Cielo Condos, the 29-storey development at 300 Bloor Street West in the Annex, has made steady progress. The KPMB Architects-designed project from Collecdev simultaneously looks to the future while preserving sections of the heritage Bloor Street United Church at the central Toronto site.
In last month's update, we looked at the completed caisson drilling. Now, as this year draws to a close, notable progress has since been made with the excavation, heritage retention system, and tiebacks.
Looking south in the image below, the church's heritage wall, shrouded in protective Tyvek HomeWrap, stand as a backdrop. A telescopic handler is stationed in the left foreground, ready to transport materials across the muddy terrain. Near the south elevation, we see a tieback rig and excavation poised for strengthening the foundation before more digging continues.
The site's transformation continues amidst plenty of heavy machinery. In the centre, a telescopic handler, with its boom extended from right to left, works in tandem with an excavator outfitted with a grapple, the two machines transferring construction materials.
Below, a telescopic handler transports shoring posts as the bulk excavation for the parking levels progresses, with 30% completion to date. The first row of tiebacks on both the east and south elevations are fully installed and under stress, a necessary step before proceeding to the second row of tieback installations and the comprehensive staging slab work.
Groundwork for the temporary ground floor staging slab has entered the coordination phase. Formwork is slated to commence soon, with the internal buttressing of the heritage walls aligning with the ongoing installation of the retention system. A second row of tiebacks is expected to commence in 2024 once the staging slab is complete. Meanwhile, the retention system work for the 19-century George C. Pidgeon House at the north end of the lot is ongoing, with columns, beams, and braces being installed within its interior.
With a height of 99m and 284 residential units, Cielo is poised to become a notable addition to the Annex neighbourhood. Its location along Bloor will place residents within walking distance of both Spadina and St George subway stations.
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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