For a time, the future looked clear: one specific Toronto tower was set to overtake another for the title of Canada's tallest building.
But a newly-submitted adjustment application has muddied those waters.
Currently under construction at 1 Bloor Street West, The One has been on track to reach a height of 308.6 m (1,012 ft) and 85 floors by, at latest, 2023, since its inception.
The structure will surpass First Canadian Place's 298 m (977.7 ft), bringing it to serve as the country's tallest building for a year or two... until the completion of Pinnacle Development's SkyTower. Pinnacle's project would take over the title at its projected 2024 completion, surpassing The One at 312.5 m (1,025 ft) and 95 floors.
But The One's Mizrahi Developments have recently submitted an Addendum to Planning and Urban Design Rationale document to the City of Toronto. While the proposed adjustments to the structure are yet to be approved, they have the potential to change the game, where the title of "Canada's tallest" is concerned.
READ: A Brief History (and Future) of Canada’s Tallest Residential Buildings
"The surrounding area continues to evolve with new redevelopment and population growth over the last several years. It is important to evaluate the revised proposal in the context of these changes since the original submission in March 2015," reads the Addendum to Planning and Urban Design Rationale submitted to the city.
"With the design revisions, the proposed amendment to the Zoning By-law is appropriate from the perspectives of land use policy, built form, and intensification, and more appropriately responds to the evolving surrounding context."
onebloorwest.com
The nitty-gritty of the changed proposed include bringing the height of the tower from its planned 312.5 m (1,025 ft) up to 338.3 m (1109.9 ft), and from 85 floors to 94. While not quite reaching SkyTower's 95-floor plan, it would surpass its height by more than 25 metres.
"Architecturally, the increase in the height of the tower allows for a more balanced design of the tower element," the Addendum explains. "The additional height also provides an appropriate incorporation of the top residential levels with the architectural “crown” feature at the top of the tower."
An additional 8,084 square metres of residential gross floor area would be delivered through the building's nine new storeys.
The first 18 floors at The One are reserved for restaurants, event spaces, major retailers and a super-luxe Hyatt hotel. Stacked atop are 416 (plus, potentially, nine storeys extra) residential units crowned by four penthouses. According to the Addendum, these plans won't change.
onebloorwest.com
But, as the sun sets today, and until The One's adjustment is approved, SkyTower is still set to be Canada's tallest building. Wrapped in a sleek glass blanket will be 840 condominium suites, all addressed at the foot of the world’s longest street; Pinnacle's project also includes space for a hotel, community centre, offices and shops.
Pinnacle International
Whichever way the cookie crumbles -- or perhaps, more fittingly, whichever way the condo stacks up? -- the CN Tower is set to have more than one rival in the city's sky.
