The project was an expansion of a one level, 1,000+ space parking deck at Sherway Gardens Mall in Etobicoke, Ontario. This is a replacement deck for previous parking structure in the same location, which was demolished in 2008. Erection began in late October 2014 and was completed in May 2015.

The project included a connecting pedestrian bridge, which provides direct access to 2nd floor of the mall and 2 vehicular bridges/ramps (North and South) for access to the deck’s upper level.

Custom made form liner modules were created in the manufacturing plant.  Three custom wood molds were constructed and five hand-poured polymer form liners were produced.  Each of the five form liners were moved and/or rotated in the form to achieve the exterior design of the spandrels. Several spandrels had angled extensions at the ends to accommodate project geometry.  The project required custom form build-ups to allow wrapping of the face mix.

One specific challenge was that all spandrels required C1 classification at the interior of the deck, while the expensive architectural mix (including mica sand and white quartz) was not rated C1.  As such a two-part pour was done using split rails with architectural mix at the face of the form and the back-up gray structural C1 on top.  Extensive bond testing was conducted to ensure no separation between the two mixes.  Special consideration had to be taken when creating the seam at the top and bottom of the spandrel to make sure the line was straight and aesthetically pleasing.

Prestressed Systems Inc. (PSI) and International Precast Solutions (IPS) supplied 545 pieces of precast concrete products including: architectural panels, columns and spandrels; double tees, shear walls, solids, stairs, and I, T, and L beams.

The precast concrete architectural finishes of the triangles randomly change from light acid wash to warm sand blast finish. IPS used aggregate containing mica sand and white quartz aggregate for a sparkle finish.

The largest and heaviest pieces were bridge spandrel panels – 7’ x 87’ x 12-15” deep, and weighed over 100,000 lbs. each.  The south ramp had to be designed with removable architectural facia panels to reduce the shipping and handling weight of these spandrels.