It’s been another month of big changes on the site of Collecdev adaptive reuse project, Cielo Condos, where a 29-storey tower designed by KPMB Architects will soon rise. Demolition work remains ongoing on the centrepiece of the development, the 130-year-old Bloor Street United Church, but the big story of this month comes from another area of the project, taking attention off of the church for the first time. After months of preparatory work, Cielo has officially advanced into the process of active construction, with shoring work beginning on the northern portion of the site.
The news was reported to UrbanToronto directly from Collecdev, who informed us that the project’s first shoring rig was deployed to the site last week. With the rig on site, the crew was able to begin their first shoring task on April 17th, drilling the first boring holes for the shoring wall that will span the length of the site’s northern limit.
The image below pictures this process getting underway, with the shoring rig positioned just to the west of the 478 Huron Street property, the Pidgeon House, also tabled to be preserved and incorporated into the final development. A second rig will be arriving on site in the coming weeks, with the crew currently preparing a platform to receive the machine on the southern portion of the site.
Meanwhile, on the demolition front, the completion of the facade retention structure along the Church’s Bloor Street West elevation has allowed the crew to proceed with the removal of other portions of the building, including the remainder of the roof, one of the most noticeable changes seen in the last month, reducing the structure to its elevations.
In regards to the elevations, the church’s north and west ones were the other focal points of demolition over the last month, with both portions of the structure being removed in their entirety. Due to their lack of street frontage, these elevations were destined for reconstruction rather than retention. The original footprint of the sanctuary, however, will be reinstated, and will regain its programming as a place of worship for the congregation and the community.
Viewing the church in its current state, what remains are the fully retained south and east elevations, as well as the southernmost chunk of the west elevation, which will be reconstructed into a new entrance to the sacred space.
With more active construction work getting underway, the remaining debris from the demolition process will be removed, providing the first clear impression of the site ahead of excavation. The arrival of the second shoring rig in the coming weeks will provide a speed boost for the shoring process, but work will continue to proceed cautiously to ensure both the heritage facades and the subway tunnels running beneath the site are not disturbed.
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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