Toronto's Mega Boom

[Copper]

Toronto is currently one of the most booming cities in the world, said to have more highrises under construction the whole United States. I don't have much else to say really, pictures shall do the talking. This list is from urbantoronto.ca

These are all buildings over 400 ft.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Trump International Hotel & Residences - 925 ft. (282.0 m) 60 floors

Nov 11 (Androiduk)


Aura at College Park [Residences of College Park] - 866 ft. (264 m) 75 floors

Nov 03 (Hypnotoad)


Shangri-La Hotel & Tower - 704 ft. (214.6 m) 65 floors

Nov 07 (Urbandreamer)


Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Residences [Simcoe Place] - 688 ft. (209.8 m) 53 floors

Nov 08 (Motage)


L Tower - 672 ft. (204.9 m) 57 floors

Nov 07 (Caltrane74)


Four Seasons Hotel & Tower [Four Seasons] - 669 ft. (204 m) 52 floors

Oct 30 (Sodapop)


Absoluteworld Tower I - 585 ft. (178.4 m) 56 floors

Nov 10 (Asmegin)


Absoluteworld Tower II - 525 ft. (160 m) 50 floors

Nov 10 (Asmegin)


Burano [Murano] - 525 ft. 50 floors

Nov 01 (dt_toronto_geek)


The Uptown Residences - 518 ft. (157.9 m) 48 floors

Nov 06 (Jasonzed)


Festival Tower [Bell Lightbox] - 514 ft. (156.7 m) 42 floors

Oct 16 (CML)


33 Bay [Pinnacle Centre] - **512 ft. (156.1 m) 52 floors

Oct 31 (Hypnotoad)


Star Tower [Beyond the Sea] - 498 ft. (151.8 m) 44 floors

Oct 15 (Interchange42)


Couture [Bloor Walk] - 462 ft. (141 m) - 42 floors

Oct 01 (Cruzin4u)


Clear Spirit Condominiums [Spirit Living] - 446 ft. (136 m) 40 floors

Nov 04 (Current)


Parade Tower II [Cityplace] - 418 ft. (127.4 m) 46 floors

Sep 18 (Jasonzed)


Solaris East [Metrogate] - 417 ft. (127.1 m) 40 floors

Sep 02 (Solaris)


Solaris West [Metrogate] - 417 ft. (127.1 m) 40 floors

Sep 11 (Solaris)


Charlie - 404 ft. (123.2 m) 36 floors
6
Nov 07 (Jasonzed)


Nautillus [The Waterview] - 400 ft. (122 m) 39 floors

Oct 20 (gis_guy)


The Gooderham [Spirit Living] - 400 ft. (122 m) 35 floors

Jul 19 (Jasonzed)




SITE PREP/EXCAVATION

Ice Condominiums II [York Centre] - 769 ft. (234.4 m) 65 floors

Oct 16 (Jasonzed)


Ice Condominiums I [York Centre] - 663 ft. (202.2 m) 55 floors

Oct 16 (Jasonzed)


Hullmark Centre North [Hullmark Centre] - 551 ft. (168.0 m) 45 floors


X2 - 525 ft. (160 m) 49 floors

Sep 25 (DT_Toronto_Geek)


300 Front Street - 512 ft. (156.1 m) 52 floors

Oct 31 (Hypnotoad)


Cinema Condos - 468 ft. (142.7 m) 43 floors


Grand Residences [Parkside Village] - 456 ft. (139 m) 45 floors *Mississauga*

Oct 19 (Jasonzed)


Research Tower [Sick Kids Foundation] - 423ft. (129 m) 21 floors


---------------------------------------
SALES OR LEASING

One Bloor - 780 ft. (238 m) 70 floors


Bay-Adelaide Centre East [Bay-Adelaide Centre] - 643 ft. (196 m) 45 Floors


171 Front Street West - 576 ft. (175.6 m) 36 floors


U Condominiums I [U Condos] - 505 ft. (154 m) 45 floors


5 Condos (Five St. Joseph) - 482 ft. (147 m) 45 floors


Residences at the RCMI - 478 ft. (145.7 m) 42 floors


Emerald Park Condos [Emerald Park] - 469 ft. (143 m) 40 floors


Bisha Hotel & Residences - 466 ft. (142.1 m) 41 floors


Gibson Square I - 451 ft. (137.5 m) 45 floors


Gibson Square II - 451 ft. (137.5 m) 45 floors


Studio on Richmond - 430 ft. (131.2 m) 41 floors


545-565 Sherbourne St. - ??? ft. 43 floors


Chaz on Charles - 415 ft. (126.5 m) 39 floors



-----------------------------------------
PROPOSED

880 Bay Street - 630 ft. (192 m) 45 floors

U Condominiums II [U Condos] - 604 ft. (184.1 m) 55 floors


Richmond Adelaide Centre - 600 ft. (182.9 m) 48 floors

Canada Tower - 586 ft. (178.7 m) 51 floors

335 King Street West - 581 ft. (177.1 m) 48 floors


36-44 Eglinton Avenue West - 548 ft. (167 m) 53 floors

609 Sherbourne Street I - 547 ft. (166.9 m) 56 floors

Bay Adelaide North Tower - 532 ft. (162.2 m) 49 floors


Cumberland Terrace Redevelopment I [Cumberland Terrace] - 531 ft. (162 m) 48 floors


Delta Toronto[Southcore Financial Centre] - 524 ft. 47 floors


609 Sherbourne Street II - 521 ft. (158.8 m) 53 floors

York Street Office Tower [York Centre] - 517 ft. (157.6 m) 31 floors

Theatre Park - 515 ft. (157 m) 47 floors


Waterways - ??? ft. 50 floors


9 Grenville Street - 491 ft. (149.7 m) 42 floors

609 Sherbourne Street III - 482 ft. (146.9 m) 50 floors

100 John Street - 482 ft. (147 m) 42 floors

395-403 Bloor Street East - 460 ft. (140.2 m) 42 floors

609 Sherbourne Street IV - 459 ft. (139.9 m) 46 floors

99 Blue Jays Way - 446 ft. (136 m) 41 floors


Southcore Office Tower [Southcore Financial Centre ] - 445 ft. 30 floors


295 Adelaide Street - 444 f. (135.3 m) 43 floors


Cityplace Block #31 [Cityplace] - 434 ft. (132.3 m) 34 floors


70 Colborne Street - 431 ft. (131.4 m) 39 floors

Pinnacle Tower I [Grand Park] - 426 ft. (129.9 m) 38 floors *Mississauga*

Cumberland Terrace Redevelopment II [Cumberland Terrace] - 411 ft. (125.3 m) 36 floors


27 Heath Street East I - 406 ft. (123.8 m) 37 floors




RECENTLY COMPLETED

1. Bay-Adelaide Centre West Tower [Bay-Adelaide Centre] - 715 ft. (218.0 m) 51 floors - 2009
Casaguy


2. MLSE North Tower [Maple Leaf Square] - 610 ft. (186.0 m) 54 floors
Darwin


3. RBC Centre [http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/...f21c.jpgSimcoe Place] - 600 ft. (182.9 m) 42 floors - 2009
Drum118


4. 1 King West - 578 ft. (176.2 m) 51 floors - 2005
Ellisdon.com


5. MLSE South Tower [Maple Leaf Square] - 571 ft. (174.1 m) 50 floors
Darwin


6. Success Tower [Pinnacle Centre] - 532 ft. (162.2 m) 53 floors
Drum118


7. Quantum 2 - 525 ft. (160.1 m) 52 floors - 2008
Mike in TO


8. West ONE Tower I [Cityplace] - 509 ft. (155.2 m) 49 floors - 2007


9. College Park Tower I [College Park] - 507 ft. (154.6 m) 51 floors - 2006
CSW2424


10. Harbour Views Estates Phase 2 [Cityplace] - 503 ft. (153.4 m) 49 floors - 2005


11. Spire - 492 ft. (150.0 m) 45 floors - 2007
AlvinofDiaspar


12. Murano South Tower [Murano] - 479 ft. (146.0 m) 45 floors - 2009
Threnody


13. One Park Tower - 466 ft. (142.1 m) 38 floors - 2008
Marcanadian


14. College Park Tower II [College Park] - 458 ft. (139.6 m) 46 floors - 2008
CSW2424


15. Pantages Tower [Pantages] - 458 ft. (139.6 m)46 floors - 2003
Archiguide.com


16. Casa Condominiums - 453 ft. (138.1 m) 46 floors - 2010
Gbarill


17. X The Condominium - 453 ft. (138.1 m) 45 floors
MikeinTO


18. Montage [Cityplace] - 449 ft. (136.9 m) 47 floors - 2009


19. The Met [Met Condominiums] - 431 ft. (131.4 m) 43 floors - 2007
CanadianNational


20. Empire Tower [New York Towers] - 427 ft. (130.2 m) 28 floors - 2005
Emporis.com


21. N [Cityplace] - 415 ft. (126.5 m) 42 floors - 2007


22. Luna Vista [Cityplace] - 413 ft. (125.9 m) 38 floors - 2009
MatrixElement


23. One Pinnacle Centre Toronto [Pinnacle Centre] - 407 ft. (124.1 m) 40 floors - 2006
Allanwindows.com


24. Harbour View Estates Phase 1 [Cityplace] - 402 ft. (122.6 m) 40 floors - 2005


25. Telus Tower - 400 ft. (121.9 m) 30 floors - 2009
MatrixElement

Don't get me started on everything under 400 ft

[mgk920]

What percentage, would you say, of these are going up between the Gardiner and the lakeshore (mostly abandoned railroad yard property)?

Also, do you think that the metro amalgamation of about a decade ago had any effect on this?

Very interesting, this building activity reminds me of Chicago about 4-5 years ago.

Mike

[DetroitPlanner]

Man I hope you don't do a Dubai!

How aboslute is Absoluteworld?

[Seabishop]

Wow. In general, what's being replaced by all these high-rises? Will the city be losing a lot of its historic buildings? I haven't been there in 10 years, it'll look very different if I ever get back there.

[Rygor]

Wow. In general, what's being replaced by all these high-rises? Will the city be losing a lot of its historic buildings? I haven't been there in 10 years, it'll look very different if I ever get back there.

I'm curious about this, too. I was there back in 2004 when none of those buildings were there. Is a lot of this going up near downtown/lakefront, Yonge/Bloor, North York?

Definitely reminds me of Chicago in the South Loop, River North, and Loop pre-2008.

[Copper]

Generally in empty lots.

Where there is an historic building facadism seems to be the norm. Such as this...

[Dan]

The new buildings seem to follow the Vancouver model of tall and thin, rather than the traditional wide commieblocks of the past. Is this intentional?

[Howl]

Yes. It's intentional. If I recall the City's Tall Building Guidelines generally limits residential floorplates to 750m2 above a certain height.

[Dave F]

What are your opinions of the street-level environments in the areas where these building have gone up? From some of the pictures, it looks like it could be a bit on the antiscptic side.

Also, is it a North American or international trend for this large a proportion of highrise development to be residential? This has also happened in Austin, albeit at about 1/50 of the Toronto scale.

Lastly, is anyone else absolutely terrified of those high-rise patios above the 10th floor or so? If I lived in one of those buildings on a really high floor, I would probably never even go within 3 feet of the patio door!

[nec209]

oronto is currently one of the most booming cities in the world, said to have more highrises under construction the whole United States

Most 95% of those condos are by the lake and downtown area and everyone wants to live by the lake .There is no room to build homes by the lake now it is all built up now so only solution is to build up .

Also Toronto downtown core is very small not like some other cities in the US so land value is very high .

Has you can see Toronto downtown core does not sprawl out much so it very costly to live or work there.You have to have alot of money
http://listingsca.com/common/maps/ca...todowntown.gif

It all build up now so the only solution for demad to live there is build up.There no room to build homes .

[Howl]

While a large proportion of the condos are in Concord’s CityPlace and elsewhere along the central waterfront, there is also a lot of development elsewhere in the city centre (Bay & College, Yonge & Bloor for example), as well as in the North York City Centre, the Etobicoke City Centre, around Humber Bay and along the Sheppard Subway line. There are also a lot of projects in the pipeline for the next five to ten years which includes the Donlands, Yonge & Eglinton and the Scarborough City Centre, as well as along all the new LRT lines (if the mayor doesn’t cancel them).

Outside of Toronto – Mississauga, Brampton and Markham are all seeing high-density building booms as well, with other areas, like Vaughan City Centre, in the pipeline.

What are your opinions of the street-level environments in the areas where these building have gone up? From some of the pictures, it looks like it could be a bit on the antiscptic side.

Also, is it a North American or international trend for this large a proportion of highrise development to be residential? This has also happened in Austin, albeit at about 1/50 of the Toronto scale.

Lastly, is anyone else absolutely terrified of those high-rise patios above the 10th floor or so? If I lived in one of those buildings on a really high floor, I would probably never even go within 3 feet of the patio door!

In almost all cases these developments are street-related and have active uses and if not in the downtown core are normally centered on major transit nodes. They are intended to be walkable urban communities linked to the other centres by subway and/or intercity commuter rail.

CityPlace has received some criticism for not going far enough in creating active enough streets, but I think these critics are premature. There are quite a lot of retail uses and where there is residential adjacent to the street the zoning and building design allowed for conversion to commercial uses in the future. The amount of retail will grow as the population grows. There is also a secondary network of pedestrian connections that has a major public art installation at every intersection.

The commercial high-rise market has been saturated in Toronto for some time. There was a huge boom in commercial building in the 1980's and 90's which lead to a big glut. Recently some of the projects that were shelved are being dusted off, but the majority of high-rise constuction in Toronto remains residential.

[Howard Roark]

Yes. It's intentional. If I recall the City's Tall Building Guidelines generally limits residential floorplates to 750m2 above a certain height.

Holy cow! That’s about 8,000 SF, in the US it would be financial disaster to build that tall with that SF. I know you will find similar restrictions in Germany, but mostly that has to do with getting natural light into buildings.

They look nice, but man you talk about a narrow color pallet. Needs someone to make a bold statement with a bold color

[Howl]

Because Toronto has so many tall buildings near to lower-density neighbourhoods the impact of shadows from tall buildings has been a big issue for some time. Over the years there has been a shift away from lower, broader buildings to taller, slimmer buildings because the shadow, while it stretches further, moves faster meaning the impact on any one property in shorter.

NIMBYs’ still fight for lower buildings but are usually convinced taller is better once they see the shadow modeling. If the NIMBY’s are successful in reducing the height of a building, which sometimes happens, the one's closer to the development usually end up suffering as a result. Builders like going taller because the views from the top floors command a premium that more than compensates for extra construction cost.

[OfficialPlanner]

Toronto is an interesting case study for planners, especially when compared to American cities.

Many cities strive to attract residential density to their downtown areas. Some use economic development programs that offer incentives to developers. In Toronto, there is a constant battle over residential density and height of buildings. Developers tend to build tall and dense on vacant lots since it is highly profitable. The city is concerned over the heights of buildings casting shadows on low-rise residential neighborhoods and public spaces. There also consideration given to the protection of view corridors. Another concern is that all the new residential towers may detract from the available land for future commercial development.

Then there is the issue of transit. The system in Toronto can be overcapacity at times. The big debate nowadays is whether to focus transit expansion on subways or streetcars. This is such a contrast when compared to other cities issues with transit.

[MarushkaTO]

Just thought I'd share this article with you all.

http://www.thestar.com/business/arti...se-development

[OfficialPlanner]

What Toronto has done in terms of urban development is very impressive. Now the latest is a 100+ storey tower planned for the waterfront, and a 60+ storey tower planned for the outer burbs. Most suprising are rental vacancy rates that are below 2 percent and have been steadily decreasing despite the condo boom for the last 10-years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/b...e-toronto.html
http://www.yorkregion.com/news/artic...in-buttonville

[Dan]

I wonder what Toronto would be like today if the Quebec independence movement wasn't a major political force, and language laws were never implemented. Basically. if Quebec followed the more pragmatic New Mexico approach in addressing its unique culture ("gentle blending of cultures"; English as the language of government, business and education; a cultural identity rooted in the Spanish language; and a generally positive attitude regarding cultural appropriation by newcomers) , would Montreal still be the dominant city in Canada?

[nec209]

Toronto is an interesting case study for planners, especially when compared to American cities.

Many cities strive to attract residential density to their downtown areas. Some use economic development programs that offer incentives to developers. In Toronto, there is a constant battle over residential density and height of buildings. Developers tend to build tall and dense on vacant lots since it is highly profitable. The city is concerned over the heights of buildings casting shadows on low-rise residential neighborhoods and public spaces. There also consideration given to the protection of view corridors. Another concern is that all the new residential towers may detract from the available land for future commercial development.

Then there is the issue of transit. The system in Toronto can be overcapacity at times. The big debate nowadays is whether to focus transit expansion on subways or streetcars. This is such a contrast when compared to other cities issues with transit.

Toronto is looking more and more like Asia . Ever gone to China or India? That what planners are doing there for the poor . Other culture aspect of Canada is 20's to late 50's mix use living above store was very big in Canada where in lot cities in the US more so the south in 20's moving away from mix use.

In the US promotions first model T car gone way back even before ww2 of idea of American dream it spread in the media owning a car and house so idea of Europe or Asia living is looked down on has many Americans value that we left crowded Europe or Asia and move to US for bettter life and have house and car.

This built environment would make most Americans feel they are living in China or Japan and would be public out cry.It is very interesting this tower in park concept is so rooted in the Canadian culture not only in city hall , government but even the people and is like that all over Canada.

Other thing is the concept of roaming house and basement tenet in Canada in two story house or one story house is other thing much like North East US but strange concept southern part. The US has 10 times more people and 10 times more cities with most cities way more people than Toronto yet Canada is so empty land with only handful of cities but mind set thet they are still living in Europe or Asia .

[OfficialPlanner]

Toronto is looking more and more like Asia

It must all the taxpayer blocks

[Rygor]

The US has 10 times more people and 10 times more cities with most cities way more people than Toronto yet Canada is so empty land with only handful of cities but mind set thet they are still living in Europe or Asia .

Really? What cities besides maybe New York, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago are bigger than Toronto?

[OfficialPlanner]

Really? What cities besides maybe New York, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago are bigger than Toronto?

nec209 is someone's sockpuppet, which is against Cyburbia's rules but has been allowed to exist for many years.

This old thread was great for a few laughs when it was initially created, but the ongoing shtick is lame and overdone. I assume Dan is able to tell if the IP is the same as another user.

[OfficialPlanner]

Anyway, back on topic...

I have had the pleasure of working with several different Habitat affiliates on various projects but never on a high-rise building though, so I thought this article was interesting. I especially like the part about Habitat's push for density bonuses in exchange for affordable (Habitat) housing.

Toronto’s Habitat for Humanity is going highrise

But, most importantly, it’s taken just five months to finalize the deal and make the Midland and Eglinton Aves.-area condo move-in ready for Viaje, a single father, his 13-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son.

It typically takes two to three years to get a new Habitat home approved and built from scratch.

“The city is evolving and so are we,” says Martin Blake, chair of the Habitat Toronto board and a vice president with builder Daniels Corp.

“Not everyone’s idea of home is a house with a white-picket fence.”

Like Toronto itself, Habitat is now stretching skyward because land has gotten scarce and costly. Condominium living has become a far more accepted form of housing in Toronto over the last two decades and many of the people on Habitat’s wait list are immigrants from countries where highrise living is the norm, says Blake.

[nec209]

Really? What cities besides maybe New York, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago are bigger than Toronto?

Okay may be I used wrong words to explain what I was trying to say. I will see if I can do it again so everyone can understand what I was trying to get at.


Top 24 urban areas over 1,000,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...es_urban_areas

New York--Newark, NY--NJ--CT 18,351,295
Los Angeles--Long Beach--Anaheim, CA 12,150,996
Chicago--Gary, IL--IN 8,608,208
Miami, FL 5,502,379
Philadelphia, PA--NJ--DE--MD 5,441,567
Dallas--Fort Worth--Arlington, TX 5,121,892
Houston, TX 4,944,332
Washington, DC--VA--MD 4,586,770
Atlanta, GA 4,515,419
Boston, MA--NH--RI 4,181,019
Detroit, MI 3,734,090
Phoenix--Mesa, AZ 3,629,114
San Francisco--Oakland, CA 3,281,212
Seattle, WA 3,059,393
San Diego, CA 2,956,746
Minneapolis--St. Paul, MN--WI 2,650,890
Tampa--St. Petersburg, FL 2,441,770
Denver--Aurora, CO 2,374,203
Baltimore, MD 2,203,663
St. Louis, MO--IL 2,150,706
San Juan, PR 2,148,346
Riverside--San Bernardino, CA 1,932,666
Las Vegas--Henderson, NV 1,886,011
Portland, OR--WA 1,849,898
Cleveland, OH 1,780,673
San Antonio, TX 1,758,210
Pittsburgh, PA 1,733,853
Sacramento, CA 1,723,634
San Jose, CA 1,664,496
Cincinnati, OH--KY--IN 1,624,827
Kansas City, MO--KS 1,519,417
Orlando, FL 1,510,516
Indianapolis, IN 1,487,483
Virginia Beach, VA 1,439,666
Milwaukee, WI 1,376,476
Columbus, OH 1,368,035
Austin, TX 1,362,416
Charlotte, NC--SC
1,249,442
Providence, RI--MA 1,190,956
Jacksonville, FL 1,065,219
Memphis, TN--MS--AR 1,060,061
Salt Lake City--West Valley City, UT 1,021,243

And many other urban areas over 600,000








100 largest population centres in Canada

Only 4 cities over 1,000,000

Toronto, Ontario 5,132,794
Montreal, Quebec 3,407,963
Vancouver, British Columbia 2,135,201
Calgary, Alberta 1,095,404

Only 6 big cities but no where large like the US.

Edmonton, Alberta 960,015
Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec 933,596
Quebec City, Quebec 696,946
Winnipeg, Manitoba 671,551
Hamilton, Ontario 670,580
Kitchener, Ontario 444,681

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...tres_in_Canada

Like I say Canada has only a handful of cities .

[nec209]

nec209 is someone's sockpuppet, which is against Cyburbia's rules but has been allowed to exist for many years.

This old thread was great for a few laughs when it was initially created, but the ongoing shtick is lame and overdone. I assume Dan is able to tell if the IP is the same as another user.

Read this thread here ..


cyburbia and language issure hard to understand my threads
http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...282#post660282

[OfficialPlanner]

nec, sorry for my unsubstantiated comments. Please forgive.

Toronto is looking more and more like Asia.

This video may be of interest. The comparison to Asian cities has recently gone main stream.