The early stages of construction are moving along at an impressive pace at the site of Collecdev’s newest contribution to the emerging pocket of density surrounding Wilson subway station in Toronto. The wheels have been in motion for the Nordic Condos project since this past summer, when demolition began to prep the site of the complex’s first phase, a 12-storey building designed by gh3. Roughly six months later, a large pit is forming as excavation advances for the project.

Demolition work continued into January, when the first heavy equipment arrived to begin actual construction activity. Drilling rigs were the first equipment to arrive, starting work on the site’s shoring system that prepped the site for the now-ongoing excavation. Moving from east to west, crews are digging to a depth of 9.9 metres to create space for the building’s foundations and underground garage. Pile and lagging shoring walls have been built around most edges of the pit, but the more water-resistant concrete caisson wall system is being used where groundwater has been found.

As the dig catches up at the site’s west end, additional heavy equipment has appeared within the pit, a continuation of the installation process for the site’s geothermal energy system. During the early demolition stages, geothermal wells were drilled around the previous buildings’ perimeters. With the former building footprints clear, geothermal drilling is now being done towards the site interior. Geothermal heating and cooling are expected to reduce Nordic’s carbon emissions by 70% and provide residents with predictable utility costs.

Excavation will be followed by the installation of cranes. Pending permits, the building is expected to begin its rise above street level later this year. Upon completion, Nordic will rise to a height of just over 41 metres, bringing 429 condominium and rental replacement units to the site.

Source: UrbanToronto

At Collecdev’s latest addition to a new hub of residential density at Wilson subway station, the early stages of site activity are setting the stage for the upcoming construction of Nørdic Condos. In this area of Toronto just to the northeast of the Highway 401 and Allen Road interchange, Nørdic , like Collecdev’s Tretti Condos—already under construction—is designed by gh3. Over the past few months, crews have been clearing away the three outdated rental apartment buildings on the Wilson Avenue site in advance of the early 2021 start of shoring work.

The first signs of activity were spotted in September, when interior gutting began for the single office building and pair of apartment buildings on site. We last checked in about a month ago, when the first structural demolition work had begun to chip away at a shuttered four-storey commercial building at 530 Wilson Avenue: it was last used by Collecdev as a presentation centre for Nørdic and their earlier projects in the area. With the commercial building fully demolished, its footprint will soon be backfilled to create a flat surface for shoring rigs to operate on.

To the east, demolition has advanced considerably on the four-storey rental apartment buildings at 470 and 490 Wilson Avenue. They were still undergoing interior demolition at the time of our last update. A month later, the eastern building has been reduced to rubble while the west building is in the process of coming down.

Nørdic is set to rise 12 storeys to a height of just over 41 metres, and house 429 condominium and rental replacement units. Among the features awaiting purchasers and residents are a selection of amenities appointed by interior designers ESQAPE Design.

Source: Urban Toronto

There are a lot of perks to living at Nørdic – easy access to York University, Seneca’s York U satellite campus, and many more of the city’s most esteemed educational institutions; a transit hub with a near perfect score of 98%; acres of green space in half a dozen nearby parks; more than 2-million square feet of best-in-class retail at Yorkdale; and a lineup of local cafés, restaurants, bakeries, and gourmet food shops that includes one of the Best Bakeries in Toronto as named by blogTO.

Grodzinski Bakery (or “Grodz” as it’s known to locals) is just a 3-minute drive from Nørdic, which means you can be inhaling the sweet scent of freshly-baked challah – available in plain, spelt, raisin, or multigrain – faster than you can say “mazel tov.” Not only is Grodzinski one of the oldest kosher bakeries in the city, but it has a history that stretches back 132 years and nearly 6,000 kilometres.

In 1888, Harris and Judith Grodzinski migrated from the Eastern Bloc to London’s East End, setting up the original bakery at 31 Fieldgate Street. Over the next 11 decades the business expanded and flourished with the help of nephews, siblings, and children, becoming a true family affair. In 1999 it made an epic voyage across the Atlantic with the opening of the first Grodzinski Bakery in Toronto, continuing the family tradition into the fourth and fifth generations.

Residents at Nørdic are sure to become locals at this historic bakery, a spot blogTO called “one of the city’s best destinations for challah.” But don’t stop at the braided loaves; Grodzinski also serves up delectable bubkas, rogallach, cream horns, lemon tarts, and sugar cookies, all made in house, from scratch.

Good bakeries are the sweet spot of any good neighbourhood and the type of local business that help create the vibrant, inspiring, complete community at Nørdic, now under construction in the heart of Wilson Heights.

Grodzinski Bakery is currently offering home delivery and curbside pickup. Visit grodzinskibakery.com to learn more about one of our local favourites and how you can shop local during this time.