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Announced in 2019, the Theatre District Residence & Riu Plaza Hotel has been steadily transforming the corner of Adelaide and Widmer streets in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Six years later, while condo suites are already occupying, the project is in its final stages with finishing touches underway. Designed by BDP Quadrangle for Plaza, the 48-storey north tower houses the hotel in its lower half and condo suites on its upper floors, with a 49-storey south tower dedicated solely to residential. At their base, Victorian townhouses are also being reborn. UrbanToronto’s last update was in December, 2023, when the towers had topped off.
Occupancy for the south tower started around May, 2024, followed by the north tower in late June. The Riu Plaza Hotel is not anticipated to open until late 2025. The townhouses are also still being worked on.
Going back a ways, we check into some of the last cladding sections being applied where the exterior construction hoists had been attached to the south tower. Here in February, 2024, at the podium levels of its southeast corner, a mobile crane assists with the hoisting and placement of amber-toned, brick-embedded precast panels. Workers on a scissor lift and in the podium align and fasten a panel above the Victorian townhomes.
In May, 2024, looking southwest across Adelaide and Widmer streets, the construction hoist on the north tower’s east elevation has been disassembled, leaving a vertical gap in the facade where cladding installation is still pending. Below, the podium’s curtain wall glazing wraps the ground floor, with the brick above is meant to complement the heritage Commodore Building to the right. Above the podium, the north tower’s hotel portion continues with aluminum panel cladding with punched windows, while the upper condo levels are marked by projecting balconies.
In August, 2024 at the southeast end of the south tower, a three-storey red-brick volume with a corbelled brick pattern above its third-floor window openings awaits glazing installation. In front of the entrance, a dozen egg-cup shaped planters mark the condo lobby entrance area. To the right, a blue articulated boom lift aids construction crews working on the townhomes’ exterior.
The condo lobby entrance for the north tower is marked by its address, the ground realm cladding around featuring brown brick veneer. Above, the podium’s cantilevered volume projects outward, with wood patterned soffit underneath. Streetscape improvements include more planters, seating areas, and newly planted trees.
By October, 2024, restoration efforts are concentrated on the Victorian-era townhomes along Widmer Street. Roofs over the doorways are being rebuilt. The brick facades showcase preserved arched window openings, rebuilt bay windows, and fish-scale shingle detailing beneath the gabled rooflines, as well as restored decorative wood trim and painted accents.
This month, the streetscape along Widmer Street shows a newly poured concrete sidewalk stretching south, though still enclosed by construction fencing. Materials are staged at the north end. On the right, we see the refreshed wooden porches with decorative balustrades painted in muted green. Beneath the northernmost porch, we can see a wood-paneled storage enclosure that has been incorporated into the design.
With the townhomes awaiting occupancy, the towers each stand at 156.05m tall, housing a total of 655 residential and 350 hotel units.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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