On Monday morning, Minto Communities GTA celebrated the start of construction for their latest project in Downtown Toronto, the 46-storey, Wallman Architects-designed condominium tower coming to Church and Lombard streets known as The Saint. Hosted at the already-active site at 89 Church Street, among heavy equipment prepping the site for excavation, the event brought together project team members to mark the official start of work with a celebration that included a food truck, an awards ceremony, and remarks, as well as a golden shovel photo-op.

The Saint ground breaking, image by Jordan Probst Photography

Emceed by Minto’s Vice President of Acquisitions and Urban Development, Jeff O’Reilly, the ground breaking was conducted in three separate groups to keep guests adequately socially distanced. After an introduction from O'Reilly on a stage marked by renderings of the project, remarks followed from Minto Head of Sales, Justin Bossio, and Vice President of Construction Operations, Troy Dosman. 

The Saint ground breaking, image by Jordan Probst Photography

The awards ceremony presented small golden shovels encased in glass and engraved with The Saint ground breaking details to team members, while The Saint merchandise including hats, sweaters and t-shirts were also given out to commemorate the occasion. The event wrapped up with a photo-op where team members posed with The Saint-branded golden shovels.

Aerial views of the site captured during the event show the progression of site preparation work. Crews from Delsan Demolition are working away on clearing a two-storey building at the north end of the site, adjacent to the surface parking lot that occupies the majority of the project site. Interior demolition was ongoing when we last checked in back in August, and excavators have since begun the structural demolition.

The Saint ground breaking, image by Jordan Probst Photography

Once the site is cleared of this structure and the parking lot's asphalt surface, the next step will be the arrival of drilling rigs to begin work on the site's shoring, which will later be followed by excavation.

The Saint, image courtesy of Minto Communities

You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Related Companies:  Entuitive, EQ Building Performance Inc., Figure3, Grounded Engineering Inc., Groundwater Environmental Management Services Inc. (GEMS), Live Patrol Inc., Minto Communities GTA, NAK Design Group, Quasar Consulting Group, Rebar Enterprises Inc, UCEL Inc.