Waterlink at Pier 27 is making progress at the foot of Yonge Street, with all four buildings now at various levels of construction. Developed by Cityzen and Fernbrook Homes, the four towers will eventually even out at 14 stories; bridges will connect the eastern two and the western two, divided by a central boulevard that will provide access to the redeveloped boardwalk. Let's take a look at how construction is progressing.

Waterlink at Pier 27 construction of central boulevard, image courtesy of CML

The two central towers figure prominently in the image above, framing the view that will be provided from the central boulevard that will eventually divide them. Work began on the eastern most building and worked westward, making for an interesting terraced-effect during construction.

Waterlink at Pier 27 construction of eastern tower, image courtesy of CML

The eastern building can be seen here and is close to topping off, providing some idea as to how the buildings will impact the skyline and views of the water.

Aerial view of Waterlink at Pier 27, image courtesy of Jasonzed

Jasonzed snapped the impressive image above, one that does a great job at illustrating not only how the construction of this project was approached in phases, but how the buildings are going to interact with the water and surrounding development. Pull back a little bit though and the image reveals a great deal more....

Aerial view of Central Waterfront and Southcore Financial Centre, image courtesy of Jasonzed

This has to be one of the more interesting images I've seen of this district so far; the area of focus encompasses a variety of developments that have yet to make an impact on the downtown core. Parked cars crammed together in endless lots are slowly but surely being replaced by highrise towers, a mix of both residential and commercial. While no consensus has been reached — and most likely never will — in regards to how this area should be developed, there's no doubt we're better off now than before.

Project rendering for Waterlink at Pier 27, courtesy of Cityzen and Fernbrook

The one-of-a-kind location for Waterlink at Pier 27, wedged between the Westin Harbour Castle to the west and the Redpath Sugar Refinery to the east, will no doubt offer stunning views over Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands, however some believe the site would have been better suited to a public development, a central waterfront park akin to HTO. Regardless of what could have been, let's hope that the architectsAlliance-designed development delivers a quality project to the central waterfront, one that creates publicly accessible open space in this increasingly dense neighbourhood.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, Isotherm Engineering Ltd., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Walters Group