It seems like a distant fever dream of a memory; Hollywood royal Robert De Niro stood before a crowd of Toronto's elite and apologized on behalf of his country for their (at the time) despotic leader, a memorable tangent during the ground breaking celebration for Canada's first Nobu Hotel and Restaurant.

It was all the way back in mid-2018 when the eight-time Academy Award nominee and winner of two Oscars appeared in the city to celebrate the start of construction for the condo-hotel complex, but it would be several more months before any visible work would begin at the complex's Mercer Street site.

It's been roughly three years since demolition and preservation work got the ball rolling for the complex, and its pair of 45-storey towers are now rising steadily.

🏗🇨🇦Nobu Residences #Toronto pic.twitter.com/a45vh6MTrk

— renderpornstar⭐ (@RenderPornStar) December 26, 2021

Just a few months after it was revealed that the flagship restaurant would be serving patrons in 2022, it has now been announced that the project is on track to have the first residents take occupancy within the complex's 650 condominium suites later this year.

"Construction for the fully-integrated Nobu Residences is well underway with the first scheduled occupancy to be in 2022," says Josh Zagdanski, Vice-President of High-Rise at Madison Group, describing it as a "transformative project that will anchor a re-envisioned Mercer Street".

Though Mercer Street is changing, the towers' shared base retains links to the past through the integrated facades of the Pilkington Glass Factory, which will frame the main entrance and 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial retail space.

This area of the complex is furthest along in its construction, with the temporary bracing supporting the facades during excavation recently removed, allowing for the coming start of restoration work and interior finishing this spring.

Some of the space is already spoken for, including the flagship Nobu Restaurant, though Danielle Singer, Vice President of Leasing & Hospitality at Madison Group, says that the company is "looking forward to welcoming new, top-tier tenants to this fantastic opportunity to become a part of this first-of-its-kind project."

Above, the towers have risen to heights of 13 and 16 storeys, while installation of the tower's mix of glass cladding and the textured panels shown prominently in renderings has been installed up to the towers' eighth floors.

And while it may look far from completion, much can still be done in 11 months.