We have been looking back in a series of articles lately at what can be accomplished in a year at a number of construction sites, and even hole neighbourhoods, across the city. Most of this information comes from the often rich deposits of information, both text and photography, found in UrbanToronto's Forum threads. The UT Forum threads certainly contain lots of opinion and speculation, but amongst the debates and questions are many posts that recount just what was happening when, and a history of Toronto's recent growth can be gleaned by mining the threads for that type of gold.

One thread that has not been terribly busy of late is that for The Yorkville Condominiums on Davenport at McMurrich. Somehow amidst the kerfuffle over larger proposals for very prominent locations, The Yorkville, which is tucked just around the corner behind one building or another, has managed to escape a lot of attention in its early construction phases. UrbanToronto photographers who go out looking for concrete and rebar have occasionally set it in their sights however, so we are able to look back at a year, and more, in the construction process for this 31-storey tower.

Going back to the beginning of the Projects and Construction thread for this building reveals that it was back in March of 2008 that Moriyama and Teshima, the architectural practice whose offices were located at this site, sold the land. In June of that year, it was revealed when an application was filed at the City for a 25-storey tower that Lifetime Developments were the purchasers and that Wallman Architects was designing the project. Final plans can take a while to formulate however, and the downturn in late 2008 meant that there was time to refine plans. A full year and a half later—in September 2009—revised plan for the project was recommended for approval by the Planning Department, at 28 storeys, and this was approved by City Council in late October that year. By September 2010 work began on the presentation centre while renderings were enthusiastically received on the Forum in October. At the same time, another three storeys on the tower had been applied for at the Committee of Adjustment, which were approved, and the final marketing rendering arrived in early December 2010, showing 31 storeys.

The Yorkville Condominiums, designed by Wallman Architects for Lifetime Developments

It took until March 2011 to open the presentation centre, and by May of that year 85% of the building's suites had been sold. It was sold out by February 2012 when demolition on both the presentation centre and Moriyama + Teshima offices took place.

Demolition of the Moriyama + Teshima office proceeds, image by jasonintoronto

By April, rigs were at the site working on the shoring which wold lead to excavation a few weeks later, as the shot below from June 2012 shows.

The site is cleared and shoring work begins, image by drum118

Excavation of the site is well underway, image by Jasonzed

By October, the excavation had reached the foundation levels, and the base for the crane was poured, and then as the following picture shows, was being installed one week later.

The base for the crane has been poured at the bottom of the excavation, image by Jasonzed

The crane is being installed and assembled a week later, image by urbandreamer

Our first pictures from 2013 are from January, and they show progress on the lowest levels of the garage.

Work on the lower levels of the garage is underway, image by Philip Hayward

By April, The Yorkville was just one storey from reaching ground level.

The Yorkville is nearly at ground level, image by drum118

By June, The Yorkville was firmly above ground level.

The Yorkville is now above ground, image by androiduk

By August, the podium was well underway, and by October is was done and work had started on the tower floors.

The podium is formed, and work on the tower is underway, image by androiduk

As of the 30th of December, the tower was getting going on the 14th floor.

Progress on December 30, 2013, image by urbandreamer

Now that The Yorkville is getting tall and more obvious from a distance, we expect we will be seeing more images of its progress: many thanks to the photographers whose postings allow us to follow development in this city so closely!

There are 17 more storeys to come, so topping off should be mid-spring 2014. What we are really looking forward to this year is how the copper, gold and black cladding will be realized, and how the windows will look once installed. 2014 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for development watchers in Toronto!

Want to know more about The Yorkville Condominiums? Many renderings and lots more info can be found in our dataBase file, linked below, where you will also find links to the associated Forum threads should you wish to get in on the conversation about this project. Otherwise, you are always welcome to leave comments in the space provided on this page!