The Entertainment District remains a bustling hive of new development, and right now the epicentre of all this work is the intersection of Richmond and Peter Streets, with three high-rise developments now on the way up within spitting distance of each other. What was once one of the most important intersections for Toronto nightlife is now transforming with new condominiums and offices.

Tableau (left) QRC West (center) and Picasso (hoist visible on the right), image by anonymous0024

On the southeast corner of the intersection, UrbanCapital Property Group, Malibu Investments and ALIT Developments' Tableau Condominiums is beginning to make an impact on the surrounding neighbourhood. Designed by Wallman Architects, the 36-storey condominium tower will feature a tall colonnade, sheltering a public plaza housing a sculpture by artist Shayne Dark called "Nova". A large scaffold has surrounded the columns of the colonnade for the past several months. The scaffold has now been removed at the east end to reveal the massive colonnade, hinting at the commanding presence it will eventually have on Richmond Street.

Scaffold coming down at Tableau's colonnade, image by Red Mars

With an impressive volume of condominium construction proceeding throughout the area, the desirability of office space in the Entertainment District is also on the rise. The northwest corner of the Richmond and Peter intersection is home to the construction site for Allied Properties' daring Queen Richmond Centre West (QRC West).

Construction of Allied's QRC West, image by Jimmy Wu

Designed by Sweeney &Co Architects and engineered by Stephenson Engineering, QRC West will provide a much needed 300,000 square feet of office space in the heart of a sea of condominium towers. Glazing is now being applied to the tower floors of the office building, and the reflective curtainwall glass will certainly provide a nice contrast to the textured exteriors of both Tableau and Picasso.

Detail shot of glazing on QRC West, image by Dumitru Onceanu

QRC West's defining signature of course is the dramatic lobby underneath the new tower. The tower is being held aloft by three X-shaped delta frames which will allow the atrium lobby to flow around the existing heritage structure onsite.

One of QRC West's "delta frames" peeking out from around the heritage commercial building, image by Marcanadian

To the east, construction is gaining momentum at the site of Monarch Group and Goldman Group's Picasso. The first tower floors of the 39-storey, Teeple Architects-designed condominium tower are now rising on the north side of Richmond Street.

Picasso Condos with QRC West in the background, image by Jack Landau

While it is difficult to see it now, Picasso will be quite the unconventional building, with its massing arranged into shifted protruding blocks as the tower rises. Dramatically tinted recesses between the blocks will make this building unmistakable on the local skyline.

Picasso Condos as seen on July 29, 2014, image by Jack Landau

Finally, another addition to this corner that will make a difference can be seen in the image above: the triangular wedge of pavement that is currently all sidewalk is going to get a makeover courtesy of Section 37 funding; those are the public benefits monies that developers pay in return for density increases. In this case, the builders of Tableau have hired renowned Montreal-based landscape architect Claude Cormier to give the corner a major boost.

Claude Cormier's reworked triangular park space with Shayne Dark's sculpture at Tableau, image courtesy of UrbanCapital

Additional information and renderings for these three developments can be found in their respective dataBase files, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.