern tower in the first week of April, and over the last few months, have been installed thoroughly across the lower levels of both towers. From what we could tell in the video, the cladding now covers about 10 floors of each tower.
Zooming in on the podium’s unique cladding treatment, the detail shot below captures the first sections of the curtainwall glazing system employed as the finish here. The vertical fins are one of the defining elements of the podium expression, and will work together to form a fluid and undulating composition that animates the building’s street-level condition.
As Festival continues to rise, Menkes is looking forward to delivering the supply of nearly 2,500 units that the project encompasses, bringing the first wave of new residents to the Assembly Park community.
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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