At 1 Yonge St., in downtown Toronto, Pinnacle International’s 106-storey Sky Tower will top out at 351 metres and be one of five skyscrapers that’s part of the 4.4-million-square-foot Pinnacle One Yonge development.Wallace Immen
Amid Toronto’s forest of skyscrapers, developers are erecting a new generation of ‘supertall’ buildings, which top out at 300 metres and above.
The trend comes amid pricey Toronto land values and as finding large pockets of land proves difficult, making building tall a more economical and feasible option, according to Isaac Work, Canada associate director at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
While the city’s real estate market has recently cooled, housing demand in Toronto likely means construction will begin to increase soon, adds David Pontarini, founding partner of Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini Architects, which has been involved with the designs of several supertall developments in the city, including Pinnacle One Yonge, One Bloor West and another proposed College Park project.
The 85-storey One Bloor West, under construction by Tridel, will reach more than 300 metres, officially becoming Canada’s first supertall building this summer, before it’s officially completed in 2028. The project, under construction since 2015, has been marred by controversy, it is years behind schedule and it is hundreds of millions of dollars over budget.
Its record will be short-lived. By the end of the year, Pinnacle International’s 106-storey Sky Tower at 1 Yonge St., will reach 351 metres, with more supertalls on the way.
The iconic Sky Tower — projected to reach 351 metres — will surpass the height of the CN Tower’s main observation level, which sits at 346 metres.Supplied/Pinnacle International
Canada’s supertall stock
“We’re tracking a total of 11 supertalls in development – including three under construction – which makes Toronto eighth among cities in the world building supertalls,” says Mr. Work.
In addition to One Bloor West and Sky Tower in Toronto, the 300-metre, mixed-use Concord Sky tower is under construction at the city’s Yonge and Gerrard streets. Other proposed Toronto supertalls include one of a trio of towers at College Park, one at 19 Bloor St. W. in Yorkville, one of three towers designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry in the Theatre District on King Street and one at 191 Bay St. in the Financial District.
The only other supertall building proposed elsewhere in Canada is a 315-metre tower that is part of a three-building property – announced by developer Holborn Group – at the corner of West Georgia and Dunsmuir streets in Vancouver.
Heights rise globally
While new for Canada, 242 supertalls have been completed around the world, while another 353 are in development, according to Chicago-based CTBUH.
The council is holding an international conference at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle hotel from Oct. 6 to 9, which is expected to draw 1,400 experts.
There are 71 cities around the world with at least one supertall building, with four reaching ‘megatall’ status – buildings of more than 600 metres, CTBUH calculates. The four megatalls are the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai Tower and the Clock Towers in Mecca.
Dubai leads supertall standings with 33, followed by Shenzhen, China, with 21 and New York City with 19. China boasts 120 supertall buildings, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 37 and the United States with 31, the council tabulates.
Aside from ranking eighth for supertalls, Toronto ranks as the 16th tallest city in the world, with 108 skyscrapers reaching more than 200 metres, says CTBUH. It’s also the third-tallest in North America after New York and Chicago.
The lower 12 floors of Sky Tower will be the 224-room Le Méridien Toronto Pinnacle Hotel, while the upper floors will include 960 residential units.Supplied/Pinnacle International
Master planning for tall buildings
The unobstructed views of Lake Ontario are only part of the equation when it comes to building the 4.4-million-square-foot, five-tower development at One Yonge St.
South of Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway, the property’s supertall Sky Tower will sit alongside four other structures, one of which will be another supertall rising 95 storeys – or 320 metres, says Anson Kwok, vice-president of sales and marketing for Pinnacle International.
“We’re turning the waterfront into a community where everything is available within a convenient walk,” Mr. Kwok says. “Before this, there were retailers that only survived in the summer months when tourists visited. The residential will drive thriving retail businesses.”
The Pinnacle One Yonge complex will ultimately include more than 2,500 condominium suites, one million square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of retail and a 50,000-square-foot community centre.
The development’s already-completed first tower – a 65-storey building called The Prestige – includes office and retail space, including a Bank of Montreal and SKN Beauty Centre.
The lower 12 floors of Sky Tower will be the 224-room Le Méridien Toronto Pinnacle Hotel, while the upper floors will include 960 residential units.
While the tower will surpass the height of the CN Tower’s main observation level, which sits at 346 metres, there are no plans for a public rooftop, Mr. Kwok notes. The top four floors will be for mechanical equipment.
The economics of building tall
Building tall is a natural result of land values that have increased dramatically over the years, explains Mr. Pontarini of Hariri Pontarini Architects.
“While building two 53-storey buildings might be faster as crews could work in parallel and sequence construction, it’s increasingly difficult to assemble large parcels of land in Toronto’s core,” Mr. Pontarini says. “We will be seeing more and more of these supertall projects as cities mature to get the highest and best use of constrained sites.”
Rising to super-heights is also more complicated and challenging, Mr. Pontarini notes. “You need stronger concrete at the bottom than at the top and different footing sizes and elevator systems.”
Tall buildings also need special systems to counteract wind-induced vibrations. “You’ve got to know what you’re doing, but we have learned a lot as these structures become more common around the world,” he adds.