You cannot go far in Toronto without seeing a crane or two (or twelve) on the horizon. For a city full of shutter-happy photographers, that means there's always another building on its way skywards to photograph. 2013 provided lots and lots to look at, and 2014 looks like it might be an even busier year.

One of the areas with the most cranes in Toronto right now is the city's Entertainment District where a number of developments now under construction will add multitudes of new residents over the next few years. One of those now edging on to our skyline is Peter Street Condominiums, a 40-storey, 426-foot condominium tower by developer CentreCourt Developments.

Rendering of Peter Street Condominiums, courtesy of architectsAlliance.

Ever since its ground breaking in early 2012, the architectsAlliance-designed Peter Street Condos have been under a constant flurry of construction. The tower at the corner of Adelaide and Peter Streets will offer a great central location for those who need to be amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. It will also include amenities like an upscale fitness centre outfitted by Totum LifeSciences Fitness and theatre space. It will certainly have presence in this lively area of the city. While this building will get more and more attention this year as it heads towards its rooftop, there were lots of interesting photos of it posted on UrbanToronto which documented its initial stages of growth in 2013.

In January, the development had progressed to the point where the foundation and a couple floors of the parking garage had been poured. The project was still well below grade.

Peter Street Condos in January, image by Jack Landau

By the time Valentine’s Day rolled by, construction at Peter Street Condos saw an additional floor added to the parking garage, bringing it that much closer to grade.

Peter Street Condos in February, image by jasonzed

Early March saw crews preparing for the ground floor plate with copious amounts of rebar installed and awaiting to be encased in concrete.

Peter Street Condos in early March, image by Jack Landau

As March progressed, the development finally reaches an important milestone that crews have been working toward for over a year: the construction finally reaches grade. From this time forward every floor they complete brings them higher and higher above the streets of Toronto.

Peter Street Condos in late March, image by Jack Landau

When UrbanToronto Forum photographer Jack Landau visited Peter Street Condos in mid-April, he was greeted by tall support pillars for the ground floor areas of the condo, with rebar mesh ready for the second floor plate.

Peter Street Condos in April, image by Jack Landau

In May, construction continued on the podium and second floor amenity areas, with scaffolding ready for the third floor to be installed.

Peter Street Condos in May, image by Jack Landau

June brought pleasant weather, perfect for installing some smaller transfer slabs and finishing off the second floor structure of Peter Street Condos.

Peter Street Condos in June, image by red mars

Looking at the site in July, we saw an abundance of scaffolding and jack posts, hinting to an important addition to the development.

Peter Street Condos in July, image by Jack Landau

What was brewing behind that scaffolding back in July? It was revealed to be a massive transfer slab when the scaffolding was dismantled in August. This slab marks the top of the podium and the beginning of the tower floors. From here construction usually progresses quickly as tower floor plates designs are normalized. The crane is also relocated from the southwest corner to a more central position in the development.

Peter Street Condos in August, image by Jack Landau

In September Peter Street Condos grew by three floors, bringing the height of the building up to six floors. We also saw the start of the installation of cladding supports on the podium floors.

Peter Street Condos in September, image by red mars

As the weather started to cool and days got noticeably shorter, Peter Street Condos continued to climb in October. The development rose by an additional floor with another under construction. On the podium, dark grey cladding and some window frames were slowly being installed on the second floor of the building.

Peter Street Condos in October, image by RiverCity1

November at Peter Street Condos saw a solid continuation of the previous month. We saw additional floors added, more cladding making its way onto the concrete structure, and fully assembled windows were installed. As an added bonus, the building started to pass some its neighbours in height.

Peter Street Condos in November, image by jasonzed

Finally we reach December and the end of 2013. As with the previous two months, the building continued to grow at a regular clip with additional floors constructed. Additionally, the cladding is started to migrate upwards past the podium and onto the tower floors.

Peter Street Condos in December, image by MafaldaBoy

Peter Street Condos (center left) rises above its neighbours in December, image by The Fusionist

UrbanToronto will continue to keep an eye on the Peter Street Condominiums as it advances to completion, which is expected to occur at the end of this year. In the meantime, for additional information including floorplans, project facts and renderings of how it will look, check out our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Head over to the associated Forum threads, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided at the bottom of this page.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, Cecconi Simone, Milborne Group