Tall & Urban News

South of Don Mills subway station and Fairview Mall, the Parkway Forest community in the Toronto borough of North York has undergone a major change over the last decade. Many of the area's mid-20th-century apartment buildings have been replaced by the initial phases of ELAD Canada's Emerald City community, which has since brought the area six residential towers, along with mid-rise buildings and townhomes, and a new community center serving the rebuilt community. Now, construction is progressing on Emerald City's last three towers at the south end of the site, where Helen Lu Road meets Don Mills Road, made up of phases known as The Peak at 33 stories, The Point at 24 stories, and Lumina at 15 stories.

This last ground of three buildings pretty much mirrors the massing and design of the middle block of phases to the north. Designed by WZMH Architects like the previous Emerald City phases, the latest block kicked off construction in February 2018 with a groundbreaking ceremony. In March 2019, a pair of cranes were busy forming site-wide 900-plus-space parking
garage, while preparations were being made to install a third crane on the footprint of the 15-
story Lumina building along the site's Don Mills frontage.

Varying states of progress for the three towers could be seen on-site recently, with four cranes now active. At the southeast corner of the site, The Peak is well ahead of the other two towers, destined to be the tallest building in Block C when it tops out at 106.7 meters. Formwork for The Peak has reached the ninth floor, with construction only increasing in speed, as repeating floor layouts are now being poured.

As the tower floors ascend higher, preparations are being made for the first exterior finishes on the podium levels. Insulation installed along the podium's Forest Manor Road façade shows the outline of where punched windows will be framed by brick and precast-concrete finishes.

At the north end of the site, Helen Lu Road climbs a hill as it moves into the community. Work on The Point's podium there is at five stories over Don Mills Road, but four stories at Forest Manor Road. As the The Point rises towards an eventual 24-story/80.1-meter height, the podium is revealing its concave crescent-shaped massing, following the curve of Helen Lu Road.

To the west along Don Mills, the 15-story Lumina has just begun to sprout above grade, standing three stories tall. This building will eventually top out at just shy of 57 meters.

For more on this story, go to Urban Toronto.