Plans for high rises in London and Toronto

Tower to Address London’s Affordable- Housing Shortage

Centro, a 40-story, 129-m-tall tower and a shorter tower, aims to address the affordable-housing shortage in London, a city just north of Lake Erie and the U.S. border, Global News reported in January. The federal government announced CAD130 million (US$99.6 million) for the 420-unit project at 495 Talbot Street and 110 Fullarton Street downtown. It is being developed by Old Oak Properties Inc. with funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s Rental Construction Financing initiative.

Slightly more than a quarter of the units will be affordable, and the 40-story structure will be the tallest between Mississauga and Calgary, according to Old Oak. Completion is anticipated by 2022.

Mixed-Use Tower Near Lakefront Set to Rise in Toronto

Liberty Market Tower, a mixed-use high rise bringing luxury condominiums and commercial space to downtown Toronto, was set to begin construction in January, REMI Network reported. The 28-story tower represents the final phase of the 6-acre Liberty Market Complex, a 16-year redevelopment project of the city’s Liberty Village. The complex includes the Liberty Market Lofts and the Liberty Market Building, to which the new structure will be connected. The tower will bring 281 luxury residential suites and seven floors of commercial space, with 12,000 ft2 of indoor and outdoor amenity space on the eighth floor. The amenities will include a fitness studio, entertaining rooms, a business center, outdoor dining and views of the city and Lake Ontario. The project team includes Lifetime Developments and Wallman Architects.

Planned Office Tower Sparks Optimism in Bangladesh

Within roughly three years, Shanta Holdings hopes to debut what would be Bangladesh’s tallest building — the 40-story Pinnacle office tower on Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Road in Dhaka, Bangladesh, The Daily Star reported in January. Construction started in November 2019, and completion is anticipated by December 2022. Served by seven high-speed passenger and one service/firefighter elevators, the structure will be clad in special reflective glass and boast large, up-to-14,500-ft2 floorplates and 11.5-ft-tall ceilings. The developer said Pinnacle will be Bangladesh’s first wind-tunnel-tested building, and aims to attract tenants like banks and multinational corporations to a skyscraper the source said will be like those in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.