Queen Street Redevelopment

Redevelopment Update December 18 2006

The construction of the first four buildings of Transforming Lives Here, CAMH's redevelopment project, continues to advance on-schedule. Work has now entered a new phase, signified by a big, and visual, change to the skyline of Queen Street West.

work is looking up

Necks were craning across our Queen Street site late last week, as Eastern's construction crane shot up 120 feet into the sky in one day's work. This tower crane, and a smaller crane (which will traverse the site on rails) on the southern portion of the construction area will provide the heavy-lifting required for the construction of the four buildings of Phase 1a. The installation of the crane was a sort of aerial ballet, with dexterous and fearless construction workers coordinating with a ground-based mobile crane to assemble the swinging 'arm' of the tower crane while suspended far above the ground. After two months of work both at grade (the construction of the new public road) and below (the excavation of basements and the installation of municipal services) the sight of the crane taking to the air was a welcome one.

what goes on behind the scenes

While a 120-foot crane certainly captures everyone's attention, an equally crucial piece of the construction puzzle is moving forward behind the scenes. With the actual construction of the buildings set to begin, the various sub-trades (masons, steelworkers, etc...) are confirming their shop drawings with the project architects and Eastern Construction's project management team. The purpose of the shop drawings is to confirm that the buildings will be built according to project specifications. For example, the mason will provide the technical details of the bricks, mortars and metal ties he intends to use (including physical samples) to the architect and project manager, who will then ensure that the mason's submissions meet the specified requirements. In the words of our project's Compliance Architect, the shop drawings are "the last stop on the train," before the building physically goes up.

upcoming activities

Construction work will extend to this Friday, cease over Christmas and will resume on Wednesday December 27. This week, Toronto Hydro will connect the tower crane to the local electrical network (the construction trailers were hooked up last week) and the construction of the basements will begin. This work will involve the placement of reinforced concrete and the construction of the elevator pits. When work resumes after Christmas, construction of the basements will continue. A second crane will be added to the work site in the new year.

The first phase of our redevelopment involves the construction of four new buildings, one new public park, the extension of municipal services (including a new road) onto our site and the repair of the western sections of our Heritage Wall which borders our site. In all, Phase 1A will house 48 beds for our Addictions program and 24 for our Mood and Anxiety program in a more home-like setting. These new 'Alternate Milieu' buildings will enhance our ability to provide a high level of care for our clients. The vision for the overall redevelopment project, is to create a new hub for CAMH within a mixed urban village on the current Queen Street site.

If you have any specific questions about the update, or items that you would like addressed in future e-updates, please contact me (Chris Edey); my contact information is below.

RCE

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R. Christopher Edey
Communications and Urban Planning Manager
Redevelopment Office
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
1001 Queen Street West
1167A -- Administration Building
Toronto, Ontario
M6J 1H4

T: 416.535.8501 x.3248
F: 416.583.1290
E: chris_edey@camh.net

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