“We have lots of brick and beam buildings that are beyond six storeys and they have held up for 100 years and more. “My answers are that there is no lessening of the code restrictions on occupant safety and no lessening of any safety objectives. “The biggest questions people ask are: Can you really go that high? And doesn’t wood burn?” Mr. While there aren’t significant savings in material costs, there can be considerable savings in building time and carrying costs, which are a significant part of the equation for commercial buildings, the Wood Council has found. The council has talked with developers who are contemplating 40 separate mid-rise wood projects in Ontario.
There’s a growing interest in building with engineered wood not only in Canada but internationally, says Steven Street, technical manager of Ontario Wood Works, a program of the Canadian Wood Council. Called Heartwood on the Beach, the six-storey, 37-residence building at Queen Street East and Woodbine Avenue was the first application under Ontario’s new wood building code. is doing the designs for both 80 Atlantic and a residential project Hullmark is building, along with condo developer Fieldgate Urban, that uses cross-laminated wood construction. Big Rock Brewery, which is setting up at 60 Atlantic and will share the patio with 80 Atlantic, is partnering with Oliver & Bonacini to make a two floor brewpub restaurant. The 80 Atlantic building will have a shared courtyard patio between it and a vintage brick and beam building at 60 Atlantic. Hullmark has chosen Eastern Construction Co. “If we build a concrete and steel office building, we’re competing against every other office building in downtown Toronto.”Ĭonstruction on what is currently a parking lot is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016, as soon as zoning and site approvals are complete. The project’s scope will provide added attraction for small tenants who want a unique office environment and high visibility, Mr. Hullmark went to market in the fall of 2015 and secured bank financing backed by a creative firm’s commitment to one floor of space and some additional equity. With a large project, that can mean a lead time of three to four years from the time a project starts. (Quadrangle Architects)īanks typically require preleasing commitments for half the space before they approve construction financing. development's wood construction differentiates the building from its downtown peers in the competitive commercial real estate marketplace. If you have an eight or 12-storey office building, that’s a lot of tenants you have to find in Liberty Village, where the typical company is owner-operated and works year to year in terms of projecting office requirements,” Mr. “We decided a smaller building would give us the best shot at preleasing the space. The components are prefabricated off-site in controlled conditions, so weather becomes a minor factor.Īnother practical consideration was financing.
The assembly on site can be done with a small crew within weeks, because floors and beams can be assembled quickly. There are compelling business reasons behind the decision to go with mid-rise wood construction, Mr. (Quadrangle Architects)Įven though the developer could have gone to 12 storeys in that neighbourhood with conventional concrete construction – as a project down the street from 80 Atlantic is doing – Hullmark has capped the project at five storeys.
The developer of 80 Atlantic Ave., as shown in these artist sketches, kept the building to five storeys, reasoning it would be easier to prelease because the target tenants are mostly owner-operated small businesses.