This already super-tall waterfront development is getting more towers

Changing market conditions have caused real estate behemoth Pinnacle International to switch up its plans for One Yonge, its enormous condo complex on Queens Quay at the former headquarters of the Toronto Star. Rather than move forward with its previous plan to create two additional office-heavy buildings at 24 and 40 storeys, respectively, the mega-developer is now proposing to build 80- and 85-storey residential towers on the same parcel of land. When complete, One Yonge will now come with five skyscrapers total.

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Already complete is the 65-storey Prestige tower, and construction teams are currently hard at work building two more. The tallest of those is the SkyTower, which will be Canada’s tallest residential building, reaching the observation deck of the CN Tower.

So what prompted the shift? Pinnacle argues that “macroeconomic changes” brought on by the pandemic and other world events have led to reduced demand for office space. “This is not a short-term market aberration,” the company said in its proposal to the city. “It is a long-term and structural change.”

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The two additional proposed towers would bring 2,406 homes to Toronto’s central waterfront, including 109 affordable rental units, plus retail space, a hotel and a child care centre. The two towers would be connected by a 14-storey podium, with zero car parking but 2,661 spaces for bicycles.