Vaughan's Charisma Condos Phase 2 Rising While Phase 1 Wrapping Up

Urbantoronto.ca
Feb. 22, 2023
Matias Bessai

As the cluster of high-density towers continues to grow in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) node, it’s become harder to ignore that the development bug has taken hold of the northern Toronto suburb, and is pushing beyond the VMC limits, its ripples increasingly bringing larger developments to other areas of Vaughan as well.

One of these ‘ripple’ projects is Charisma Condominiums, a multi-phased development from Greenpark Homes that is clustered around the east side of the massive Vaughan Mills shopping centre. Greenpark is currently seeing construction begin to wrap up on its first phase pair of towers, while a few paces to the south, phase two is now making an impact of its own.

Designed by Kirkor Architects Planners, the first phase towers stand at heights of 24 and 26 storeys, and rise from a shared podium to collectively create a single C-shaped mass. The development offers a total of 586 new dwelling units, currently in the process of being finished, and appears to take parking quite seriously, offering a total of 772 vehicle spaces across six underground levels.

Construction of the project began with the start of shoring in 2018, and work was underway to excavate the building’s extensive below-grade footprint for nearly 2 years before forming could begin. By November 2020, the project emerged above grade for the first time.

Jumping ahead to January of this year, we can see the results below of another two years of work. The towers are entirely formed up to their crowns, and are pictured with complete cladding as well, aside from a narrow vertical section where the construction hoist remains active. Some of the defining design attributes that were detailed in the renderings and plans, like the angled roofs of the towers and the white pre-cast concrete exterior motif, can be seen in their complete state, looking quite true to the renderings.

With phase one seeing the finishing touches take place ahead of occupancy, phase two is making some notable progress of its own, as the second pair of towers rises on the site immediately to the south. Also being built above a shared podium, the second phase towers are set to rise 26 and 28 storeys, and were pictured standing well over half way towards their final heights at the end of January. No cladding has been applied to the concrete frames at this point, as work remains focussed on the growth of the towers.

The Core Architects design for the second phase sees a more conventional orthogonal massing applied to the towers. Some visual detailing is added through a rectangular pattern on the facade, created by pre-cast concrete protruding out from the recessed glazing, while the perpendicular positioning of the towers creates an L-shaped building footprint. With four levels of below grade parking, the second phase accommodates another 779 vehicle parking spaces, while offering a total of 566 new dwelling units for the emerging Charisma community.

A third phase, hoping to deliver a fifth and final tower, is currently in the works, but few details exist about the project to date. For now, Greenpark remains focussed on delivering what they have already started, and for phase one, the completion date is approaching soon.

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.