Located at the corner of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street, Cinema Tower is joining an already bustling neighbourhood full of high-rise construction. Developed by The Daniels Corporation and designed by Kirkor Architects, the development contains 444 units and rises a total of 43 storeys. This project is Daniels' second in this block, having already completed work on the Festival Tower immediately to the south. Courtesy of our very active Forum members, we are happy to bring you a quick update on how construction is progressing.

This first image, taken from the intersection of Adelaide St. West and Widmer Street, shows that work has progressed to the tower portion of the project. With construction now largely completed on the podium, the pace of growth should accelerate as floor plates become standardized. Taking a look at the podium below, the residential entrance to the tower will be on Widmer Street, while the retail space will be along Adelaide.

image courtesy of Forum member rdaner


Looking north along John Street, image courtesy of Forum member rdaner.


An exciting component of this development is the inclusion of 6000 sq. feet of performance/programming space in the podium for Artscape. Located in the vibrant cultural district that is centred at King and John, Artscape has the opportunity to offer artists the chance to be at the heart of the city's most dynamic cultural corridor. This project is significant because it re-establishes space for the creative class that was lost with the rapid pace of development and the subsequent loss of low-cost studio space in the neighbourhood. In addition to the Artscape space, Daniels has also commissioned artist Peter Powning to create a sculpture to frame the residential entrance to the project which will be on the lower right side of the podium.

Close-up of the podium of Cinema Tower, image courtesy of Forum member rdaner

Captured by Forum member Red Mars, the photo below is looking west toward Peter Street. The crane in the left of the picture is for the Pinnacle on Adelaide condo while the mid-rise glass building behind and to the left of Cinema tower is the aptly named Gläs Condo.

Looking west toward Peter Street. Image courtesy of Forum member Red Mars.


Meanwhile, UrbanToronto editor Craig White took these images of a temporary platform under construction which will be used to provide above grade storage for construction materials, such as fly forms, which they do not have room for at grade level. Ingrid Grittani, Project Manager for Daniels states "Tight space is one of the typical issues of a downtown site."

Temporary platform under construction at Cinema Tower, image by Craig White

Temporary platform under construction at Cinema Tower, image by Craig White

Finally, below is a rendering of what the development will look like once construction is completed in 2013. The divergence in materials between the podium and the tower is a common practice in new high-rise projects as is the staggered window placement seen in the base of the building. Take a look at the new Four Seasons to see this design directive at work.

Rendering of the Cinema Tower. Image courtesy of The Daniels Corporation.


What do you think of this project? Join our discussion here and let us know. Make sure to also check out our dataBase listings below for more information on this project and others.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, CCxA, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Isotherm Engineering Ltd., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Janet Rosenberg & Studio, L.A. Inc., Menkes Developments, NAK Design Group, NAK Design Strategies, NEEZO Studios, Skyscapes, The Fence People, U31