Medallion Corporation about to start work on second tower of massive project in downtown Ajax

AJAX — Phase two is about to begin.

Medallion Corporation is about to start the second tower at its massive $300-million project at Harwood Avenue and Bayly Street.

The first tower is more than half complete and tenants should be moving by July 2017, said Howard Paskowitz, the senior development manager for Medallion.

Both towers will be 25 stories and when both are completed, about 1,600 apartments will be available, he said during a groundbreaking ceremony on the site Thursday, Sept. 8.

“This development is the largest mix-use project ever in Durham,” Paskowitz said, adding there will be office and retail space in both buildings.

“We’re honoured to be part of this project. It will be a catalyst in the downtown for years to come,” he said.

Joining him at the event was Mayor Steve Parish, who said the project is “really a template for where everyone in Durham should be going with their downtowns.”

The site will also be home to Pat Bayly Square and will feature a skating rink/reflective pool, water fountains, public art, multifunctional spaces for public gatherings, stage, seating areas, landscaping, civic building and a special monument to honour the thousands of women war workers who worked at Defence Industries Limited.

Pat Bayly was the first mayor of Ajax and he also played a prominent role at Camp X, a secret training camp for Allied spies during the Second World War.

The square is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2018, the second tower by the winter of 2018.