5 Downtown Toronto Office Projects to Watch in 2015
You can expect nearly 3M SF of downtown office space delivered by this year (and 6M SF by 2017), according to CBRE. Bisnow went for a brisk stroll in the bitter cold to see five eagerly anticipated developments.
1. Bay Adelaide East
Behold the glorious glass-towered symmetry of Brookfield Properties' Bay Adelaide Centre. The new 44-storey companion to Brookfield’s Bay Adelaide West, Bay Adelaide East topped out in November. With 1M SF of office space and a podium that occupies an entire block at Yonge and Adelaide, BA East is the second tower of a three-phase development, and it's targeting LEED Platinum CS. Deloitte will be the anchor tenant, taking 420k SF; law firm BLG is leasing 165k SF.
2. EY Tower
Just down the road at 100 Adelaide St W, the cranes are up for Oxford Properties Group's EY Tower. The 900k SF building—boasting 23.5k SF floor plates and a sixth-floor terrace—will incorporate into its entryway two facades from the 1928 Art Deco Concourse Building that previously stood on the site, including mosaics by Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald. With Ernst & Young and TMX Group as lead tenants, the tower will be a new addition to Oxford’s 2.4M SF Richmond-Adelaide Centre.
3. Queen Richmond Centre West
Other towers can't match the architectural intrigue of Allied Properties REIT’s Queen Richmond Centre West, with its 17-storey glass box vaulting over a heritage warehouse at Richmond and Peter. The building, offering nearly 300k SF of office and 14k SF of retail, will be finished this year. QRC West, the first of a two-phase project, has its intricate engineering on full display: the 70-foot steel structures that support the rooftop addition run through the five-storey glass-walled atrium.
4. Globe and Mail Centre
They’re still in the pit at 351 King East, home of First Gulf’s Globe and Mail Centre. But watch for things to head skyward this year. The 17-storey, 500k SF building—with the Globe as anchor, taking the top five floors on a 15-year lease—will have 22k SF of retail. The Globe’s existing home at Front and Spadina was bought by RioCan REIT, Allied Properties REIT and Diamond Corp., which plan a mixed-use JV project. GMC is Phase 2 of King East Centre; it's adjacent to 333 King East, the old Toronto Sun building refurbished by First Gulf that houses Coca-Cola Canada’s HQ.
5. 16 York
There was no discernible activity at 16 York when we stopped by, but that could change soon. The 32-storey office tower by Cadillac Fairview is the third component of York Square, a mixed-use project that began with Lanterra Developments’ Scandinavian-flavoured Ice Condo towers, which are nearing completion at York Street and Lake Shore Boulevard and will loom gracefully over the future office building. The complex has a PATH connection, channeling folks to Union Station via Maple Leaf Square, a real treat for those keen on keeping up with the melodrama at the ACC.
