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With February unfurling as an unusually warm winter for Toronto, Collecdev-Markee Developments' Cielo Condos remains a hive of activity on Bloor Street in the Annex as construction continues at ground level. Looking northeast across Bloor Street, below, the Bloor Street United Church's east elevation stands wrapped in Tyvek HomeWrap, a measure protecting the heritage masonry during the construction upheaval. Dominating the scene is the steel scaffold retention system that safeguards the structural integrity of the church's south wall, adorned with its spires, facing Bloor Street.
The future Bloor Street ground realm of the church will boast a tracery screen at the new sanctuary entrance designed to channel southern light, fostering a dialogue between the interior and the public realm. To the west, where once stood the Annex wing, the plans are for a four-story glass pavilion, set to accommodate the church's offices and commercial spaces. Surrounding this, an L-shaped promenade is to complement the historical masonry, with the eastern stone wall of the church representing the site's rich history.
Looking west across Huron Street, below, we have an unobstructed perspective of the east elevation of the church. The heritage retention structure's geometric lattice cradles the church's grey stone walls.
Gazing southward behind the church's preserved walls, a blue handler equipped with a hydraulic breaker attachment is positioned in the foreground, between a row of steel I-beams, ready to break through rock and concrete. Other vehicles on site include a white excavator, and a white utility van, likely housing tools or serving as a mobile workshop for the crew. The east and south retaining walls act as the backdrop, with vertical steel I-beams and tiebacks anchoring the earth, with the shoring system maintaining the site's integrity.
Pivoting to look eastwards through the excavation, close to the bottom of the image pieces of surveying equipment including a tripod, level, and measuring tape, indicate recent measurements have been made to ensure work is proceeding to plan. Modular concrete blocks await use wherever temporary shoring is needed for such items as ramps. Currently, formwork and rebar replacement is ongoing for the installation of complex corbels that will provide structural support for the P1 and ground floor slabs. Meanwhile, temporary ground floor staging slab work is ongoing.
Collecdev-Markee Developments, meanwhile, is not just thinking about Cielo's ground realm currently, but towards the heavens as well, awaiting a decision on a City-supported application to the Toronto Local Appeal Body, looking to add five storeys to Cielo's height while expanding its offerings to a total of 349 residential suites, and scaling the building from its original 99m high to 120.35m.
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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