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The quartet of towers that make up Festival Condominiums assert ever more presence in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre skyline as they continue to grow. Now, another tower crane has completed its job and has been taken down, while two more preside over two towers that are still rising taller. Designed by Arcadis, the project is part of the expansive 75-acre Assembly Park masterplanned community, a transformative mixed-use development that will house residential, commercial, institutional, and public spaces, from the partnership of Menkes Developments and QuadReal Property Group.
Three months have passed since UrbanToronto's last update, which detailed the ground breaking of Encore at Bravo where the three next Menkes towers of 36, 41, and 45 storeys will grow. Since then, the first four towers, ranging from 41 to 59 storeys, have seen notable progress.
In this expansive southwards-facing view, we get a comprehensive look at the progress of all four towers. The 48- and 59-storey buildings stand topped off to the right, with the latter’s tower crane recently dismantled. Some cladding remains to be installed; we will look at that more closely later. To the left, though, the towers on their way to 41 and 48 storeys are both close to topping off, with white balcony guards reaching up to the 23rd floor on the northeast tower in the front and the 15th floor on the southeast tower behind it. Below, white fins are installed along the curtainwall of the podium to the right, extending past the connecting middle section and partially across the podium of the northeast tower.
Zeroing in on the top of the southeast tower, the tower crane stands above extensive formwork for the mechanical penthouse. Below this, yellow shoring posts remain in place while the concrete above continues to cure. In the background, the tallest tower's facade is on full display, with the white balcony guards broken up by irregularly-shaped interruptions opening up the window wall to the sky.
Zeroing in on the northeast tower, its crane stands to the right, while to the left, a red boom pump is prepared to deliver concrete to the uppermost floors; about five more remain to be formed before arriving at the mechanical penthouse levels. Below, the construction hoist is visible along the south elevation. The design of the top floors features a reduced slab size, identifiable by the recess at the southeast corner corresponding to another gap in the irregular balcony patterns.
This acute angle view showcases the top of the 58-storey tower. Looking downwards, the rhythmic pattern of the balcony guards leads our eyes to the tinted glass partially installed at the southeast corner. The tower extends three storeys above another square-shaped recessed section on the corner, highlighting a break in the massing that will add emphasis to the section of glazing, as well as the balcony guards that will curve around the indentation. On the roof, a telescoping building maintenance unit, or BMU, is now in place, to be used by window cleaners and other work in the future.
Looking southwest to the eastern towers, glazing extends about halfway up the current height of the northern tower to the right, while the southern one is further along, with only six floors of bare concrete. Below, the podiums of each of these towers are connected just above ground level.
Meanwhile, construction materials delineate the area of the future central plaza. This landscaped space, to be surrounded by nearly 7,900m² of commercial space in a variety of boutiques, shops, cafes, and a grocery store, will serve as a hub for the community, connected by pedestrian pathways. To the right, excavation for Phase 2 is in full swing, where the 36-storey Bravo tower will rise at the east end.
The first phase towers are set to stand at heights ranging from 135.3m to 189.05m, collectively housing a total of 2,470 residential units.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
