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In the Entertainment District of Downtown Toronto, 400 King Street West has emerged from its below-grade construction work to begin its journey in to the air. Located at the northeast corner of King and Charlotte streets, east of Spadina Avenue, the project from Plaza is designed by BDP Quadrangle.
Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) closed its iconic store here nearly four years ago, and moved north to Queen Street, with Plaza buying the prime Entertainment District property to build a 48-storey mixed-use condominium. With excavation having wrapped early this year and the subsequent installation of a tower crane, the recent months here have been a hive of construction activity.
A month after our last update, the staging platform in the southwest corner, designed for temporarily storing construction materials until needed, now showcases concrete pillars around its solid steel piles. An excavator perches atop the platform, while across from it in the southeast corner, forms for an underground level await the laying of rebar before the concrete is poured.
Shifting our gaze for a closer inspection, crew members place liquid concrete, directing the red pump arm to where it is needed.
By late July, attention is drawn to the construction site at ground level, marked in particular by forms for columns, with — in the foreground at left — rebar waiting to be attached to columns for the next level after the floor slab is eventually poured. The 400 King West site juxtaposes with the nearly topped-off Maverick in the background, its crane on the skyline.
A significant milestone was captured on August 5th, with the first forms rising above ground, seen looking northwest across King Street as tightly packed cages of rebar at this point.
An aerial perspective looking south offers a layered insight into the progress, transitioning from the subterranean depths to the nascent structure that is beginning to take shape above the ground. Work has progressed to the height of the storage platform at right, while to the left a white concrete layer stands out below construction materials.
Lastly, the late-day sun casts a warm glow over the city, catching the Hyatt Regency Toronto at 370 King Street West, behind 400 King West's crane. Once a landmark of the neighbourhood, the Hyatt now stands surrounded by much taller buildings. At 400 King, dense rebar awaits the placement of liquid concrete for the west end of the ground floor slab as well as the ramp leading to its three levels of underground parking.
Upon completion, 400 King West's 48 storeys will stand 157.37m tall and house 612 residential units.
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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