If you asked tourists to name the country's tallest building, you'd probably be met with the CN Tower as their answer, though they'd be dead wrong.
Since the CN Tower is not technically considered a habitable building, that title goes to First Canadian Place in Toronto's Financial District, which has held onto its crown as Canada's tallest building since completing construction in 1975 at a height of 298 metres.
But First Canadian Place's reign as the city and country's tallest building is finally being challenged.
Skyscraper expert Stephen Velasco — known for his detailed 3D depictions of future Toronto city-scapes — recently highlighted this batch of heavyweights, removing stalled and scaled-back projects to form a current picture of what locals can expect to see on the skyline in the coming years.
What Toronto is left with are seven soaring new skyscrapers gunning to surpass the current tallest and break the 300-metre 'super-tall' mark, including two already well under construction, and five waiting in the wings.
Velasco shared an infographic, breaking down these future skyline titans with statistics and height comparisons, weighed against a familiar behemoth in the CN Tower.
1. SkyTower at Pinnacle One Yonge
This 95-storey condo tower is under construction with an approved height of 312 metres at the foot of Yonge Street. As it stands now, that would make the rising Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed tower Toronto and Canada's tallest.
SkyTower at Pinnacle One Yonge. Rendering by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
But developer Pinnacle International is seeking even more height for the enormous development, applying for an increase to 344 metres. At 105 storeys, this height increase has the potential to give Canada its first building exceeding 100 floors.
2. The One
Rising from the south-west corner of Yonge & Bloor, Mizrahi Developments' ambitious flagship project is well on its way to an approved height of 85 storeys, planned to ascend to a peak of 308 metres.
Like its aforementioned rival a few kilometres to the south on Yonge Street, a height increase is also being sought for The One, which would improve the Foster + Partners-designed condo and hotel tower another nine storeys to a height of 338 metres.
The One. Rendering by Foster + Partners.
Regardless of whether it can top Pinnacle One Yonge, The One may temporarily claim the title of Canada's tallest until the former catches up.
3. Forma - West Tower
The west tower of this long awaited Frank Gehry designed complex on King Street West is approved to rise 82 storeys to a height of 308 metres, matching the approved height of The One.
Forma. Rendering by Gehry Partners.
It will be the taller of the two towers revealed all the way back, in 2012, planned as a second phase to the shorter east tower now beginning construction.
The project from Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited, and Westdale Properties may not end up taking the crown of the country's tallest, but its de-constructivist design will surely make it one of the most memorable.
4. One Yonge - Phase 3
Pinnacle International's One Yonge complex is already home to the country's future tallest building, but the developer is also looking to build Canada's fourth-tallest right next door.
Phase 3 at Pinnacle One Yonge. Rendering by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
The complex's third phase is proposed to rise 92 storeys to a height of 305 metres, boasting a similar design as its taller sibling from Hariri Pontarini Architects.
5. Union Park - East Tower
Oxford Properties' enormous 4 tower complex planned on Front Street, near the Rogers Centre, includes a proposed 60-storey office tower that would reach a height of 303 metres.
Union Park. Rendering by Pelli Clarke Pelli.
A design by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects features a sweeping roofline that would add some drama to the skyline, mirrored by a fraternal-twin office tower and a pair of complementary residential towers.
6. 15 Bloor Street West
The newest entry in Toronto's super-tall skyscraper race emerged in February, when Reserve Properties tabled plans to build a 94-storey residential tower on Bloor Street West, just west of Yonge.
15 Bloor West. Rendering by IBI Group.
Designed by IBI Group, the towering new addition would rise 302 metres from the site of a recently departed H&M store and an adjacent Scotiabank branch.
7. 191 Bay Street
The last of these seven skyscrapers is proposed as a long-anticipated third phase of QuadReal Properties' Commerce Court complex in the Financial District, a stone's throw from the current tallest building title-holder at King and Bay.
191 Bay Street.. Rendering by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
The 64-storey/301-metre office tower is the third on this list designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects — a firm clearly staking a claim on the city's skyline. One standout feature of this tower is the planned observation deck that would place tourists high above the Financial District.
Credit: Jack Landau, BlogTO
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