I have no idea about the developers intentions, but you can often tack on additional height to supertalls very easily, from an engineering standpoint. Since the limiting factor is almost always drift (lateral sway), you just need additional damping. This thing already has a tuned mass damper...

It's common for construction teams to relocate site offices inside an enclosed portion of the building while the structure tops out, especially on constrained sites like this. Certainly not occupancy, but it's reasonable to begin seeing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing fit out soon.

Speed is actually one of the merits of mass timber, it's just certainly not highlighted here. It took a crew of less than ten people, 9.5 weeks to assemble this 18-storey student residence at UBC, using only a crane and a couple mallets (the elevator cores (shear walls) were preconstructed of...

You can see the it better in the photos here: And here: The mechanism is similar to the one employed at The One (Bay & Bloor), where the diagonal members redirect the load. The beams and floor help keep everything stable, and the result is what looks like a "floating" floor. However, there's...

Totally agree, immigration numbers need to be adjusted for our capacity to house new people. Just as zoning, transportation planning, and heritage protection all need some review. The building proposed on this site is a symbol of that.

I'm just here for good discussion, and I'm happy to change my mind when presented with new information. However, I think you're broadly missing the point of what I'm trying to say. I concede that immigration contributes to demand for rental housing, and that lowering immigration numbers drop...

Interest rates, see below:

Entirely agree. Now re: zoning/heritage: We can blame our housing crisis on immigration and zoning, and that's not entirely incorrect, it's not the root reason we're in this mess. The primary cause is the financialization of shelter in Canada. Home price growth has outpaced the S&P500 by...

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a marvel, but as others have pointed out, it's not as simple as a vacant lot. The primary concern for anything above the rail tracks is the potential of train derailment into the structure. You have to account for a rather large dynamic impact load, and...

Interesting that most of the retail is facing the park area, not Front street.

Beams often come pre-curved (camber) so that when they are installed, they deflect into straightness - most horizontal members are designed this way. While designed not to buckle once installed, long members can absolutely deflect prior to installation. There are people who spend their entire...

They were aerating on Tuesday, we'll transition back to desire lines destroying it in no time.

In an ideal world, here's what I'd do: Airport operations at Billy Bishop would move to Pearson, and the airport lands would be transformed into a public park/waterfront music festival grounds - something similar to Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal. Build the pedestrian bridge across the Western...

Snow loads are not afterthoughts; structural glass exists. Structural Engineers can accomplish almost anything... if you're willing to pay (anti-gravity sold separately). [Obligatory: Doug Ford is corrupt, this should be public space.]

They must have heard us grumbling

I believe the work is primarily focused on the Spadina station loop portion. Assuming that is the case, I really don't understand why the buses wouldn't run along the vacant streetcar tracks - especially given the state of traffic south of Queen. There must be a good reason for choosing to run...

It's almost like Toronto Hydro takes pleasure in destroying the public realm.

Found it:

It has been mentioned in this thread before, but there will be a second location of Prince Street Pizza in the market on the lower level. It's been suggested that the current location on Front will be focused on takeout/delivery orders. So it seems like a problem that will go away in a few...

Whoever rents out the temporary metal railing must be happy