http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/1union_rendering.jpg

http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/telus.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h248/pancsi/P4220783.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h248/pancsi/P4220795.jpg

Love this building, but doesn't it sit smack dab in the middle of the pedestrian only mall that West 8 designed in it's winning waterfront bid?

The pedestrian mall was a later phase development that gave the Royal York Hotel an unobstructed sight line to the lake with a central canal and large monument as its nexus. This area of their design was truly stunning.

Oh well. At least this Telus building is LEED, beautiful, and sophisticated. This area needs it. The condo diagonal from it is entirely forgettable.

Nice design !

Looks nice to me:)

from yesterday


http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/gbelan/100_0036.jpg


http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j145/gbelan/100_0038.jpg

The Royal York will almost entirely be hidden once this area is developed.

updates???

I am waiting for updates too...

Go Canada! :)

When is this suppose to be finished?

Any updates?

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6779/img3368xm3.jpg

courtesy of Marcanadian (sept 30th)

it is at ground level by now

Thanks... Nice to note that it's at ground level now.

wow! really fast! next time when I go to Union Station again then I should drop to stop and spend time with my break time for looking around on Telus Tower Construction

I don't pay any attention to the progress of this one.

But it is rising fast. (very nice)

the pit is massive
i was at the ACC tonight and i walked by it
two cranes
it will be so nice
and that area is going to be really clustered!

which pit, the one for maple leaf square?

He must mean the MLS pit, the Telus tower has reached ground level. So there is no trench/pit on this one.

which pit, the one for maple leaf square?

well to be honest
they are both pretty big
i was there at night, and i didn't get that good of a look
but MLS is massive, its crazy
but that area is going to be so amazing

cant wait

Looks nice.

The first rendering is run of the mill
The second looks stunning!
Whatever it turns out like in the end it's still LEED and an office building:banana:
It may be super squat but it's a good first step in expanding the financial district across to the other side of the Gardiner.

Seriously those "the gardiner divides the city" people are so wrong, there arn't going to be any parking lots/abandoned lots left soon between the gardiner and the train tracks!

^^Can't wait!

First proposal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/canadian_gino87/union4.jpg

What the city wanted
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/canadian_gino87/union3.jpg



The 'Union Plaza' entrance to Union Station looks great. It never occured to me that we could have a subway entrance here. It's fantastic considering all the development happening around the Air Canada Centre.

Can someone repost the renders ? They dont seem to be showing up

The renders are fine now:)

This whole area is going to become sports central with the ACC right there, Union Plaza, and Maple Leaf Square (Canada's first sports and entertainment condo project) going up across the street. The Roger's Centre is a few blocks over and I heard rumours about public space being designed for amateur sport such as touch football. I hope it all pans out. It will be amazing down there.

This could turn out to be a hopping place during a Grey Cup, penant race, or playoff run in the NBA or NHL.

Christ, is Toronto booming or what?! :O There are at least 13 threads all telling about a new tower to be built in Toronto. That's great news, congratulations.

Christ, is Toronto booming or what?! :O There are at least 13 threads all telling about a new tower to be built in Toronto. That's great news, congratulations.


Yes, the skies will be filled with cranes.

From current, one of the most prolific posters of updates.


Nov 3, 2007
Telus Tower construction site from the east side looking west

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/1849282910_1f7d96e931_b.jpg


Telus Tower construction site from the west side looking east. On this side it has reached ground level.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/1849282952_fdc6ba88de_b.jpg

Probably by Mike in T.O.

Nov 25, 2007

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/2064004079_c13416f6ab_b.jpg

from 21th march cn tower view

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2199/2358175898_f69bfba3b5_b.jpg

May 7, 2008

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2487813709_aae5275b1b_b.jpg

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollyberrie05/2487813709/sizes/l/

I still count 10 undeveloped parking lots in that picture. It would be cool to see them all filled before I die?

I still count 10 undeveloped parking lots in that picture. It would be cool to see them all filled before I die?

most of them already have tower proposals...before you die? lol, try in a few short years..unless your like 85 years old then you might die before they are filled lol.

Best looking finshed highrises I see in that last picture are the mini wtc po-mo twins and of course Tip Top Lofts. For any moving into the area, I'm sure it will improve and aboveground parking should be history! ;) Good on ya'!

I like those twin Aon office towers too. They break up the monotony of the endless cookie cutter condos going up. I just wish we could get rid of those 5 towers across the street because they ruin that part of the waterfront. That land should be parkland or some type of public space. I doubt the City of Toronto will ever have enough money or power to take them down. Our waterfront is going to look dynamite in 20 years, but it will never be complete as long as these remain standing.

You mean you don't like the Westin Harbour Castle? (I'm being facetious)

It's starting to rise!

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/dawnd_01/Autumn%202007/winter%202007/Summer%202008/IMGP8165itelus.jpg

The gardiner is so ugly - rip it out and put a subway line in! And how about some black glass!

Toronto should have a vastly bigger subway system. What we need is the originally planned DRL line, a Queen line that runs from Etobicoke to the Beaches, and an Eglinton line that simply follows this east-west corridor. They got it right the first time, and we need it now more than ever. Time to finally build the damn thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Relief_Line

Black glass? I like it too. The closest we'll get to that is the 'X' Condo tower going up near Bloor and Jarvis. I wish this tower were more on the scale of TD Centre though. This new tower will be substantially smaller.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/2358954328_c046599b4a_b.jpg
Source unknown.

Thanks for the black glass; nice, but not crazy about the silver slats. I'll have to cross Yonge and go and see it! Why so few black glass cladding on high rises, do you think?

'X' condo is just a hole in the ground at this point, but many people seem eager to see it go up. The black Mies van der Rohe TD Centre is such a sophisticated tower, I'm not sure why it hasn't been copied more than it has. Such a dark glass might not be suitable for a residential tower, and we haven't seen too many large office towers go up until recently. Bay-Adelaide is the first big one since BCE Place 16 years ago.

Maybe we'll get another TD inspired office tower. It would have the most impact on our skyline if we had something like that, and on that scale, at Bloor and Yonge. It would have added so much to the skyline if the CIBC and Bay towers at this intersection looked like TD. They look like crap by comparison.

Here's a traditional hi rise I can embrace:http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u283/TaffyMoon/torrepicasso.jpg

Clean clean lines and a turn of the century look combined!

ps: shamelessly scarfed from Carretero in the Madrid hi-rise thread

wow, looks like the tower moved...3 or 4 stories since march? sloow, but it'll rocket up fast now!

We've got glass!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2725824305_dc65cea5ef.jpg?v=0
lassekoskela on www.flickr.com


Telus on the left, Maple Leaf Square on the right.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/marcus_a_j/August/DSC03404.jpg
First posted by Marcus_a_j

I hope that's not the glass to go on the tower portion. I want NY Times building type cladding, this looks like generic surburban office glass.

yikes! the glass looks nasty

^^Regardless of what it ends up looking like, they're going to have a nice view through that glass:

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/1172_3_1000%20&Co%20Telus%204.jpg

Source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com

I hope that's not the glass to go on the tower portion. I want NY Times building type cladding, this looks like generic surburban office glass.

It cant be..... they wouldn't, would they?

This glass really takes me back to the 90's. Strait off the roll from the Dollerama. Well at least the tower will be blocked by MLS, 16, and 18 York.

The woman looks more 'Dollarama' than the glass.

She looks like she dropped in from 1998, unannounced.. I wonder if these renderings are very possibly from the old Union Plaza development?

I hope that's not the glass to go on the tower portion. I want NY Times building type cladding, this looks like generic surburban office glass.

This is just the glass they're using for a small portion of the podium.

Telus and Maple Leaf Square both going up at the same time. Maple Leaf is the closer one in this photo.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x11/CanadianNational/mlsgrande.jpg
Courtesy of Canadian National.

Photos by me:

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/5503/p1010032zh2.jpg

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/8462/p1010033ug1.jpg

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/8725/p1010041zb2.jpg

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6163/p1010046lv6.jpg

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/835/p1010048mo9.jpg

From my walk last night.
From the Rogers centre

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_9261.jpg

From round house park, Telus on left, MLS and Success tower#1

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c10/mjwk/IMG_9266.jpg

The last shot is complete madness.

Infinity, Ice Condos, Telus, Pinnacle, MLSE, 18 York - Wow wow wee wa!

Yawn. This building is about as boring as it gets.

Telus Tower going up, pic by CGM at urbantoronto.ca.....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2911467568_14afa0db69_o.jpg

shot of Telus (centre right) still growing, posted by marcus a j at urbantoronto.ca....the building u/c on the left is a condo, London on the Esplanade...

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/marcus_a_j/From%20West%20One/DSC03768.jpg

update on Telus, pic by k.w.l. at urbantoronto.ca....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3016604183_174a9cfcd7_b.jpg

update on Telus, pic by k.w.l. at urbantoronto.ca....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3016604183_174a9cfcd7_b.jpg



Nice tower, but it's a pity that it's so short. I really like the glass colour.

Looking south from the Royal York Hotel.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/3154249588_96c9da5b39_b.jpg
thelastminute at www.flickr.com

The cladding, then a fun embellished image of Telus. Bladerunner?

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3125/dsc0228az1.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6110/dsc0229xh4.jpg
Courtesy of URBAN!TY at urbantoronto

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3207734315_5f5de56d45.jpg?v=0
Courtesy of Whoaccio at urbantoronto

Is this building topped out?

It looks like there's two more until they begin work on the fins. I'd love to see this vertically expanded perhaps 10-15 years down the road like we've seen in Chicago. After all, one can admit it's probably the city's most beautifully designed office building since Scotia Plaza. The pictures are sick :cheers:

Courtesy of Toronto2008

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm163/illmatic888/p_00116-1.jpg

Two photos of the new south entrance to Union Station courtesy of Mollywood

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa250/torontovibe/JAN30-09038-1.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa250/torontovibe/JAN30-09041.jpg

Looking south from the Royal York Hotel.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/3154249588_96c9da5b39_b.jpg
thelastminute at www.flickr.com

wow.. is this real or cg?

wow.. is this real or cg?

The photo has been computer enhanced, but all the buildings are real. So, are the search lights.

Looks good to me.

I had hoped for a significantly taller office tower here, but now that it is nearing completion, it fits into the surroundings very well. Notice that it's almost the exact same height as the famous Royal York Hotel that faces it on the other side of the rail tracks. They are matching bookends, in some respects. Behind the Royal York stand far taller towers. Likewise, behind Telus, the much taller Maple Leaf Square development is rising. The area will look quite smart once finished.

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/attachment.php?attachmentid=755&d=1232558359
Courtesy of MrR on January 21st

http://www.menkes.com/telus/images/pic_02.jpg
Source of render unknown

wow.. is this real or cg?

it's an HDR photo ;)

it's an HDR photo ;)

I know very little about photography. Does HDR stand for high dynamic range? How can you spot an HDR photo as opposed to a standard one where they've fiddled with hues or some other effect?

A cool shot of Telus looking west. 4 other towers in under construction in this shot: Maple Leaf 1 & 2, Pinnacle to its left, and London on the Esplanade on the far left. If L Tower gets off the ground, it will rise in front of it. It will be taller than any of these 5 towers. Courtesy of CSW2424:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/234/3265023138_d559577d12_b.jpg

Another angle courtesy of RAC III. Notice the new white sales centre that has been built in the lower left corner. It is for a 3 tower residential and office complex called ICE. The tallest tower will be 65 floors:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3260753174_012715c333_o.jpg

Looking west towards the Canadian National Tower. Courtesy of ProjectEnd:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3261968494_495976974a_b.jpg

Looking north west towards Telus. Behind Telus is nearly completed RBC. Courtesy of Solaris:
http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q438/Solaris_Metrogate/IMG_3311.jpg

Wow! It looks just a great on an overcast day:cheers:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3487/3277990022_5ca0103c77_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3320/3277165577_92ce1f5d6f_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3277986752_92f5d73f7e_b.jpg

source: http://flickr.com/photos/wyliepoon/sets/72157613767558685/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3652/3372967577_f7df11b4dd_b.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_FSXF6jLhP8U/SdV7xIrS7ZI/AAAAAAAAAWs/LzxlmdxKlk8/s720/Some%20Updates%20062.jpg
Both courtesy of ProjectEnd

http://www.frictionfitmodels.com/files/gimgs/4_25y7.jpg

From this weekend.

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/6407/img7382.jpg

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/765/img7385.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/3647/img7318.jpg

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/3526/img7320.jpg

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/2668/img7301.jpg

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/6393/img7306.jpg

The elevator shaft is down on the south side.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2673/3795545889_1398c03bd9_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/3795745661_402757e4ed_b.jpg

By drum118 on UT

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0139.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0133.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0145.jpg

http://davidfisher.biz/photo/2009/aug/2009_08_24/IMG_aug_24-09-0146.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3487/3876914384_a2f5f6a88c_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2448/3877421249_731a686a81_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st-even/

By MatrixElement on UT.


From east side of Rogers Centre:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/3949224428_8697f4fdf2_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3949224428/

From Blue Jays Way:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3949224240_42d1318bc3_b.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3949224240/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/4076313027_7088ac3702_b.jpg

wyliepoon, Urbantoronto

Com

Interior shots by Sepiraph on UT.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4070/dsc01876r.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/i/dsc01876r.jpg/)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6262/dsc01878g.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/i/dsc01878g.jpg/)

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4820/dsc01877j.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/i/dsc01877j.jpg/)


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4521695046_a0a02d96eb_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4521691448_afd0f0d063_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4521063763_5e79daf2ce_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4521701378_b7275540a9_b.jpg

http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/4c/1d/3e78e46a418c9cf281ce15ff16e4.jpeg
A view of the green space at the official launch of Telus House Toronto, a $250 million green landmark on the once-abandoned railway lands.
ANDREW WALLACE/TORONTO STAR

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/814847--toronto-s-newest-office-tower-a-spaceship

By Tony Wong
Business Reporter
When Peter Menkes purchased a plot of land five years ago on former railroad lands in downtown Toronto, it was a gamble.

He envisioned an office development beside Union Station. But the centre of the financial universe remained on Bay Street, in the city’s core. Attracting tenants to the waterfront was a risky move.

It was, he said in an interview, “a leap of faith.” The gamble paid off.

Menkes unveiled the city’s newest office tower, the $250-million Telus House on Wednesday. The 30-storey, 780,000 square foot tower at 25 York St. is the first major office development south of the railway tracks in more than a decade. The building is co-owned by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Menkes Development.

“They thought it was a little crazy, because no one was building anything back then,” Menkes said in the futuristic open concept lobby of his largest tenant, telecommunications company Telus. The company has leased 460,000 square feet, more than half the building.

The new building is a “spaceship” compared with the staid bricks and mortar of traditional office buildings in Toronto, said Menkes. As befitting a building housing a telecom company, the building is as sleek as an iPad and bursting with technology.

Inside the teleconferencing room, high-definition monitors display life-size images of Telus executives from across the country.

“You forget that these guys aren’t in the same room,” says Joe Natale, Telus’ chief commercial officer. “I’ve asked people to meet me privately at the lunch break forgetting that they’re not here.”

The developer is targeting LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design) Gold certification and the building uses more than 60 per cent less in energy than a comparable-sized property.

A gourmet kitchen where staff can prepare meals, rooftop garden patios and a fitness and wellness centre, a prayer room and massage and physiotherapy rooms are some of the attractions that make the offices seem more like boutique hotel than traditional office space. All furniture is formaldehyde free, including carpeting to reduce volatile organic compounds.

Those are some of the reasons that new buildings such as the Telus House have been attracting tenants at the expense of some of the older Class A or top quality properties in the city.

More than 3 million square feet of office space has been completed in the last 12 months, including the 1.2-million-square-foot Bay-Adelaide Centre in the financial core and the 1.2-million-square-foot RBC Centre on Wellington St. in the entertainment district.

The plethora of new office space (the last major skyscraper completed was Brookfield Place in 1991) means that tenants have been vacating older properties. Telus consolidated its operations from 15 other sites, to house their more than 2,000 employees, for example.

More space on the market means higher vacancy rates, which has tipped the balance to tenants who have newfound negotiating power.

The downturn has also meant asking rents have come down to $15.20 per square foot at the end of 2009 from $17.83 per square foot in 2008, according to Colliers International.

Office vacancies downtown hit 6.1 per cent, representing a 20 per cent increase or 11.3 million square feet of space.

Menkes said there is still 100,000 square feet of space available in his building, although he already has an offer for several floors.

“Some of the larger tenants are looking for big blocks of space that weren’t available in the other buildings,” said John O’Bryan, vice-chair of CB Richard Ellis.

Some of the older buildings, such as the TD Centre, are now undergoing their own makeovers during the downturn. Cadillac Fairview, owners of the complex, said last week they are spending $110 million to give their property a facelift, including replacing all the glass in one building.

“It could be a blessing in disguise. By the time some of the big landlords have finished renovating their buildings they’ll be ready for the next upturn,” said O’Bryan. CB Richard Ellis sees the market picking up next year.

“We are already starting to see more interest especially from financial institutions for space,” said O’Bryan.

A separate report released by Colliers Wednesday said the Canadian real estate investment market also picked up strongly in the first quarter of this year with strong sales and renewed interest in commercial properties.

That bodes well for newer properties such as the Telus House project.

O’Bryan said Menkes’ risk has helped to open up the harbourfront area that has been closed off by an expressway and rail lands.

“The area was seen mainly as residential, not a place for offices. But it works well because it has a funkier feel, and people are really starting to warm up to mixed-use properties that offer a greater variety of experiences.”