Aura Construction Begins

Berardo Graziani is thrilled ground has at last been broken on Aura, the 75-storey skyscraper that will soon be the tallest condo tower in Canada.

“There’s a sense of relief,” says Graziani, a principal with Mississauga-based Graziani + Corazza Architects, the firm that designed the skyscraper, which had its official construction launch Friday.

Mayor David Miller and Councillor Kyle Rae joined Michael LaBrier, president of Aura’s developer Canderel Stoneridge, for festivities at the building site on the northwest corner of Yonge and Gerrard, currently home to a parking lot.

“For the last year and a half or so, all we were hearing from clients and people in the city was, ‘Is that thing ever going to go ahead?’ ” Graziani says. “We heard all kinds of rumours: that it was dead, that it was being sold. . .

“So for us to now say, it’s actually going ahead, that we’re digging at the site, it’s a great feeling and a great accomplishment for our firm.”

Indeed, with dirt having been officially turned, Aura has triumphed over a rival iconic super-condo, 1 Bloor, which was to be 80 storeys before the project failed last summer amid the economic maelstrom. (The Great Gulf Group recently launched a new One Bloor project, which will be 65 storeys.)

“I think (starting construction on Aura) is significant for the industry and the economy in general,” says Riz Dhanji, vice president of sales and marketing for Canderel Stoneridge. “It shows that big buildings can get built.”

And what a building it will be.

When completed in 2012, Aura — a 245-metre tower, the fifth tallest in Toronto — will boast over 1.1 million square feet of space, including 931 residential units and 180,000 square feet of retail offerings. The fifth floor will have a landscaped rooftop, with a fireside lounge and al fresco dining area.

There will be four levels of penthouses: 14 sub-penthouses and an 11,370-square-foot, $17.5 million top-floor unit.

Aura Condominium. Consensus reached by a number of architects

The penthouse will have five bedrooms (with separate his and hers walk-in closets), six bathrooms (including separate his and hers master bathrooms), a sunroom with Jacuzzi, and a private art gallery.

It will also have 13-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows with — needless to say — 360-degree vistas. “It’s going to be the tallest condo in the city, so you’re not going to have anything obstructing your view,” Dhanji says.

The retail space will be housed within Aura’s four-storey glass podium, with primary access through the building’s north side along a resurrected stretch of Hayter St., which will serve as the pedestrian corridor.

“We located the main entrance to the retail at the corner of Hayter and Yonge because we think having the pedestrian traffic movement from that corner is key,” Graziani explains.

“The more knee-jerk approach would have been to put it at Yonge and Gerrard, but we moved it so all the main public spaces are along that northern edge.”

The retail will be anchored by a 50,000-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond. Other tenants announced so far include BMO and Alice Fazooli’s and Canyon Creek restaurants.

“Yonge and Gerrard will be the next Yonge and Dundas for downtown shopping,” says Dhanji. “It’s going to become a mecca for people and completely change that corner, which is one of the last prime corners downtown.”

That’s welcome news to Rae. “The eradication of surface parking lots is my favourite pastime, and that’s a very large surface parking lot,” he says, referring to the site’s most recent use. “It’s an eyesore. It’s like a broken tooth on the smile of Yonge St.”

Aura Condominium, Gerrard - Toronto

That unsightly gap will be filled in with what Graziani describes as “a tower made to be seen as a sculptural element in the city skyline. People will remember it when they see it.”

In designing the structure’s base, architects took cues from the old Eatons building at College Park. They adopted similar heights and scales for the Aura podium, and will build it using limestone and granite, materials found in the 80-year-old art deco landmark.

But Graziani stresses Aura won’t be a heritage-style building. “The detailing and design is 2010, not 1930,” he says. “It speaks to what we are today. It will stand the test of time because it’s not pegged to any one specific type of design or era.”

SHIFT IN LIFESTYLE

Aura originally was envisioned as two smaller towers, but ultimately it was decided to combine the over 1 million square feet of space into a single super-structure. “This really fits the model of intensification,” Graziani says, noting that Aura will be built above the College TTC subway station, helping to “reinforce transit use in the city.”

Rae sees Aura as emblematic of a shift in Torontonians’ lifestyle preferences, a project that speaks to a renaissance of the city’s core.

“People are deciding to pull up stakes in the suburbs and come back downtown,” he says. “And I think Aura is a good example of an optimal location for people who’ve decided they’d rather walk to work; or if they’ve left work, they want to enjoy where they live and not be in constant traffic and turmoil.

“It’s about quality of life,” he adds, “and Aura will provide that in abundance.”

Concourse at College Park, Toronto Canada

The greatest challenge in designing Aura was integrating the structure with what’s currently at ground level and below-grade on the site, including planning for a future PATH walkway connection and tying in with the existing retail concourse at College Park.

Designers went to great lengths to incorporate Barbara Ann Scott Park, an under-utilized urban refuge. “All the other buildings on this block basically turn their backs to the park,” says Graziani. “There aren’t eyes on the park at the pedestrian level, so it’s not a very comfortable space to be in, from a security perspective.”

When Graziani’s firm planned the first two towers of Residences at College Park along Bay St., “we designed townhouses that front onto the park, with access to them from the park,” he notes.

Similarly, Aura’s lobby area — which is to be fronted by a large glass-enclosed public art gallery — will overlook the three-acre park, and Hayter St. will serve as the main pedestrian gateway to it. “It’s going to announce the park on Yonge and make a comfortable and inviting entry,” says Graziani.
[mappress]
With construction now underway, attention shifts from Aura’s base to the tower itself — and how to actually pull off a structure of this magnitude. “As we go up,” he says, “that’s when the challenges really begin.

“Architects can all create beautiful renderings, but to actually see it fulfilled and constructed and to achieve what our vision initially was — that’s going to be the true reward.”

“But that’s when we pull it off,” he cautions. “We’re not going to have any parades right now.”

Once Aura is completed, though, and Graziani’s firm can lay claim to having designed the tallest condo in the nation, he admits it will be a pretty big trip.

“To say it doesn’t affect you personally would be a lie,” he says. “It’s quite a feat. And we’re a fairly young firm, so it feels good to be a part of a development of this stature. It’s a nice feather to have in our cap.”

The big question, though: How long will Aura remain the tallest? “I think it’ll probably last quite a while,” Graziani says. “But who knows. Records are made to be broken.”