Our sister site UrbanToronto.ca has shared an update on Amexon Development Corporation's Residences of 488 University Avenue, a new Core Architects-designed project in Toronto adding 37 new levels of condominiums above an existing 18-storey office tower.

488 University Avenue in Toronto, image by Jack Landau

In the three months since our last look at construction, the project on a prominent Downtown Toronto site has made some significant progress—but it's just being able to be made out from the ground now. The development is notable for its unconventional and complicated plan that will add 37 floors above an existing 18-storey office building at the northwest corner of Dundas and University.

Since the fall 2015 start of construction, the bulk of activity has involved the removal of the 1968-built tower's original concrete grille facade and the installation of a structural steel bracing system by Sigmund Soudack & Associates, all while offices within the existing building remained open and in use. The bracing was designed to carry the load of the new levels around the exterior of the existing office tower, and transfer it to the bedrock below. The structural reinforcement system is now sealed off—though still largely visible—behind the building's new skin, a curtainwall which incorporates a series of vertical accent fins meant to recall the proportions of the original grille facade.

You can find the rest of this story on our sister site, UrbanToronto.ca.