[J. Will]

One of downtown Toronto's largest surface parking lots will soon be home to the huge mixed-use Maple Leaf Square development. It will consist of 2 towers on top of a podium with direct indoor connections to the Air Canada Centre and the PATH. The Longo's grocery store mentioned will be 47,500 square feet, making it one of the larger supermarkets in downtown Toronto.


www.mapleleafsquare.com

http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/17mapleleaf.jpg



Maple Leaf Square
Article Tools
Printer friendly
E-mail
Font: * * * * Lisa Van de Ven, National Post
Published: Saturday, September 23, 2006
DOWNTOWN

Price range: $197,900 to $1,346,900

Location: York Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West

- - -

Featuring two towers, the Residences of Maple Leaf Square is a large-scale development that includes hotel, retail and restaurant space as well as a total of 872 residential suites. Located next to the Air Canada Centre, the site was designed by architects Kuwabara, Payne, McKenna and Blumberg with Page + Steele Architects; interiors are by munge//leung: design associates. The site's developers recently celebrated the project's groundbreaking.

BUILDER/DEVELOPER Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd., Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., and Lanterra Developments Ltd.

WHAT'S NEW With the site now 95% sold, construction has begun.

BUILDING Two towers of 54 and 50 storeys

SUITES 400 to 2,124 square feet

SIZE Studio, one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom, two-bedroom-plus-den and penthouse designs are still available.

OCCUPANCY Scheduled to begin in October, 2009, for the North Tower, and in March, 2010, for the South Tower

TARGET MARKET A range of urban dwellers looking to live close to downtown

FEATURES Suites have floor-to-ceiling windows; nine-foot ceilings (10 feet in the penthouses); a choice of veneer engineered hardwood, porcelain or ceramic flooring in principal rooms; 40-ounce broadloom in bedrooms; granite kitchen countertops; ceramic tile backsplashes; stainless steel appliances; and marble countertops in the bathrooms.

AMENITIES The site features an outdoor pool and landscaped deck, an indoor pool and hot tub, a fitness centre, steam rooms, a 40-seat theatre, a multi-purpose room, a business centre and a 24-hour concierge. A range of retail and commercial elements will also be integrated into the project, including a Longo's grocery store, a restaurant and a sports bar.

STANDOUTS The site is being built to national energy-efficient LEED standards, with a green roof and energy-efficient appliances. It is also one of the first condominium sites to incorporate Enwave (www.enwave.com), which uses steam circulating through a network of underground pipes to provide heating, cooling and hot water.

SALES OFFICE Located at 29 Bremner Blvd. Open Monday to Thursday from noon to 6 p.m., and weekends from noon to 5 p.m. Call 416-601-6885 or visit mapleleafsquare.com.

[1ajs]

congrats to toronto...

[colemonkee]

I drove by the site on Saturday night and it was all fenced off. Great news. Toronto really is booming. Despite all the great coverage by Toronto forumers here and on SSC, you don't get a real sense of it until you see it in person.

[alps]

Nice!! I like the looks of the base in that render.

[giallo]

Everything looks great until you get to the top. Is that exposed concrete I see?

[WonderlandPark]

C$ 197,000 is really affordable for a starter in a new building. That is like $170,000 US. Couldn't touch that in California or NYC.

[Dale]

Interesting choice of music for a Toronto condo's website - Gospel. Do Torontonians even know what that is ? ;)

[J. Will]

I think it's cool that there's an outdoor pool on the roof of the podium. I don't know of any other towers in downtown Toronto with an outdoor pool (although there may be a few I don't know of).

[Wheelingman04]

This is definately good to hear!!

[Coldrsx]

C$ 197,000 is really affordable for a starter in a new building. That is like $170,000 US. Couldn't touch that in California or NYC.


Even in Edmonton....1bdrms downtown start at $225,000 now....

[malec]

great stuff!

[J. Will]

Here I've outlined the site in red.

Even today, people greatly exaggerate the "gap" between the downtown core and the waterfront (it's nowhere near as bad as cities with freeways that are 5-6 lanes in each direction on the edge of their downtowns), but in a few years that "gap" will be gone completely when this, the Telus tower, the rest of the Infinity towers, and the rest of the Pinnacle towers are completed.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g240/jwill_01/mapleleafsquaresite.jpg

[1ajs]

intresting so close to the cn tower

[J. Will]

It's not really that close, probably 1300-1500 feet away.

[TOBoy]

The Maple Leaf Square site is only the south part of the section you outlined. Across the street to the north is the 30 floor Telus Tower currently under construction.

[J. Will]

Oops, you're right. BTW, is that street between them (not sure if it's considered Bremner Blvd.) gonna stay (as a street)?

[zerokarma]

Its a good location and looks decent.

[duper]

Oops, you're right. BTW, is that street between them (not sure if it's considered Bremner Blvd.) gonna stay (as a street)?

Yes. Bremner stays.

It will be a very active corner in the next few years. Telus Tower will bring a lot of activity during office hours, then a huge condo and entertainment centre, and of course the Air Canada Centre.

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

Even in Edmonton....1bdrms downtown start at $225,000 now....



But for $179,900 youre getting around 450 sq ft, a box!

[caltrane74]

need updates

[caltrane74]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/1437975675_64cc523bc0_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1338/1438830986_e45de2b0ac_b.jpg

pictures courtesy of drum118 on urbantoronto.ca

[Tom In Chicago]

^Interesting pit. . . I've probably walked by that site more than a few times in my life. . . the soil conditions are quite a bit different than Chicago. . . good to see all that vacant land down there get used up. . .

[LordMandeep]

Even in Edmonton....1bdrms downtown start at $225,000 now....


But for $179,900 youre getting around 450 sq ft, a box!

i think developers want to sell more condos for less, the sell less condos for more money.

The Toronto market has huge demand for Condos bigger then almost everyone but it has an equally huge supply. Thats why prices are cheap to some.

[Thefigman]

C$ 197,000 is really affordable for a starter in a new building. That is like $170,000 US. Couldn't touch that in California or NYC.

C$197,000 is US$197,000 right now. ;)

[Complex01]

Not bad at all, get rid of those parking lots...

:yes:

[caltrane74]

We have so many parking lots in Toronto, it's a never ending job building skyscrapers.

[Roger72075]

I'm certainly excited about this one....I visited the sales center last fall right before they tore it down. I wish we had something like this in downtown Dallas, where I live!

[caltrane74]

This is one of my favorite projects right now in Toronto. Apparently it will take over 1 year to build the podium on this building as it will contain a mall and sports complex and video screens (a.la Times Square/Dundas Square). This new downtown square will have a crowd capacity of over 5000 people and will be a great place to celebrate Raptors wins and Leafs wins (don't laugh) The towers which are the part I am waiting for will be 186 Meters tall. The glass installation permits have been approved and we should see some movement above ground shortly.

This is from the PCL website:

Latest from PCL:

Current Progress (as of Feb 12/08)

The Air Canada Centre (ACC) temporary ramp is complete, commissioned and in use by the Air Canada Centre. Four tower cranes have been erected and the project has started pouring ground floor slabs after finishing the 6-floor below grade excavation program just before Christmas. Major mechanical and electrical equipment has been ordered and curtain wall approvals have been finalized and are in production. Tower window wall approvals are slated for early 2008. We will begin demolition of a portion of the temporary ramp in March 2008 followed by the remainder of the ramp in the summer of 2008, allowing the remaining floor slabs pouring sequence above the ramp to begin. The project is continuing with tendering the finishing trades.

Here are some more recent pictures:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/2220364184_bd3c221e38_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2220363426_35fe7313dc_b.jpg

courtesy of drum on UT

[caltrane74]

updated aerial shot of the MLS site.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2019/2268262826_4fa6e27048_b.jpg

[caltrane74]

A bit fuzzy as the windows were dirty...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2365/2308771480_7e022fbc99_b.jpg

from Mike in TO

www.urbantoronto.ca

[caltrane74]

BIg Project:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2077/2398022979_d07f36d929_o.jpg

from Redroom Studios at www.urbantoronto.ca

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2391424546_1db1746cae_b.jpg

from CSW2424 at www.urbantoronto.ca

[caltrane74]

Saturday, 12 April 2008:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/urbandreamer4ever/DSC01314.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/urbandreamer4ever/th_DSC01316.jpg (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/urbandreamer4ever/DSC01316.jpg) http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/urbandreamer4ever/th_DSC01317.jpg (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh33/urbandreamer4ever/DSC01317.jpg)

updated shots from urbandreamer at www.urbantoronto.ca

[caltrane74]

April 24, 2008

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x11/CanadianNational/mlsbrem.jpg


http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x11/CanadianNational/mls2.jpg


http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x11/CanadianNational/mls1.jpg

from CanadianNational at www.urbantoronto.ca

[caltrane74]

long time no update:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2087/2479220012_58cf663a71_b.jpg

from Mike in TO (www.urbantoronto.ca)

[caltrane74]

From CSW2424 at www.urbantoronto.ca

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2522098675_cdf96f83c8_b.jpg

[yyzer]

podium & streetwall taking shape at Maple Leaf Square..pic by CanadianNational at urbantoronto.ca.....

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x11/CanadianNational/mlsgrande.jpg

[Aleks]

Looks awesome. The towers are really elegant. Any pictures of the whole site's progress?

[yyzer]

Alex, here's a pic by CGM over at Urbantoronto, it's from July, so a little bit dated, as they are now up to about the 7th floor of the podium....podium will eventually be 10 floors, then two towers of 44 storeys, and 40 storeys above that...the building on the left is the Telus Tower, an office tower, under construction...

yyzer

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2692250107_bbfbacacec_o.jpg

[caltrane74]

The glass is going up on MLS!!!!

[Brandon716]

Nice to see the updates, its really coming along. The footprint is just huge for the entire area.

[yyzer]

latest pic by CGM over at urbantoronto.ca....glass has started install...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/2810287244_f4d66d4861_o.jpg

[Davis137]

Wow, those buildings are gonig up really fast now...must totally block the view of the lake from the Royal York, as well as blocking it from view from the Gardiner...

[JustinL]

Nice. Looking forward to more updates as this one goes up. Whats the official height on the towers? The base looks impressive, seemed like a good opportunity for retail/commercial density in that area dominated by residentials from what I remember.

[caltrane74]

186 Meters for South

174 for the North.

[caltrane74]

from k.w.l at UT

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/3016609215_f3a9f43ca2_b.jpg

[caltrane74]

No update here?

[caltrane74]

^^ got some pics yesterday. From the west side:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/New%20Summer%202008/IMGP5222iMapleLeafi.jpg

From the south-east (this is such an incredibly cool place to stand on a workday.. it is construction EVERYWHERE!!):

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/New%20Summer%202008/IMGP5215iMapleLeafandTelus.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/New%20Summer%202008/IMGP5222iMapleLeaf.jpg

from above:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/New%20Summer%202008/IMGP5248iMapleLeafandTelus.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/New%20Summer%202008/IMGP5282imapleleaf.jpg

old shots from Taller Better at SSC.

[caltrane74]

from joel swag at www.flickr.com

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/3046587027_a6e5c43352_b.jpg

[caltrane74]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3388/3198717646_d5729fc485_o.jpg

Telus and MLS from Reva Vizari at www.flickr.com

[truedaniel]

Man...I have not been to TO since 2005 when I saw OASIS live. What a city!! Can't believe all the construction going up around Air Canada Center. I guess that is the prime spot for new real estate. Last I saw it was just lots and the Gardiner. Looking incredible now!!

[Davis137]

Wicked pictures...the south section of the downtown is starting to rise like crazy...from month to month, T.O. doesn't look the same anymore, especially those of us that don't come there very often anymore...

[yyzer]

recent update posted by current at urbantoronto.ca...work underway on the 2 towers, cladding continues on the podium....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3202154505_69bb5289ba_b.jpg

starting to install glass on the northeast tower...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3202170721_2546b03480_b.jpg

[Davis137]

I like the combined dark panels and glass on this project...quite the contrast from the ocean of green, blue, and beige buildings going up around there...

[J. Will]

Nice. Looking forward to more updates as this one goes up. Whats the official height on the towers? The base looks impressive, seemed like a good opportunity for retail/commercial density in that area dominated by residentials from what I remember.

Pretty much all of the towers in the area have ground-floor retail space. In fact, I don't think there is a single one that doesn't - even the older ones from the 1970s all have some.

[yyzer]

Feb 6 update by RAC III at urbantoronto.ca...work continues....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3260704708_a4dec31a8e_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3303/3260704554_cde5793cc8_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3344/3259872359_6b8ee55ebe_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3259872647_96263f99ea_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3260703826_a5a75266bc_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3335/3260703686_aba9ea8ce1_o.jpg

[Nite]

Early Feb. 2009
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii108/jasonzedd/mississauga860.jpg

[Davis137]

Those towers are starting to rise fast now...

[giallo]

Early Feb. 2009
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii108/jasonzedd/mississauga860.jpg

There's nothing more gratifying than seeing these sort of developments going up where parking lots used to be.

[ryobi]

Sooo much construction

I LOVE IT

[Davis137]

My parents were down there last weekend, and they said that Toronto has changed so much, and there are just so many TALL buildings going up that they were kinda in awe of what they saw. They said that they also like that the former brownfields and trainyards near Front and the Gardiner and near lakeshore are all being redeveloped into something nicer to look at, and more usefull too...

L8tz

[caltrane74]

Feb 20

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3523/3299207668_9e553f4c7b_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3508/3298378673_05cb6e29c5_b.jpg

from wyliepoon at UT

[caltrane74]

BEFORE

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/2441759521_6e5251f3e2_o.jpg
wyliepoon at UT


AFTER

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/3264195999_4f034dfaa3_b.jpg
from CSW2424 at UT

[caltrane74]

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/marcus_a_j/March%2014%202009/DSC03981.jpg

from Marcus a j at www.urbantoronto.ca

[caltrane74]

Taken today:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3446/3372969183_a92a7b1bca_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3372968227_6374b8d76c_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3450/3373786026_ea21e3fbc7_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3372969493_65915aa284_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3373785560_315fdae212_b.jpg

From silence&motion at www.urbantoronto.ca

Telus, MLS and ACC Renovation.

18 York Office Tower construction in the foreground of wide angle.

[caltrane74]

From Redroom Studios at www.urbantoronto.ca

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1391/dsc03190.jpg

[caltrane74]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3460/3396009197_c2eefcd989_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3396008299_d53b40f1a7_b.jpg

from Davin at UT
www.urbantoronto.ca

[Davis137]

Wow, this project has really taken off since the last time I decided to check it out...The towers are only floors away from being the same height as the Telus building by the looks of some of those pictures!

Thanks for the updates!

[caltrane74]

And then, to top it off, they will be much taller than the Telus Tower!!!

[Davis137]

The Before and After pics of the Gardiner/Lakeshore are...simply incredible...Toronto's gotta have the fastest growing skyline in North America now, with 40+ storey buildings going up everywhere...

[caltrane74]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3598677643_99f850b815_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3656/3598664153_138e8803b7_b.jpg

caltrane74/UT/SSP/SSC/flickr.com

[Hootch]

That's insane. A few years ago I was at a party at that horseshoe brewery and it looked so empty there.

[yyzer]

these towers are starting to get quite tall.....pic by dt_toronto_geek at urbantoronto.ca...

http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee140/laserboy_TO/MLS_June6-09.jpg

[caltrane74]

nice shot!!

[Davis137]

MLS looks like it's towers are already 8-10 levels taller than Telus now...it will be awesome to see these two peek above everything else near lakeshore until something taller gets built in the area...

[caltrane74]

by me: caltrane74

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3320/sany0326.jpg

[yyzer]

still about 10 floors to go for the taller tower - maybe 6 for the shorter one...pics by Solaris at urbantoronto.ca...

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q438/Solaris_Metrogate/IMG_3952.jpg

http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q438/Solaris_Metrogate/IMG_3951.jpg

[Davis137]

Wow, amazing shots everyone...T-Dot is becoming the envy of many...

[koops65]

I took these last week:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3152/3669824978_2e0e461a95_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3669824536_e10a8bf183_b.jpg

[caltrane74]

by me: caltrane74

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3686861901_4982d919e0_b.jpg

[Davis137]

Nice pics there Caltrane...

[caltrane74]

update from csw2424 at www.urbantoronto.ca


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2566/3733557254_00f45747a4_b.jpg

[Davis137]

Now that's a great shot...gives you a real sense of scale of this project with the Gardiner in the Foreground...

[yyzer]

pic by dcaley at urbantoronto.ca....getting close to topping out...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/yyzer/mlsjuly312009.jpg

[yaletown_fella]

Thanks for the update!

[Phil McAvity]

nice shots guys, thanks.

[steveve]

Here's some photos I took 3 days a go of MLS...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/3778633302_1c67f050fc_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3778632692_f2e5486bfc_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/3777762075_b8196f66db_b.jpg[/IMG

[IMG]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/3777784433_c960386df7_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3530/3778558604_ef6795a313_b.jpg



In this photo below you can see the Telus logo atop the tower going up :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2628/3777748223_0605fe23fd_b.jpg



All photos by me: steveve

Enjoy :)

[caltrane74]

nice work...

[caltrane74]

from drum118 at UT

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_14/IMG_aug-14-09-0118.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_14/IMG_aug-14-09-0142.jpg

[yyzer]

'nuther update by drum118 at urbantoronto.ca....(also Telus office tower on the right, nearing completion)

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_15/IMG_aug-15-09-0062.jpg

[caltrane74]

nice..

[caltrane74]

ITS GOOD, ITS TALL AND GOOD!!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3845300333_46745fe15c_b.jpg

[Phil McAvity]

^I agree, these look the way skyscrapers should look-tall and thin. I just hope they look better finished than they do now. :haha:

[steveve]

Okay... Here is a photo I took of MLS and Telus yesterday...

MLS North looks topped out and they are working on the finishing touches for the roof...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2540/3887078227_196d74d728_b.jpg


This photo was taken by me: steveve

Peace :)

[caltrane74]

can you get sammo's updated pics here?

[steveve]

Yeah... Sammo took some great shots of MLS + Telus.... It was posted on the U/C #11 forum... I think he forgot to post it here...

Anyways... here is the shot of MLS... hope he doesn't mind me posting it before him...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3897975103_af3e3c5f18_b.jpg


Shot by: SAMMO

good job ^^^^

[Davis137]

Wow, these are some seriously tall buildings, and are going to add a really nice feature to the Skyline south of the Gardiner...

[steveve]

I dunno about these guys (MLS)....

They won't have a huge impact on the skyline from a distance but will help a little...

The cladding on this one turned out kinda bad for me... The grey glass has little life to it and doesn't stand out like it could of.... Even Telus Tower's glass looks better than the grey cladding... I find that the grey cladding will make it seem like an older building when it's complete....

Hopefully the top of these buildings will turn out ok... I believe they are suppose to have a fin at the top of each building...



Below is an older render/model showing the original plan for the South tower to be taller than the north... I found this on google:

http://www.theworldedition.com/news/images/maple-leaf-square-2.jpg

Below is a different render of the roof:

http://www.theworldedition.com/news/images/maple-leaf-square-1.jpg

I like the roof in the first picture better...

[caltrane74]

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_15/IMG_sept-15-09-0203.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_15/IMG_sept-15-09-0215.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_15/IMG_sept-15-09-0211.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_15/IMG_sept-15-09-0212.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_16/IMG_sept-16-09-0021.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_16/IMG_sept-16-09-0007.jpg

from drum118 at UT
www.urbantoronto.ca

[Rail>Auto]

They really need to bury that overpass behind it, imo... It would create a lot of extra room for the project and it would make this area seem closer to the waterfront.

[caltrane74]

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0149.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0102.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0107.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0111.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0118.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/sept/2009_09_20/IMG_sept-20-09-0150.jpg

more from drum118 at UT
www.urbantoronto.ca