Equipment, towers for Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax

Otis Canada Awarded Ottawa LRT Contract

Otis Canada has been tapped by Ottawa Light Rail Transit (LRT) Constructors to provide 54 and modernize two elevators for the O-Train Confederation Line, Ottawa’s largest infrastructure project since the Rideau Canal was built in 1832. The new line will provide LRT along a 12.5-m-long route with 13 stations, three of which are underground. The order includes 44 Gen2® and 10 freight elevators. Construction of the system began in 2013. It is scheduled to come online in 2018. Otis Canada President Tony Grilli observed Otis is “uniquely capable of providing products sturdy enough to handle a transit system with a capacity of 24,000 passengers per hour in each direction.”

Changes in Vancouver Beach District “Living Sculpture”

Recent renderings reflect changes in the design of a carved tower described as a “living sculpture” taking shape in the Beach District of downtown Vancouver, SkyriseCities reported. The carved cutout is now more pronounced, with a remarkably slender lower level sitting atop an asymmetrical base that stands several stories. Previously reported as 40 stories, the structure is now 49 stories but will still contain residences (600), along with ground-level retail. Westbank is the developer, and the architect is Bjarke Ingels Group with DIALOG and James KM Cheng Architects. Completion is anticipated in 2018.

Striking Addition for Downtown Montreal

Developers Fonds FTQ and COGIR plan to bring a striking addition to downtown Montreal in the form of Humanti Montréal, a 394-ft.-tall, 39-story mixed-use building consisting of conjoined blocks of offices, stores and residences, SkyriseCitiesreported. Located at the corner of Avenue Viger and Rue Hermine, the structure is set to have a hotel suspended above an outdoor plaza, offices and residences (the only block spanning all 39 stories). Retail will be at the ground level. Boasting “top-tier amenities,” the project’s estimated cost is US$151.8 million. It is part of an ongoing revitalization of downtown Montreal.

Proposed Tower Would Be Atlantic Canada’s Tallest

Francis Fares, developer of the King’s Wharf mixed-use project on the harbor in the Dartmouth area of Halifax, hopes to start construction late this year on a 36-story hotel/condominium tower that would be the tallest in Atlantic Canada, CBC Radio Canada reported. The current tallest building east of Montreal is the 33-story Fenwick Tower in Halifax. The new tallest, Marisella, would be part of the King’s Wharf masterplan and include a hotel on the first 11 floors with condos and amenities above.

Marisella is planned as part of the King’s Wharf master plan in Halifax; image courtesy of King’s Wharf.