1.8K 
In Toronto’s Moss Park neighbourhood, the towers of ROQ City have now topped off, and restoration work is underway for its retained 19th-century warehouse facades along Queen and Richmond streets. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects with Graziani + Corazza Architects as Architect of Record, along with heritage work overseen by ERA Architects, the development by Tricon Residential rises at 261 Queen Street East, a site long occupied by former piano and organ factory buildings.
A northeastwards view in May 2025 to the heritage walls of the Richmond Street podium captures a mobile crane, steadied by outriggers, aiding in the dismantling of the steel scaffold that previously held the walls up while new structure was being built behind them. Lowered sections are placed onto a flatbed truck waiting below. Above, framing for an amenity terrace is underway, with workers in place amid rebar. To the far left, the north tower podium shows bright green weatherproofing on the second level, with dark-tinted glazing installed on the third floor.
In June, 2025, the L-shaped south tower had climbed to 26 storeys. Grey sandblasted precast concrete cladding has advanced to as high as the 19th floor on the western volume. Partially hidden to the right, the shorter north tower’s cladding installation has progressed to the 13th level.
By July, 2025, formation is well underway for the north tower’s mechanical penthouse. A red concrete boom pump is active above formwork on the east side of its rooftop. Wood forms outline the rooftop slab. Below, two projecting volumes feature bronze-toned spandrel cladding that step back at the 14th floor to create a U-shaped massing. To the west, cladding has reached the 16th floor, while on the east face it has progressed to the 12th floor.
Viewed looking south along Seaton Street in August, 2025, crews are forming the mechanical penthouse at the roofline. Below, the projecting volumes of the north elevation are fully clad with bronze-toned spandrel panels and vertical mullions. Below, scaffolding covers the heritage walls of the podium frontage.
Later this month, another view captures the scaffold now blanketed in green netting as restoration of the heritage walls advances behind it. Above, work is ongoing to complete curtain wall installation of the first tower floor. Behind to the left, the north tower’s construction hoist remains in place on its west elevation.
Most recently, the north tower shows a completed roof slab, with extensive formwork and scaffolding shaping its mechanical penthouse. Cladding work trails six floors below. On the south tower, initial concrete walls for its mechanical penthouse are visible, with its red boom pump positioned between the two cranes and the construction hoist still fixed to its north elevation.
Once complete, ROQ City will deliver 859 purpose-built rental units across the two towers, standing 88.5m and 113.48m.
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.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — 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.
