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With several planned developments around Yonge and Gerrard streets soaring 70 storeys or more, Downtown Toronto's vertical growth is evident here. Amongst those under construction is 8 Elm, a short walk north of Dundas station on Yonge Line 1. The site is in a quiet but central corner on the west side of Yonge Street, and heading for 69 storeys.
Developed by Reserve Properties and Capital Developments and designed by Arcadis — the Amsterdam-based global firm that acquired Toronto-based IBI Group in Fall 2022 — UrbanToronto previously highlighted the project's heritage preservation through panelization. Now, the site is drawing attention for early works for the installation of its tower crane.
Originally proposed without vehicular parking, the proposal was revised to include three levels of underground garage. It appears that the crane's early installation is part of efforts to work with the small lot area; the architectural drawings display a parking elevator system for vehicles to accommodate the lack of space.
In a bird's-eye view in June, the once-occupied sites of 348 and 352 Yonge Street have been cleared, while the site comes to life with a shoring machine positioned beside the preserved heritage walls of 8 Elm Street. I-beams and casing pipes await use nearby. Excavators onsite signal the onset of excavation work.
Dropping down to street level in July, we get a closer look at the earth-moving action on site. Excavation has begin near the Yonge and Elm intersection, while hoarding begins to obscure the view. In behind, the facade retention scaffold, characterized by dark green steel bracing, is visible. It safeguards the structural integrity of the heritage facade for 8 Elm Street. Meanwhile, the black and white cladding sections of the 30-storey Panda Condominiums looms in the background to the left.
As the summer sun blazes overhead on August 11, the excavation cools in the shade; the pit has deepened by a few meters, and timber lagging supports the excavated walls. Twin concrete pilings protrude from the pit floor, with rebar emanating from their tops. This signals the impending installation of a ground level staging slab where both materials and equipment can be stored during construction, as well as where a crane will be anchored.
In the next image below, from August 27, we look west from the Yonge Street sidewalk. This close-up reveals the crane's blue base foundation, atop a sprawling web of rebar that will provide the staging slab with structural support. Next up: a concrete pour to create the slab. Once it has cured, crane assembly can begin. Meanwhile, in the background a protective tarp covers the western end of the pit, while a mobile crane stands adjacent to the conserved heritage wall in the distance.
Looking north from Elm Street across the future staging slab, the crane base is still noticeable. Below the staging slab, the excavation can deepened — digging around the concrete pilings for the three planned levels of underground garage will eventually reveal that they continue deeper than that, anchored into the substrate below. Finally, In the far-right background, a crane arm juts out from the Concord Sky construction site, a nearby 85-storey development destined to eclipse even 8 Elm's impressive stature.
8 Elm will eventually ascend to 69 storeys/218.2m, and bring 819 residential units to the site. From its rare crane installation on a staging slab to its utilization of a tight lot, the project is poised to be a continuing topic of discussion in the coming months.
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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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.
