Almost as ubiquitous in Toronto as the noble racoon, construction cranes are a fixture of the city's skyline. Back in Q3 2023, Toronto had the most operating cranes out of any North American city — a staggering 240 — really just sticking it to Seattle, which had held second place with 45 cranes.
Now, following a slight dip at the end of this year's first quarter to 221 cranes, our numbers are on the rise again, according to Rider Levett Bucknall's (RLB's) latest Crane Index, released last Friday. As of the end of Q3, Toronto gained three cranes over the last six months.
Though RLB reports that Toronto now has 83 cranes, they also note that they have implemented a "revised radius" for the city that focusses only in the downtown core — 3.5km from the Bloor Street West and Avenue Road center — "which has the highest density of construction projects."
"As of Q1 2024, this core area contributes to approximately 35% of the overall Toronto crane count," writes RLB Associate Taryn Harbert.
Rider Levett Bucknall
Still, compared to the 13 other major cities across the continent, Toronto remains an outlier, with its closest competition being Los Angeles where the crane count fell to 42 from around 50 this quarter. Despite, a net loss of 19 cranes in Q1, the number of cranes dotting Toronto’s skyline has been climbing fairly steadily since the first quarter of 2021, when there were 208 cranes documented.
Of the 83 cranes currently in the revised downtown core radius, over half (43%) are being used for residential development, representing an increase of 11 cranes. On the mixed-use sector side, the city saw a decrease to 26 cranes, but according to the report, "Growth is also evident in the healthcare, education, public assembly, and transportation sectors."
Overall, Toronto upped its game this quarter with an uptick that "suggests a recovery from the construction slowdown observed in Q1 2024, indicating renewed growth in development activities," according to the report.
In more good news, a fellow Canadian city is also on the come-up.
Calgary made some noise in Q3 2024 with a substantial 20% increase in cranes, brining their total from around 20 to 24. The increase signals "significant growth in capital projects," says the report. According to RLB, the growth can largely be attributed to major developments, including the $1.2 billion Calgary Events Centre, the $1.2 billion Future Energy Park project, the $5.5 billion Green Line LRT, and approximately $550 million in residential projects.
