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Between Spadina and St George stations in Toronto's Annex, construction on Cielo Condos has progressed with the completion of the ground floor staging slab. This coincides with the news of a lease agreement where the United, Anglican, and Presbyterian Churches of Canada will share office space in the refurbished Bloor Street United Church, with its heritage walls being retained for the 34-storey mixed-use development designed by KPMB Architects for Collecdev-Markee Developments.
Last month, it was announced that the United, Anglican, and Presbyterian Churches of Canada have entered into a collaborative lease agreement to share national office spaces within the church, intended to use the office space to build ecumenical relationships, cut costs, and reduce their environmental impact. Representatives from each Church convened at the site for the announcement and to oversee recent construction at the site.
The redesigned space will accommodate the office, community, and worship needs of the churches, while also housing their Archives and providing shared access to meeting and video conferencing facilities. The floor plans have been crafted with inputs from all three denominations for a flexible and efficient use of the space.
In this view looking north from Bloor Street across the site from early May, 2024, we can see a corner of the ground floor staging slab in the right background, above the shadowed excavation area. In the centre, we see a mobile crane with outriggers supporting it. To the left, Tartu College stands adjacent to the site, separated by protective fencing and the west shoring wall, with a row of tiebacks soon to be installed along this elevation. Further excavation is ongoing where there will eventually be a parking garage.
This aerial perspective captured late last month offers a comprehensive view of the construction site, looking east. The staging area is now clear of the intensive rebar work, and the slab surfaces appear clean and prepared for subsequent construction phases. The sprawling site is segmented into various operational zones, with blue excavators seen at the bottom of the image on the west end of the site, and a blue IRON shoring rig at the south end beside the retained heritage walls. To the left, the photo captures the excavation and shoring operations that have resumed west of the Pidgeon House, with tiebacks now installed, after the final internal demolition was completed.
The image also reveals significant progress with the ongoing excavation work. Deep trenches show a second row of tiebacks being installed along the east and south elevations to stabilize the lengthening shoring walls.
As the project advances — the installation of site services has also been completed — the anticipated final height of 120.35m and a total of 349 residential units remain subject to approval by the Toronto Local Appeal Body. This will further add to the site's ongoing narrative alongside the agreement for the national church offices, with the historical preservation and cultural unity reflecting the Annex neighbourhood Cielo will call home.
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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