Construction at Scotia Place is heading into one of its biggest milestones yet, with the final piece of structural roof steel set to go in this coming Monday, according to reporting from Sportsnet’s Eric Francis and a comment from GM Craig Conroy on the Spittin’ Chickets podcast.
That means the project is getting closer to the point where the visible heavy lifting gives way to the finishing work. As of Labour Day weekend, the building was already looking far more complete from the street, with each corner showing a different stage of the same story: less big structural work, more detail work.
At the southwest corner, where the main entrance is supposed to be, the latest changes were subtle but important. The framing for the glass around the entrance’s windows and doors has gone in, and the south-side glass beside the entrance, facing the south plaza, is now installed.
The northwest corner remains in that same in-between phase, where the major shape is already there and the crew is working through smaller adjustments and refinements.
On the northeast side, the building envelope panels appear to have nearly wrapped the structure, while concrete work for the parkade has also moved ahead. From that angle, the parkade is starting to read as a real part of the building rather than a separate idea on paper. The parkade entrance sits just off to the far left in that view, with the waste management entrance and loading dock ramp entrance on the right.
The southeast corner may be the clearest sign of how far things have come. The building is almost fully enclosed, which puts it close to being what construction people call “weather tight.”
The ESSO Community Rink entrance is also taking shape there, with lots of glass work and those distinctive concrete pillars now visible. That corner still needs some of the framing for the exterior cladding, but the main structure looks essentially finished.
Once the roof steel is complete, the remaining major outdoor work will be enclosing the Community Rink roof, which sits underground and forms the surface for the southeast plaza, along with finishing the parkade. After that, most of what will be visible from outside will be wrapped up, and the focus will shift toward landscaping and exterior finishes.
Those final details are already planned, so the next phase should bring the project a little closer to its finished look. The next check-in is expected in a few weeks, as the hockey season gets closer.
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