One of downtown Toronto's busiest intersections is looking a little different these days as two buildings — which have sat at opposite corners for decades — continue to be transformed to make way for a new station on the future Ontario Line subway. 

On Monday, Metrolinx provided an update on the construction work that's taken place at Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue for several weeks now. 

Yellow there! 👋 If you’ve been in the Queen and Spadina area recently, you may have seen these bright yellow retention towers. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/aNrGLeWNER

— Ontario Line (@OntarioLine) January 22, 2024

Construction fences began popping up at the intersection in late spring, as multiple businesses vacated the area, including a Fancy Franks location, walk-in clinic, and TD Bank. 

According to Metrolinx, teams are now using bright yellow-painted retention brackets to brace the existing facades of a historic building at the northeast corner of the intersection in place as the rest of the building is demolished, a strategy known as in-situ facade preservation. 

Facade retention work is well underway at the historic banking (CIBC) building at 378 Queen St. W/165 Spadina Ave., constructed over 120 years ago and now getting a new lease on life as part of the future Queen-Spadina Ontario Line station.

Originally designed by George Wallace Gouinlock for the Bank of Hamilton — which later merged with CIBC — the building was completed in 1903 and received heritage designation in the early 1970s. 

Teams are using retention towers to preserve the existing façades - a strategy for heritage preservation. The building façade will remain throughout the construction and be part of the new Ontario Line Queen-Spadina station - so we can preserve the beloved historic façades.(2/4) pic.twitter.com/MJTTOQcZ6k

— Ontario Line (@OntarioLine) January 22, 2024

The retention towers provide structural support for the facades to remain in place, and will prop up the facades throughout construction to be part of the forthcoming station. 

By 2041, the station is expected to see 7,200 customers and 3,800 transfers during its busiest hour, with approximately 23,000 people living within walking distance.

The station's entrances have also been placed a few steps away from streetcars to optimize connection points and serve the transit-oriented community built around the stop. 

Unlike panelization, where we remove panels and take them to a storage facility to reinstall them at the end of the project, the retention towers provide structural support for the building façades to remain in place. (3/4) pic.twitter.com/xNSO137xhj

— Ontario Line (@OntarioLine) January 22, 2024

In a previous statement to blogTO, Metrolinx said that it is "committed to preserving Toronto's history," with demo work being performed under the supervision of a cultural heritage specialist. 

Learn more about the future Queen-Spadina station 🔗https://t.co/NtD2MOlqdq (4/4) pic.twitter.com/u3GV3g80xG

— Ontario Line (@OntarioLine) January 22, 2024

"All the materials are being carefully transported to a facility for safekeeping until they can be incorporated into the future station buildings, while some elements of the buildings will remain in place throughout construction," a spokesperson told blogTO. 

Although some elements of the historic building will be incorporated into the future stations, it's not exactly clear what the iconic intersection will look like once all the construction work wraps up, as current renderings are still subject to further approvals and consultations.

This is what the new subway station and condos at Queen and Spadina will look like https://t.co/qon1mjzdh0 #Toronto #Queen #Spadina #Subway

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 15, 2021

The under-construction Ontario Line will bring 15 new stations to the city along a 15.6-kilometre subway line running from Exhibition Place, through the heart of downtown, all the way to the Ontario Science Centre.

The line is expected to bring significant relief from crowding through the existing transit network with connections to over 40 travel options along the way, including the TTC's Line 1 and Line 2, GO Transit rail lines, and the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.