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AlvinofDiaspar
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From the Star, Condos Section:
Full steam ahead for plant conversion
Downtown lofts in tight location Complex system
to pour concrete
Jul. 1, 2006. 01:00 AM
W.D. LIGHTHALL W.D. LIGHTHALL
SPECIAL TO THE STAR HOW IT'S BUILT
In a city where the skyline is dotted with construction cranes, at least one condo project now underway is noteworthy for being built without one of these highly visible symbols of Toronto's condominium-building boom.
The Steam Plant Lofts in downtown Toronto is converting an old power plant into a six storey, loft-style condominium project with 29 units.
Converting old industrial buildings — with their sturdy structural systems, high ceilings and banks of oversized windows — is a tried-and-true recipe for success in Toronto's downtown condo market.
However, there's one, not-so-little problem with the conversion process for the Steam Plant Lofts: a 61-metre-high smokestack.
Complicating matters further is the project site on small, lane-styled streets near Wellesley and Jarvis Sts. The former steam plant extends from lot line to lot line, leaving precious little room for construction staging — placing and storing of equipment and materials.
"The site was too tight to create a foundation pad for a crane. There's just no space to put a crane," explains Justin Aykler, assistant project manager for Steam Plant Lofts developer Aykler Real Estate Inc. "And even if we could have got a crane in, the steam stack is too high to swing around."
The solution was to build the condo development the old-fashioned way.
In construction, the concrete walls, columns and floors are made by pouring liquid concrete into forms. When the concrete dries, the forms are removed and the crane is then used to lift them to the next storey where the process is repeated. The crane also lifts the large buckets of concrete that's poured into the forms.
Aykler says without a crane, the forms are being assembled and dismantled manually.
"It's entirely hand-formed. It says a lot about the guys. It takes a little longer and more manpower but fortunately, it's been going pretty smoothly," says Aykler, who credits project forming subcontractor Yukon Construction Co. for its good work in a challenging situation.
Constructed in 1953, the building being transformed into the Steam Plant Lofts was the power plant for the Wellesley and Princess Margaret hospitals. (The Wellesley and the original Princess Margaret have since been demolished and their former sites are slated for highrise condos.)
The conversion involves doubling the power plant's original height of approximately three storeys.
The work requires adding new foundations and increasing the size of the original foundations, as well as adding new concrete shear walls and slab floors.
During demolition, old boilers and other power-generating equipment had to be dismantled and removed, along with some of the building's original structural system of steel beams and columns.
"The demolition had to be staged with the forming for the new floors and load-bearing walls. It was very intricate work and that was the real challenge," Aykler says.
Construction of the lower floors wasn't so difficult, as it was possible to get a concrete pump inside the building without the use of a crane.
Not so easy for the upper storeys.
"On the upper levels, we have a concrete pump in the laneway and the arm of the pump is directed up over the roof, then in through a hole in the roof and directed to the forms that they're pouring on a given day," says Aykler.
While the smokestack may have been a curse during construction, it's proved to be a blessing on the sales side.
Three units built inside the cleaned-out smokestack will have a round bedroom or den and the stack's original red-brick work exposed.
"Straightaway the stack was the unique feature," says Aykler. "All the units with rooms in the stack, they all went the first day."
One-bedroom condos and units with one bedroom plus den remain available in the Steam Plant Lofts. Prices range from $234,900 to $339,900. Parking spots are $25,000, storage lockers are included in the price and monthly maintenance fees are estimated at 39 cents per square foot.
Occupancy is expected to begin in May 2007.
Appointments can be made by calling 416-413-1300, ext 240. The website is www.steamplantlofts.ca.
AoD
Full steam ahead for plant conversion
Downtown lofts in tight location Complex system
to pour concrete
Jul. 1, 2006. 01:00 AM
W.D. LIGHTHALL W.D. LIGHTHALL
SPECIAL TO THE STAR HOW IT'S BUILT
In a city where the skyline is dotted with construction cranes, at least one condo project now underway is noteworthy for being built without one of these highly visible symbols of Toronto's condominium-building boom.
The Steam Plant Lofts in downtown Toronto is converting an old power plant into a six storey, loft-style condominium project with 29 units.
Converting old industrial buildings — with their sturdy structural systems, high ceilings and banks of oversized windows — is a tried-and-true recipe for success in Toronto's downtown condo market.
However, there's one, not-so-little problem with the conversion process for the Steam Plant Lofts: a 61-metre-high smokestack.
Complicating matters further is the project site on small, lane-styled streets near Wellesley and Jarvis Sts. The former steam plant extends from lot line to lot line, leaving precious little room for construction staging — placing and storing of equipment and materials.
"The site was too tight to create a foundation pad for a crane. There's just no space to put a crane," explains Justin Aykler, assistant project manager for Steam Plant Lofts developer Aykler Real Estate Inc. "And even if we could have got a crane in, the steam stack is too high to swing around."
The solution was to build the condo development the old-fashioned way.
In construction, the concrete walls, columns and floors are made by pouring liquid concrete into forms. When the concrete dries, the forms are removed and the crane is then used to lift them to the next storey where the process is repeated. The crane also lifts the large buckets of concrete that's poured into the forms.
Aykler says without a crane, the forms are being assembled and dismantled manually.
"It's entirely hand-formed. It says a lot about the guys. It takes a little longer and more manpower but fortunately, it's been going pretty smoothly," says Aykler, who credits project forming subcontractor Yukon Construction Co. for its good work in a challenging situation.
Constructed in 1953, the building being transformed into the Steam Plant Lofts was the power plant for the Wellesley and Princess Margaret hospitals. (The Wellesley and the original Princess Margaret have since been demolished and their former sites are slated for highrise condos.)
The conversion involves doubling the power plant's original height of approximately three storeys.
The work requires adding new foundations and increasing the size of the original foundations, as well as adding new concrete shear walls and slab floors.
During demolition, old boilers and other power-generating equipment had to be dismantled and removed, along with some of the building's original structural system of steel beams and columns.
"The demolition had to be staged with the forming for the new floors and load-bearing walls. It was very intricate work and that was the real challenge," Aykler says.
Construction of the lower floors wasn't so difficult, as it was possible to get a concrete pump inside the building without the use of a crane.
Not so easy for the upper storeys.
"On the upper levels, we have a concrete pump in the laneway and the arm of the pump is directed up over the roof, then in through a hole in the roof and directed to the forms that they're pouring on a given day," says Aykler.
While the smokestack may have been a curse during construction, it's proved to be a blessing on the sales side.
Three units built inside the cleaned-out smokestack will have a round bedroom or den and the stack's original red-brick work exposed.
"Straightaway the stack was the unique feature," says Aykler. "All the units with rooms in the stack, they all went the first day."
One-bedroom condos and units with one bedroom plus den remain available in the Steam Plant Lofts. Prices range from $234,900 to $339,900. Parking spots are $25,000, storage lockers are included in the price and monthly maintenance fees are estimated at 39 cents per square foot.
Occupancy is expected to begin in May 2007.
Appointments can be made by calling 416-413-1300, ext 240. The website is www.steamplantlofts.ca.
AoD
