I read that too somewhere.

That being said, I do think "move in ready" space is preferable to a lot of tenants. I know of smaller companies that would have been interested in something like this and had to move to the suburbs due to a lack of suitable space. I don't think there are enough of those companies to fill giant office towers but this is quite small.

He actually said it last night during the public hearing.

I think Espace is suppose to be more for the start up companies, much like the roy building is now.

On another note. Can someone change the title of the thread to under construction?

How long is construction estimated to take?

Not long. They say it should be ready this fall.

Here's a photo of the progress taken by Shawnee G on flickr:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/...d3c76fc2_b.jpg
Source

I drove by here today and saw Peter Kelly and three other men with suites and hardhats leaving the front door. He must have been getting a tour of the progress.

There seems to be progress being made - that is positive. Gutting older buildings like that can take a lot of time. There was a building on Stephen Avenue (8 Ave SW) in the heritage district that had a complete exterior and interior reno. It went from a really divish building to a nice new restaurant - great food and the interior reno looks awesome.

Quickie from today;

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/...b166cb47_z.jpg

Is that payphone a protected Heritage Site?

The heritage trust need one to call their friends--- there's no way any of them own cellphones.

They're already an endangered species - give 'em another 20 years and they will be...... :)

Stephen Ave is a great mix of new and old, all of the older buildings along it are in great shape, as are the stores that fill them ..... To think, heritage buildings mingle with the likes of; Bankers hall , TD, Scotia Cntr and yet it hasn't taken away from the appeal of that area one bit..... Hmmmmm maybe, HT should head out here to see the possibilities of a blend of new and old , see it works!:tup:

Not to mention , because the area is sought after business wise , the owners of these buildings can afford the up-keep unlike Barington st.

No picture, but scaffolding started to go up all along Barrington yesterday.

An article in ANS tonight implied that pretty soon they'll be working on the new floors above the existing buildings. The building is expected to be ready for occupants in late 2012.

It will be interesting to see if we hear anything about the Roy Building as this nears completion. It's possible they'll be shifting some tenants over. If the Roy plans include a significant residential portion they could move pretty quickly.

I'm relieved about the aim for a late 2012 occupancy. I was beginning to wonder if this project was starting to drag its feet.

Although I have a greater eagerness for the old Discovery location to redevelop and tremendously improve the famished street of Sackville, the Roy Building will be a second new tower for Barrington, which will have enough height to tie-in nicely with the existing banking towers.

I haven't been back in a long time so I'm not sure what progress has been like lately. It's easy to imagine a renovation project like this having some involved and difficult-to-predict phases where from the outside things look roughly unchanged for weeks at a time. Once they start putting in windows and finishing touches I'm sure it'll look far better than before.

Another big advantage of this building is that the new retail spaces will be highly desirable and suitable for major tenants. The article stated that there has been interest from some national retailers, which is unsurprising. I think Barrington's problems lately have had a lot to do with a lack of modern spaces and the development approval logjam.

They were starting to put on some temporary roofing over the site when I had a look earlier this week. There's definitely some progress happening.

Looks like they've accidentally damaged some parts of the facade at the very top of the left-side building (part of the stonework has been knocked off), but I'm guessing they'll be able to restore it

why is this project called "Espace" ?

It means space in French. High-brow marketing?