Augusta - 165 James St S, 14 and 26 Augusta St | ? | 6, 8 & 8 fl | Under Construction

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

Thought some of y'all would appreciate these. Honestly I do still think this, meaning materiality and design is more important than height in some ways, but modern towers so often have nothing but glass on the ground floor and it's so bland and uninviting. It's also nice to have different designs to break up the businesses and buildings. Having too many businesses with the same look is kind of boring. If I were to tell someone how to find "The Brain" I'd suggest the bright yellow building, not give more specific addresses. With many modern buildings, especially block wide buildings it can be hard to differentiate between establishments. It's part of why the Honest Ed's redevelopment is applauded in it's design.

Could NOT agree with you more! We still need craftsmanship on the first few floors - as I say, class over glass.

Love seeing the manual bricklaying - great to see this one going up

[King&James]

Seemingly they are not done with announcements at Hughson and Augusta...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcnwmcjO...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
So is it the Pheasant Plucker, the vacant lot kitty corner or is UC going to buy a church

[craftbeerdad]

Taken from a bench at Hamilton GO Centre yesterday (hadn't seen this angle and thought it might be an interesting perspective for the board)

[TheHonestMaple]

Tons of activity on the Phase 3 site today. Looks like they are gearing up to start excavation. Also, they've completely closed down Hughson between Augusta and Young now.

The Phase 2 excavation is moving along at a steady clip as well. Seems to be around three floors below grade at James now.

The brick is now almost complete on Phase 1. I expect that to wrap up this upcoming week.

[TheRitsman]

[TheHonestMaple]

Aerial photo dump. Taken today Sunday April 24.

[TheRitsman]

It's interesting they seem to have opted for many normal size heat pumps rather than the I'm sure more expensive commercial or industrial sized HVAC. Another reason this size of building is great for cost savings (the other having been the reduce cost from lumber if this had been built at pre-covid lumber prices).

[TheHonestMaple]

I did notice that, somewhat unusual.

It is also interesting watching the rooftop terrace shaping up. It really does look like there's going to be some sort of bar/restaurant up there. I guess time will tell.

[TheRitsman]

These are cast concrete apparently, similar to the Landed Bank Building and the Bank of Montreal building at Main and James.

[StEC]

Love their attention to detail, not many developers put in that extra effort anymore. For most it's all about cost cutting as much as possible.

[Chronamut]

Ah I'm ok with cast concrete - not a lot of skilled craftsmen around anymore and why bother if you can just make a perfect mold that looks like stone, it's the end result that's important in the end, and wow there is not.. a lot tying that stone to the wall.. sheesh, but I trust they know what they're doing

Originally Posted by StEC

Love their attention to detail, not many developers put in that extra effort anymore. For most it's all about cost cutting as much as possible.

If it wasn't for them and LIUNA I would have lost faith in the architects in this city entirely. Thank for for them!

Also those are some NICE deep balconies! If only more buildings made balconies like this, balconies you can actually DO something on..

I do have to question the stone being right on the metal lintel though.. without some sort of barrier so that water doesn't collect underneath and cause rust in between.. I have to say though it's an AMAZING feeling to watch them putting up "stone" carved elements onto a building - makes me swell with pride.

Also I am wondering if the mullion strips under the windows are going to be "grilled" since thats where it looks like they are hiding the exhaust vents on the building - very smart to do it that way - I just hope they can be decorative at the same time

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

wow good find! I was waiting for the more realistic renders to come out. Here's a smaller version.

that is one thing I am wondering about the other 2 builds.. where are the exhaust vents going to be punched in? I always hate new designs that are all pretty and uniform and then they make them an eyesore by randomly punching in vents into the design after - much better if they are incorporated from the start. You can see the silver blocks where they exist on the building beside the white building. Maybe the one for the white building will vent out the sides or the top? I really hope they don't punch any in the front - it doesn't look like there is any room for any..

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

A

I do have to question the stone being right on the metal lintel though.. without some sort of barrier so that water doesn't collect underneath and cause rust in between..

There is almost certainly some kind of bearing pad there. Otherwise you are just asking for chips/cracking there. The cheap option is masonite, the more expensive option is neoprene or rubber.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by jonny24

There is almost certainly some kind of bearing pad there. Otherwise you are just asking for chips/cracking there. The cheap option is masonite, the more expensive option is neoprene or rubber.

I certainly hope so.. cuz.. yeah.

[TheHonestMaple]

They've started pouring the foundation of the James Street building.