July 24, 2006

WZMH ARCHITECTS

The historic façade of the former National Building (at left) will be integrated into the design of the new Bay Adelaide Centre West tower.

Construction

Tower signals a new day in Toronto

Bay Adelaide Centre a $300M project

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

TORONTO

EllisDon is gearing up to start construction on one of the highest profile projects in the city — the long moribund Bay Adelaide Centre.

The company, the project’s construction manager, is tendering trade packages on the initial 50-storey office tower. Demolition and site preparation are currently under way. Hard and soft construction costs are estimated at $300 million.

“It’s a great day for all of us to see this project going ahead — and a very exciting challenge for us at EllisDon,” senior project manager Paul Hickey told Daily Commercial News.

The tower is the first phase of the 2.6 million-square-foot Bay Adelaide development, being undertaken by Brookfield Properties Corp. The company acquired a 50 per cent interest in the site in 2001 and the remainder last year.

Construction officially got under way Wednesday with a ceremonial knocking down of the “stump”, a six-storey elevator core erected 15 years ago by the site’s previous owner.

The stump will be replaced by a new urban park that will serve as the focal point of the project, the first major development in the financial core since BCE Place was completed in 1992.

WZMH ARCHITECTS

Seen above is a depiction of the view from the 35th floor looking southeast towards the Toronto Islands.

The site consists of two city blocks. The initial tower, which will comprise approximately 1.1 million square feet, will be located on the northeast corner of Bay Street and Adelaide Street.

Designed by Toronto’s WZMH Architects, the tower integrates the 11-storey historic façade of the former National Building, which will be rebuilt and restored to its 1926 grandeur.

To be known as Bay Adelaide Centre West, the signature tower is being constructed to meet LEED silver standards. Occupancy is expected in 2009.

In an interview with Daily Commercial News, WZMH principal Carl Blanchaer said the architecture is consistent with that of the “classic banking towers in the financial core.

“It’s a simple, timeless building form,” he said.

Hickey, a 12-year veteran of EllisDon, said sequencing of construction and co-ordination of the subtrades will be critical.

At peak, upwards of 22 subtrades will be involved in the project.

“This number will max out as we do the interior fit-out in the latter part of the construction schedule,” Hickey said.

Subsequent phases of the three-phase centre are expected to include a mix of office and hotel-residential development.

The consulting team includes structural engineers Halcrow Yolles, mechanical engineers The Mitchell Partnership Inc., electrical engineers Mulvey & Banani International Inc., code consultant Leber Rubes Inc., LEED consultant Enermodal Engineering Ltd., building envelope consultant Brook Van Dalen & Associates Ltd., heritage consultants Goldsmith Borgal & Co. Ltd., landscape architects ENVision-the Hough Group.

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