Excavation is now well underway for the long-awaited first phase of Pinnacle International's Pinnacle One Yonge project, a five-tower, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed community coming to Toronto's central waterfront. While much of the attention has been focused on the project's upcoming 95-storey, 1,007 foot-high tower—set to become one of the country's tallest buildings—the community is getting going with a 65-storey condo tower known as The Prestige as the first phase.

Facing south over the Pinnacle One Yonge site, image by Forum contributor mburrrrr

Construction commenced early this year with the start of shoring, and crews have made noticeable progress in the months since. We last checked in on the project back in June, when crews from Michael Bros Excavation arrived on scene to begin excavation. In the over three months since this update, excavation of the tower's six-level underground garage has accelerated, with a deep pit now evident.

Facing southeast over the Pinnacle One Yonge site, image by Forum contributor cc46

The excavation now reveals watertight caisson walls, with tieback drilling proceeding. An earthen ramp is in place at the west end of the pit, providing access to a procession of dump trucks being used to haul excavated material off-site. To keep the process moving along, the trucks queue up on relatively quiet Freeland Street, awaiting their turn to descend into the pit to remove another load of soil.

Trucks in a queue on Freeland Street, image by Forum contributor skycandy

A pair of excavators continue to work away at the bottom of the pit, with one excavating the area around the entry ramp, and the other loading dump trucks with excavate for removal.

Excavators at the Pinnacle One Yonge site, image by Forum contributor skycandy

The Prestige is just the first step in the large-scale redevelopment of the Toronto Star Lands. Rising 217 metres, the tower will have a noticeable impact on skyline views, while helping to create a foothold for the new community with an initial 497 condominium units, 1,148 m2 of retail space, and a 4,772 m2 community centre.

The Prestige, image courtesy of Pinnacle International

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.