Towers in record-breaking numbers and heights are on tap.

Report: 80 New Skyscrapers Planned in Toronto

Demand for housing and limited space have positioned Toronto for a spike in skyscraper construction, with 80 projects on the drawing boards, the National Post reported. Real estate company Point2 Homes produced a report that revealed the plans, which promise to double the number of tall buildings in the city. Of the 80 skyscrapers — defined as structures at least 150 m tall — 31 have set a completion date. Supertalls are also poised to populate the skyline, with projects such as the 85-story The One at 1 Bloor West (ELEVATOR WORLD, May 2017) — Canada’s future tallest — under construction and scheduled for completion in 2023. Should all the towers with set timelines be completed, Toronto will jump to 10th on the “cities with the most skyscrapers” list, replacing Jakarta, Indonesia.

Tower to Be Tallest in the West, for a While

City leaders in Burnaby, an eastern suburb of Vancouver, have greenlit a 64-story residential tower that, for a while, will be the tallest building in Western Canada and in British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun reported. At 214 m, Two Gilmore Place will be more than 25 m taller than Burnaby’s current tallest buildings, and taller than Vancouver’s tallest, including Trump International Hotel and Tower (187.8 m) and the Shangri-La Hotel (200.9 m) (EW, November 2011). However, several towers are on the drawing boards or under construction in Calgary and Edmonton that will surpass Two Gilmore. Developer the Onni Group also plans to build 51- and 43-story residential towers in later phases.

Ground Broken for Montreal’s Tallest Residential Tower

Broccolini is forging ahead with development along Saint- Jacques Street in Montreal’s International District, breaking ground in April for what could be the city’s tallest residential skyscraper at 200 m, or roughly 60 stories, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat was among news outlets to report. The angled, rectangular form of Victoria sur le Parc at 700 Saint- Jacques is by IBI Group and Béïque Legault Thuot Architectes. Joining a condominium building at 628 Saint-Jacques (EW, August 2018), the tower will be connected to the new National Bank Headquarters (EW, November 2018) by a new public park. Completion is anticipated in 2023.

Mountains: the Inspiration for Proposed Vancouver Tower

Vancouver-based Chris Dikeakos Architects and NYC’s Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF) conceived a design for developer Anthem Properties for a 99-m-tall, 33-story residential tower, inspired by the nearby mountains, at 1698 West Georgia Street in Vancouver, The Journal of Commerce reported. At the border of the West End and Coal Harbour districts, the project would require rezoning to make way for 127 units, 213 vehicle parking spots and 335 bicycle stalls. Green terraces near the top, stepped massing and organic texturing distinguish the design of the tower that is asymmetrical at the top, “ensuring a gradual transition of the skyline along both West Georgia and Bidwell streets,” according to the architects.