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The United BLDG is about to begin its rise behind the tallest heritage wall retention project in North America. On its way to a final floor count of 52 storeys, the project by Davpart is saving the storied walls of the Maclean Publishing Company/Maclean-Hunter building, an icon of Toronto’s rich publishing heritage on the northeast corner of University Avenue at Dundas Street. Designed by B+H Architects with the heritage conservation design by ERA Architects, the project has now welcomed its first crane.
Since our last update in June, the excavation has progressed from one-and-a-half storeys deep to the four-storey depth necessary for the new parking structure below the building. Below in September before the crane was installed, we look southwest from the corner of Centre and Edward streets towards the site. Here, the heritage walls are supported by the original steel structure of the older buildings, retained to the depth of one set of columns. The C-shaped outline stands along all four of the site's street frontages, except for the block's northeast corner where two smaller buildings were completely removed.
Looking down into the excavation site, we get a look at the new steel trusses that were installed below the existing structure of the heritage section. The newer steel includes both the vertical and horizontal members encrusted in a layer of dirt, as well as the diagonal members above. The method of construction here can be ascertained from that composition: the dirt encrusted members were initially built into the earth below the building, either inserted into shafts drilled into the ground (the vertical members), or laid into the lowest original slab level of the original building. While the existing steel structure went straight down to that lowest slab level, the lowest level of columns were gradually removed and replaced by the diagonal (canted) members, transferring the load down to the new dirt-encrusted steel members. As the excavation as progressed downwards and the substrate removed from beneath the old foundations, the new steel that was built into the surrounding earth has been revealed, leaving some of the bits of rock and dirt still encrusted on the new steel.
Catching up with work in December in the photograph below, we are looking north to the construction site from a high vantage point, where a tower crane has now been erected behind the walls near the northwest corner of the pit, indicating that a new phase in the development is beginning.
Coming back to grade for a southwest perspective, we see the tower crane in action, hoisting materials off the bed of a truck, partially obscured by the hoarding emblazoned with the project’s branding.
A westward view from Dundas Street West shows the retained historic facade to the left, with much of its original stonework removed for cleaning at the moment. A future pedestrian arcade at grade along Dundas Street will involve removal of the second floor slab seen in the furthest of the archways to the left, creating a sheltered open-air walkway beside the street while adding considerable new space for pedestrians. To the right, we can observe the pile and lagging shoring walls, with its steel columns (piles) and wooden cross-bracing (lagging), which keeps the surrounding substrate from caving into the excavation pit.
Offering a closer perspective, we zoom in on the area area around the base of the tower crane. Here, wooden formwork is being created in advance of the first concrete pours which will create the structural base for the tower.
Behind the retained Beaux-Arts and classical modern facades, the foundation for this 179.52m mixed-use tower is being laid, set to house 709 residential units above office and retail floors when The United BLDG is finished. The project will include a new direct indoor entry to St Patrick subway station.
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: | Aercoustics Engineering Ltd, B+H Architects, Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Bousfields, Grounded Engineering Inc., L.A. Inc., Rebar Enterprises Inc, RJC Engineers |
