The Canadian Westinghouse Building at King Street West and Peter Street has undergone a massive transformation.
Built in the 1920s, the six-storey building was partially demolished a few years ago to make way for a new mixed-use development by Greenland Group— but crews preserved the north and west facades of the heritage structure.
Here’s what went into the construction.
By Jack Landau, Urban Toronto
Construction of Greenland Group‘s King Blue condominium development in Toronto’s Entertainment District has achieved a milestone this week as disassembly of the tower cranes used to build the 460 and 511-foot towers has begun. Now topped out at 44 and 48-storey heights, the removal of the tower cranes from the IBI Group-designed development at King Street West and Blue Jays Way marks the completion of forming and the shift towards completing interiors for an opening later this year.
Looking north to King Blue from Front Street, image by Forum contributor Red MarsWith work furthest along on the shorter 44-storey west tower, a pair of derricks have been erected atop the building’s mechanical penthouse. Once the rigs have finished disassembly of the west tower’s crane, they will be disassembled themselves by even smaller rigs. This process will be repeated soon atop the 48-storey east tower.
Derricks atop King Blue Condos, image by Forum contributor Red MarsMeanwhile, work on the towers’ exteriors has progressed smoothly in recent months. The main exterior envelope of window wall cladding of full-pane windows framed by dark aluminum spandrel panels and mullions now covers almost all of the tower floors, with small sections remaining on residential and mechanical penthouse levels. Installation of balcony glazing has also progressed, with over half of the towers’ balconies glazed.
Upper levels of King Blue Condos, image by Forum contributor Red MarsOnce complete, the towers will bring over 800 new homes to the Entertainment District. In addition to housing some of the residential units, the podium will contribute to the local vibrancy with retail spaces on the ground floor, a permanent home for Theatre Museum Canada on the second floor on the south side, and a 122-room Primus Hotel on the north side.
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The latest development now rising into the skyline of Toronto’s Entertainment District, Greenland Group‘s King Blue, has been steadily growing taller at the intersection of King Street West and Blue Jays Way. The 44 and 48-storey, IBI Group-designed condominium towers had reached 24-storey heights at the time of our last update in May, and after a few more months of forming, both towers now stand in the vicinity of 40 storeys. At the current rate of forming, the towers will reach their final heights in the Fall.
King Blue Condos viewed from the north on Peter Street, image by Forum contributor MafaldaBoy
As the towers’ concrete rises higher, cladding installation is following several floors behind, and adding detail to the exteriors. A window wall cladding featuring full-pane windows and dark aluminum spandrel panels and mullions forms the towers’ main building envelope, while fritted glass balcony guards are now being installed across lower floors, providing some contrast against the dark cladding behind.
Gradient-fritted balcony guards are being installed now, mage by Craig White
At the base of the development, the towers’ shared podium contains the preserved north and west facades of the 1927-built Canadian Westinghouse Building, (a small corner of it can be seen at the bottom of the preceding photo). It is being flanked by newly built sections that are being clad in a dark brick finish (seen in the background of the photo below). The dark brick is meant to complement the Westinghouse facades while still standing apart from them.
Brick finishes adding to base of King Blue Condos, image by Forum contributor ProjectEnd
The podium is to house ground-floor retail spaces, a 122-room Primus Hotel, and some of the development’s over 800 condominium units.
You can learn more about King Blue by visiting our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.
