RBC Centre | Complete | 42 st | 182.5 m | Downtown

[SpatulaCity]

ok, so no lead tenant and...

The first phase of the building will be between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet and more than 30 storeys. More floors will be added depending on demand

hmm, that's not good!

[Lucky 24]

Great, bay-adelaide tidbits are always intriguing to hear. Beautiful rendering.

[Travis007]

That's quite a nice design, matches the Ritz.

[416]

Great new indeed.

I don't understand this though:

"The first phase of the building will be between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet and more than 30 storeys. More floors will be added depending on demand, said Sullivan."

So does that mean the tower will be virtically phased with the remaining 18 storeys built at a later date?

The rendering looks out of scale. Wouldn't the Ritz be somewhat taller/larger than what's pictured here?



In any event, nice to see TO finally getting a decent skyscraper.

[Mechie]

^ the ritz is simply farther back and so appears small

[Are Be]

Originally Posted by valantino

She's a beaut



Tower boosts city core
Cadillac Fairview announces new 48-storey office tower

Other building projects expected as Toronto core booms


TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER

Toronto will get its first major office tower in more than a decade as the city's downtown core experiences an economic rebirth from an unprecedented building boom.

The announcement by developer Cadillac Fairview yesterday heralds a potential mini-renaissance in downtown office development. It's expected to prompt other developers to announce their own mega-projects.

The new tower will eventually be up to 48 storeys tall and 1.2 million square feet, about the same size as major downtown bank towers, Cadillac Fairview President and CEO Peter Sharpe said yesterday.

"We have confidence in Toronto and we think it's a good healthy market and it's going to get better," Sharpe said in an interview.

The new tower will be built at the same time as a planned new Ritz-Carlton hotel and condominium complex and will rise on the corner of Simcoe and Wellington streets in the city's entertainment district.

The announcement is a major coup for Cadillac, since there has been much anticipation over who would be the first to announce the building of a new tower in downtown Toronto.

Other potential sites being talked about include the Bay-Adelaide Centre being developed by Brookfield Properties and One Union Plaza, a property owned by Menkes at 25 York St. Both sites have been actively looking for big anchor tenants.

But Cadillac is banking that only one site will have the Ritz-Carlton beside it, and that corporations will want to locate because of the cachet, despite the fact it is outside the traditional Bay Street financial district.

"Having the Ritz beside us will be a huge plus — we think the two buildings will redefine the area, and I think that's a powerful message," said John Sullivan, senior vice-president of office development for Cadillac.

And the new tower will be more than a little symbolic: Despite the fact that Toronto has seen a massive building boom in condominium development, large-scale commercial building development has been almost non-existent.

Yesterday, the Greater Toronto Home Builders reported that they expected more condos to be sold this year than any other.

Most of those condos are in downtown Toronto, which has attracted residents from overseas and other parts of Canada, and suburbanites who now see the area as a good place to live.

But while residential development is on fire, commercial developers still had a hangover from the bursting of the technology bubble in 2000, which created a glut of office space that devastated landlords.

"Developers have been sitting on the fence for 10 years deciding whether to put something up, and finally somebody got off the fence," said Paul Morse, senior vice-president of office leasing for Royal LePage Commercial Inc.

"We haven't heard the likes of this announcement for a long time and it shows how much confidence developers now have in the market."

Sullivan said he expected to start building by 2006, with a completion date of mid-2009.

The first phase of the building will be between 600,000 and 800,000 square feet and more than 30 storeys. More floors will be added depending on demand, said Sullivan. Building both towers at the same time will also offer economies of scale, and allow building to proceed more quickly.

The land was assembled over the years by Cadillac Fairview, the real estate subsidiary of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board.

Cadillac says they are still looking for a lead tenant who will commit to leasing 200,000 to 300,000 square feet, but are "confident" they will get the project off the ground.

Sullivan says he is already working with potential tenants, including tenants from the company's existing database who are looking for large blocks of space. Cadillac is the largest landlord in downtown Toronto.

But they may soon have some competition, such as the Bay-Adelaide project, the last big skyscraper announced for Toronto before the recession hit. Construction was halted in 1991 after $500 million was invested. No skyscraper has gone up since.

"We are actively working on it, and we hope to announce something soon. We have a great location and we are seeing a lot of tenant demand," said Melissa Coley, vice-president of investor relations for developer Brookfield in New York.

Cadillac's Sharpe said he would not be worried if Brookfield also announced plans to build since he thinks the market could absorb the extra space.

Brookfield may build something in the range of 600,000 to 800,000 square feet, although the site can hold a much larger tower.

However, Morse said being first to market might give Cadillac an edge in the competitive marketplace, since they would be able to sign on tenants more quickly.

The last substantial tower built in downtown Toronto was BCE Place, completed 14 years ago. Cadillac's Simcoe Place on Front St. W., was finished 10 years ago.

The most recent building in the financial core is still the 450,000-square-foot O&Y Properties Maritime Life Tower at 2 Queen East. completed in 2003.

The most recent building just outside the key financial core, but still in the downtown area, is the SAS Building at 280 King St. E., which should be ready for occupancy next month.

But it has been a while since Toronto has seen a large-scale office tower like that proposed by Cadillac Fairview. With a healthy Canadian dollar, low inflation, a major building boom and strong employment numbers in the Toronto area over the last few years, companies have finally decided to go into expansion mode.

"Things are looking up if you're a landlord," said Morse.

Royal LePage reported this month that the downtown Toronto office vacancy rate had dropped to 9 per cent in the third quarter of 2005, from a high of almost 12 per cent in 2003.

1. That article is from the Star:
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.


2- I cannot blame them for starting off with a 30 story budding and adding more floors if required. It is hard to get anchor tenants. (Remember the old "Are Be Centre": crap office building with a medium sized company as an anchor tenet- a champ paying a fraction of the rent with its name on the building, rather than a chump paying rent through the nose with a competitor's name on the building.

Quite frankly, it's an 'eyes closed' decision. I have hard time seeing the benefit of being on the 18th floor in a granite 70 story tower if you can be on the 18th floor in a crap glass -clad 18 story building, and pay less rent. Reduce cost and have more prestige- why would nay medium sized compnay turn that down? And, if you cannot get a few medium sized companies as tenants, you cannot build the 40+ story tall tower.

[CrazyCanuck]

Wow, looks nice, it matches the Ritz, which is what I was kinf of expecting. Has a nice big business look to it that so many other great towers have in the cbd, sleek and not over done.

But yeah, whats with the 30 stories and adding more later comment?

[urban 2.0]

So would Simcoe Place II go south of this tower? (left hand side of the photo?)

[Are Be]

I think this tower is Simcoe Place II (with new name and design)

The Article states: "The last substantial tower built in downtown Toronto was BCE Place, completed 14 years ago. Cadillac's Simcoe Place on Front St. W., was finished 10 years ago." So, I suspect this new office building will be built in the parking lot beside or behind Simcoe Place.

[Ed007Toronto]

This is Simcoe II. It will be located at the southwest corner of Simcoe and Wellington and just north of Simcoe I.

[SD]

It's a 30 storey tower with the potential for up to 48 if market conditions demand it.

[Travis007]

Even if the tower only ends up being about 30s, it could still very easily be a 500 ft. tower considering the floor heights for an office tower. The site behind Simcoe Place is in 2 parts. The Eastern part is currently an underground parking lot which I'm assuming will be the office tower. The Western part which is currently construction the sales centre would probably be the Ritz. Looks like both towers will be relatively skinny.

The only problem I see with the tower is the tiny podium, they should of scaled the tower a back bit:

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by Travis007

The only problem I see with the tower is the tiny podium, they should of scaled the tower a back bit

yeah... the podium is sorta small.... travis i see its time to update your signature again to add this baby to the list lol poor guy.

[Filip]

What a gorgeous tower!

[neilio]

wow! this is great news i cant wait to see this thing go up!

[Dr. Phalange]

Greetings everyone, I'm a long-time lurker and first-time poster and a huge fan of this site.

That is a gorgeous building, and that along with Ritz will nicely aid in filling the somewhat of gap between the CN tower and the MINT cluster when viewed from the water.

So, how many propsed/approved towers over 500ft does Toronto currently have (assuming this newly proposed tower will reach 500ft)?

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Phalange

So, how many propsed/approved towers over 500ft does Toronto currently have (assuming this newly proposed tower will reach 500ft)?

a good place to start would be travis007's signature =P other than that... i think that is all that is approved/proposed... College Park Tower 1 currently underconstruction is also over 500ft.

[Travis007]

Originally Posted by Dr. Phalange

Greetings everyone, I'm a long-time lurker and first-time poster and a huge fan of this site.

That is a gorgeous building, and that along with Ritz will nicely aid in filling the somewhat of gap between the CN tower and the MINT cluster when viewed from the water.

So, how many propsed/approved towers over 500ft does Toronto currently have (assuming this newly proposed tower will reach 500ft)?

There's the ones in my sig plus:

Bay-Adelaide Centre - 679 ft. 45 Floors [Stale Office Proposal]
Richmond-Adelaide Centre II- 595 ft. 41 floors [Stale Office Proposal]
151 Front Street West - 549 ft. 36 floors [Stale Office Proposal]

Quantum II [Minto Midtown] - 525 ft. 52 floors Approved/Excavated
One City Hall II, 50s Proposed
The Uptown, 518 ft. 48s Approved
Festival Tower, 514 ft. 42s
Residences @ College Park, 52s 505 ft. U/C

[The Mad Hatter!!]

i hadn't notice that miami passed toronto for most 500ft towers

[Byron]

I like the 'peeling facade' look which matches that of the Ritz, but my concern is the one storey podium. It should be roughly the height of the podium of the Ritz.