Not far east of where the three colorful towers called Rushden Station are reshaping Toronto’s Main Street and the Danforth GO area as they rise, another major high-rise project is steadily growing without much fanfare. In Toronto’s Danforth Village neighborhood, Marlin Spring Developments and Osmington’s The Dawes has now pushed its taller tower past the midpoint to its eventual 43-story height, alongside a soaring 24-story tower, while the Arcadis-designed mixed-use project soars behind a former industrial grain elevator site.
Looking northwest along Dawes Road in May 2023, the surviving 1906 industrial grain elevator structure still stands and heritage conservation work has begun. The corrugated iron cladding and weathered industrial façade remain, while a heavy steel scaffolding frame has been installed to the right to support the structure during renovation work.
Looking northwest at the preserved historic grain silo structure, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor HousingNowTO,
If you look to the southeast at the back, you can see temporary walls covered in white, weatherproof Tyvek during the renovation work on the historic buildings, which are installed next to the original volume clad in corrugated iron.
Looking southeast toward heritage restoration and weatherization, image by HousingNowTO, UrbanToronto Forum contributor
The taller tower of The Dawes has made a three-year leap to catch up with today’s heights, significantly towering over the historic structures. The reinforced concrete superstructure now rises with a particularly slim floor slab at its southern end, while exposed ceiling edges, surrounding safety railings and formwork remain at the top levels. A construction elevator is installed on the east facade. Below, a green or white net covers the framework and envelops the renovation area of ​​the historical heritage as well as the integration areas for new buildings at the base.
Looking northwest at the taller tower rising above historic structures, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor christiesplits
This view underlines the massive composition, from whose podium the slender, wedge-shaped residential tower rises. The concrete frame features pronounced projecting balcony stacks along the pointed west and narrow south sides of both towers, creating a repeating grid of slab edges and recessed vertical breaks. On the lower levels, the podium runs through a series of open building bays and transfer panels supported by thick, cylindrical concrete columns, including a particularly prominent oversized column at the corner behind the historic structures.
Looking northwest at the podium and tower mass taking shape, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor christiesplits
Looking west, the taller tower is about 26 stories high. The structure rises on the 27th floor, while below, a six-story podium extends north toward the shorter 24-story tower – the footprint of which is marked by the second blue crane. So far, about one level of it has been formed. Formwork tables are set up on the connecting podium roof. In the distance to the right, the high-rise structure of one of the Rushden Station towers enters the picture.
Looking west at The Dawes rising next to Rushden Station near Danforth GO, image by CLT, UrbanToronto Forum contributor
When completed, The Dawes will rise 43 and 24 stories, reaching a height of 143.91 m and 83.7 m, respectively. At the same time, 688 condominiums will be built in Toronto’s East End.
Looking northeast towards The Dawes, designed by Arcadis for Marlin Spring Developments and Osmington
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more in our database file linked below. If you’d like, you can join the discussion in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.
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