Category Archives: Financial District

Trump l’oeil: Eyes on Toronto’s Trump Tower

Bay Adelaide Centre Trump Tower and 302 Bay Street

Reaching skyward: In this view from the depths of the Bay Street skyscraper canyon, the 13-storey office building at 302 Bay Street (top) appears to rise almost as tall as the still-under-construction Toronto Trump Tower, which is around 50 floors high so far and climbing steadily on its way to 60 storeys.  Originally the Trust and Guarantee Building, 302 Bay was built in 1917 but received a rooftop addition in 1929. The building now bears the Bank of Montreal name above its front entrance.  On the left is the 51-storey Bay Adelaide Centre, Trump Toronto’s neighbour on the north side of Adelaide Street, built in 2009. Part of the 68-storey Scotia Plaza tower built in 1988 is visible at right and in reflection on the south side of Bay Adelaide Centre.

The Trump Tower made the news today in a Toronto Star article that gives an “exclusive peak” inside the Trump Hotel section of the skyscraper, which received an occupancy permit from the City last Friday. The hotel is scheduled to open later this spring. The newspaper article also profiles the tower’s 42-year-old billionaire builder, Alex Shnaider, and hails his “noteworthy accomplishment” of having “built the tallest residential tower in Canada — and the second tallest building in Toronto, after the CN Tower.” Seems the Star is jumping the gun: the Trump isn’t even as tall as the Bay Adelaide Centre yet, and it’s far from “built.” Moreover, when complete, it still won’t rise as high as 72-storey First Canadian Place, so Trump will have to settle for third-highest place on the Toronto skyline. Below are some pics I’ve taken of the Toronto Trump Tower this month.

Toronto Trump Tower

March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump Tower construction

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower viewed from Bay & Adelaide Streets

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: Southwest view from Bay below Adelaide Street

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the southwest

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: Nathan Phillips Square view of the Toronto Trump construction

 

Bay Adelaide Centre and Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: West view of Bay Adelaide Centre and Toronto Trump Tower

 

Toronto Trump Tower and Scotia Plaza

March 7 2011: From left are the Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West.

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 7 2011: Trump Tower viewed from Bay Street outside First Canadian Place

 

Toronto Trump Tower and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West

March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West. The 27-storey bank building at the northeast corner of King & Bay Streets was constructed in 1951.

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump construction

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 14 2011: When completed, the Toronto Trump Tower will stand taller than Scotia Plaza — when measured to the top of its spire. But Scotia Plaza’s roof will still be higher, as a diagram on skyscraperpage.com demonstrates.

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and Scotia Plaza

 

Scotia Plaza Toronto Trump Tower and Bay Adelaide Centre

March 22 2011: Scotia Plaza, Toronto Trump Tower and Bay Adelaide Centre

 

 Toronto Trump Tower

March 22 2011: Northeast view of the Trump Toronto from King Street West

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 22 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the northeast

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 22 2011: King Street view of the northeast corner of the Trump Toronto

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 22 2011: Toronto Trump Tower street level view from King Street

 

Toronto Trump Tower

March 22 2011: Cement trucks at the tower’s King Street construction entrance

 

City Scene: Adelaide Street keeps growing taller

Adelaide Street

 

Towers rising: This view of Toronto’s Financial District — seen yesterday from the intersection of Adelaide Street West and Widmer Street — will change considerably in the next few months as the Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel and condo tower and Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto climb taller.

This particular block of Adelaide will look drastically different in a couple of years, too. The 43-storey Cinema Tower condo is under construction behind the red hoarding at right; another 43-storey condo, the Pinnacle on Adelaide, will be going up beside it, where the white billboard stands.

Meanwhile, a developer is seeking city approval to build a 37-storey condo and office tower where the building with the yellow awnings is situated at left. That’s currently the location of the Entertainment District’s ever-popular Alice Fazooli’s Italian Grill. Mamma Mia! Where’s poor Alice going to go?

 

Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel & condo tower construction site signs have the city seeing pink

Living Shangri-La Toronto

Just one of several hot pink signs atop the Living Shangri-La Toronto tower


Think pink: You can’t miss the Living Shangri-La Toronto construction at 180 University Avenue (at Adelaide Street West), even though the hotel & condo tower is only 20 storeys high so far. In-your-face fluorescent pink signs on several upper floors stand out for blocks, and will become even more widely visible across the downtown core as the tower climbs taller towards its 65-storey eventual height.

The building site is tickled pink at street level, too, but most of those signs get attention with a warmer, almost coral, shade that isn’t as bold, brash and loud as the signage higher up.

Hot pink is a colour I normally associate with tacky snowsuits and swimwear for five-year-old girls, not luxurious five-star hotels and condos. But since the high-end hotel and condo scene in Toronto is starting to get a little crowded, getting people to think pink is probably a great way to get noticed. Living Shangri-la Toronto

The Shangri-la Toronto is one of four glitzy and glamorous new five-star hotel/condo towers changing the city skyline this year.

Over on Wellington Street West, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto will be opening its doors to guests this month. Up in Yorkville, construction is moving right along for the two shiny glass towers of the Four Seasons Toronto Hotel & Residences. And just two blocks east of the Shangri-la, also on Adelaide, the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is three-quarters of the way to claiming its place as the second-tallest skyscraper in the city.

But the Shangri-la won’t need the pink signs to get attention once more of its striking blue windows are put in place. Glass has enclosed just part of seven lower floors so far, but already the windows are creating some eye-catching colours, textures and reflections. That’s especially the case on the University Avenue side of the tower, where just several panes of creased glass suggest how stunning the tower’s tall and sharply angled east and west glass walls will appear when finished.

A project of Westbank and Peterson Group, the building will  feature a 220-room Shangri-la hotel and spa on the first 17 floors. There will be 279 condo residences on floors 18 to 48, and 73 “private estates” on floors 49 to 65. The project was designed by Vancouver’s James Km Cheng Architects with Toronto’s Young + Wright Architects. 

Below is a rendering of the tower, along with photos I’ve taken at the project site between September 2008 and last week. To view more pics, check out the Living Shangri-la album on the Photos Sets page of the blog.

 

Living Shangri-La Toronto

Artistic depiction of Shangri-La Toronto’s presence on University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Marketing billboard at Living Shangri-la Toronto excavation site on Sept 26 2008


Living Shangri-la Toronto

A passerby watches the excavation activity from Adelaide Street


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Site excavation progress on March 5 2009


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Ritz-Carlton Toronto has a head start on construction at its location below the CN Tower, just a few blocks southwest of the Living Shangri-la Toronto site


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Freezing rain delays installation of the Living Shangri-la Toronto construction crane on March 29 2009; the crane went up several days later


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Construction crane awaits installation on a cold, rainy March 29 2009


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Two construction cranes work the site on March 8 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Site’s southeast corner seen on March 8 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Construction progress viewed from Simcoe Street October 20 2010


Living Shangri-La Toronto

Construction viewed from University Avenue on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Distinctive angular design element on the tower’s southeast corner


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Southeast corner seen from Adelaide Street on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Simcoe Street view of construction progress on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

West side of Living Shangri-la viewed from Neilson Street on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Hotel sign on hoarding along University Avenue’s west sidewalk


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from University Ave. near Queen Street on Nov. 29 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Window installation on tower’s south side January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Windows on tower’s south side  January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Simcoe Street on January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Adelaide Street West on January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Metro Hall park on King Street January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Blue glass, pink signs catch attention on University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Windows installed on lower floors above University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Signature design “crease” in windows above University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Looking up the tower from east side of University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Angled windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Signature “creased” windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Reflections in “creased” windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Simcoe Street view of windows on west side of tower February 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

West side of tower viewed from Simcoe Street February 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Pedestrians under construction hoarding on west side of University Avenue



Keeping tabs on … the Toronto Trump Tower

Trump Toronto

Trump Toronto seen from Adelaide Street West on February 3


46 floors and counting: The Donald’s first construction foray into Canada is three-quarters of its way up.

On Thursday I counted 46 floors on the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto, the luxury condo + hotel skyscraper that will ultimately soar 60 storeys above the corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets. With construction crews pouring a new floor about every six days, the granite- and glass-clad tower should top off sometime around mid- to late March.

I’m loving the Trump already — especially its distinctive green glass walls, which will add a refreshing new colour to a skyline that has been basically black, white and bronze for more than two decades. I think the building works well at ground level, too, where it looks right at home in the middle of the Financial District’s canyon of towers old and new. It almost feels like it’s always been there; I can’t even remember what stood on the site before.

Designed by a Zeidler Partnership Architects team led by Lydon Delaney, the Trump will house 261 hotel rooms on the tower’s lower levels, and 118 luxury condominiums from floors 33 to 60. With hotel rooms ranging from 550 to over 2,000 square feet, the Trump will offer the largest accommodations in Toronto, the project’s website brags.  And just as you’d expect for a building bearing business mogul Donald Trump’s imprimatur, it will be “the most luxurious residential building in Canada.”

The superlatives don’t end there, of course. The Trump won’t be just an instant new landmark on the city skyline, the website gushes, it will be “an elegant new beacon for luxurious sophistication” (whatever the heck that means).  “Accentuated by an articulated spire at its peak that commands attention from any angle, the Tower pays homage to classic Manhattan skyscrapers yet embraces the modern cosmopolitan flair that is distinctly Toronto.”

Aw, shucks. Is that The Donald’s kind way of saying Toronto has finally come of age and matured into a world class city? Below are two building renderings from the Trump Toronto’s website, along with some photos I snapped of the tower on Thursday afternoon.

Trump Tower Toronto

Rendering shows Trump standing tall with Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place


Trump Tower Toronto

Website rendering of Trump Toronto’s lower levels above Bay & Adelaide Streets


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump rising behind Commerce Court West (57 floors; built 1972)


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump Toronto rising behind the Bank of Nova Scotia tower (27 floors; built 1951)


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump Toronto seen from Bay Street just above King Street


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump Toronto climbs skyward beside Scotia Plaza (68 floors; built 1988)


Trump Tower Toronto

Looking up to the top (so far) of the Trump Tower from Bay Street


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump Toronto is clad in granite and glass


Trump Tower Toronto

Green glass windows and cladding on the tower’s southwest corner


Trump Tower Toronto

Construction workers on a platform high above Bay Street


Trump Tower Toronto

Granite exterior on the lower southwest corner of the tower


Trump Tower Toronto

One of the construction workers’ elevators stops at the 28th floor


Trump Tower Toronto

Platforms extend from nearly a dozen different floors on the south side


Trump Tower Toronto

Two angled platforms on the exterior of the tower’s south side


Trump Tower Toronto

Construction workers on a swing stage two storeys above Bay Street


Trump Tower Toronto

Classic granite facade fits right in on the Bay Street corridor


Trump Tower Toronto

Bay Street view of Trump Tower behind Commerce Court West


Trump Tower Toronto

Trump Tower cozies up to its next-door neighbour, Scotia Plaza


Ritz-Carlton Toronto set to rock city’s 5-star hotel scene when guests begin arriving in February

CN Tower reflects on Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower on November 29 2010


Lifestyles of the Ritz and famous: The soaring glass and limestone skyscraper with its distinctively sloped upper floors has already taken its elegant place on the city skyline. Now, with guests scheduled to begin arriving within just a few weeks, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto is set to make a spectacular splash on the city’s five-star hotel scene, too. Standing 53 storeys, the Ritz-Carlton is the first of four new high-end hotel/condo towers that should finally put Toronto on the radar of affluent travellers around the globe during the next two years.  (The others, currently under construction, include the Trump International Toronto, the Four Seasons Toronto Hotel + Residences, and Living Shangri-La Toronto.)

Seems it wasn’t so long ago that members of the International Olympic Committee, when considering Toronto’s ultimately unsuccessful bids to host the 1996 and 2008 Summer Olympics, complained that the city was sorely lacking in upscale accommodations. Moreover, Toronto hotels have rarely appeared on any of the annual lists that top international travel publications compile of the world’s best hotels. In November, for instance, Toronto failed to get a single hotel on the Conde Nast Traveler “Best in the World 2010” list, and didn’t even make it onto the magazine’s “Top 20 Resorts in Canada” ranking. Toronto hotels similarly didn’t make the upper cut for Conde Nast’s “Gold List” of the world’s best hotels and resorts, released in January. And just this week, Toronto Star Travel Editor Jim Byers blogged that only one hotel in all of Canada made it onto the American Automobile Association’s list of five-diamond hotels in North America for 2011 — and it wasn’t in Toronto, of course (it was the Four Seasons at Whistler, B.C.).

But if the attentive staff at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto make an impression, the constant snubbing of Toronto’s hotels should come to an end. The hotel website says the Ritz-Carlton Toronto will open in February, offering “a world-class spa, exceptional dining, impeccable service and 267 luxurious guest rooms and suites.” I couldn’t find room availability for any February dates when I used the hotel website’s online booking form, but I did manage to find rooms starting as low as $455 per night in early March. (I didn’t book, so I’ll just have to settle for viewing the building from the outside.)

Some construction work is still in progress, as crews rush to complete the hotel entrance, lobby and lobby bar. Work continues on many of the ultra-expensive condo suites in the tower’s upper levels while, on the exterior, the hotel’s signage has still not been installed, and work is finishing up on a wide walkway between the Ritz-Carlton and the CBC headquarters to its west.

Two architectural firms collaborated on the project: Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) Associates Architects and Planners of New York and Page + Steeles Architects of Toronto.

Further details about the Ritz-Carlton Toronto building are provided in this fact sheet from the hotel. Below is an artistic rendering of the tower (from the Ritz-Carlton website), along with a series of photos I’ve snapped on recent walks past the building.

 

Hotel website rendering of the Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower


Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower viewed from Wellington Street on November 29 2010


Ritz-Carlton Toronto viewed from Roy Thomson Hall on January 14 2011


Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower southwest view on November 29 2010


Ritz-Carlton Toronto viewed from Wellington Street December 16 2010


Ritz-Carlton Toronto Wellington Street entrance driveway


Ritz-Carlton Toronto front entrance viewed December 16 2010


Ritz-Carlton lobby awaits furniture installation on December 16 2010


Ritz-Carlton lobby bar under construction December 16 2010


Ritz-Carlton lobby bar under construction December 16 2010


Ritz-Carlton Toronto hotel (lower windows with drapes) and condo residences


Ritz-Carlton Toronto neighbours RBC Centre (middle) and Simcoe Place (right)


Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower west side view on January 14 2011


Ritz-Carlton Toronto tower northwest view on November 29 2010


 

Toronto’s Trump Tower quickly catching up to its Bay Adelaide Centre, Scotia Plaza neighbours

 

 

 

Trump Toronto starts to make its mark on the skyline


For years, my balcony view of the Financial District skyline never changed. I had a terrific view of the CN Tower, First Canadian Place and Scotia Plaza, and could even see the TD Bank Tower at the Toronto-Dominion Centre. Things changed considerably in mid 2009. That summer, the Bay Adelaide Centre (BAC) topped off at 50 floors and obscured nearly all of my view of the TD Bank building, while the 43-storey RBC Centre blocked a bit of the CN Tower (only the lower third, thankfully). In 2010, part of the RBC Centre’s next-door neighbour, the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel, came into view (appearing behind other towers this time, not blocking sight of them). Within just a couple more months, I’ll get to see another new skyscraper when the Trump International Hotel and Tower overtakes the Bay Adelaide Centre in height.

I’ve been wondering when the Trump would finally make a noteworthy impression on the city skyline. For the past two years, its construction has been obvious from parts of Adelaide Street and Bay Street, but taller neighbours have obscured most views from the north and south. That started to change in late fall 2010; from the CN Tower observation decks in early November, I could see part of the Trump climbing behind the east side of First Canadian Place. Now the Trump can be seen from other areas of downtown, too, as these photos — snapped through a window at the Art Gallery of Ontario on December 26 — show. With its spire, the Trump will become the second-tallest tower in Toronto. Measured to its roof, however, the Trump will take only third place.