Mizrahi Begins Construction on Canada’s Tallest Tower

By Barbra Murray

The One in Toronto

Foster + Partners revealed its initial design of The One, Mizrahi Developments’ 860,300-square-foot skyscraper project in Toronto, in 2015 and now the architectural firm’s final vision is about to take shape—literally. Mizrahi recently broke ground on the 85-story mixed-use tower, which, at approximately 1,004 feet (or 306 meters) tall, will take on the title of the tallest building in Canada. 

Sited at the high-profile intersection of Yonge and Bloor streets, The One will act as a link of sorts between downtown Toronto and the trendy Yorkville district. Foster has produced a cutting-edge design that fits right into the established neighborhood. “The project creates a new anchor for high-end retail along Bloor Street West, while respecting the urban scale of Yonge Street. The design is respectful of the legacy of the William Luke Buildings, and incorporates the historic 19th century brick structures within the larger development,” Giles Robinson, senior partner at Foster + Partners, said in a prepared statement.

Rendering of The One in Toronto

The One will feature several levels of retail and restaurant space topped by approximately 420 luxury condominium residences, with the building’s distinctive façade offering indication of where the commercial portion of the structure ends and the residential segment begins. Additionally, as noted in an article by The Globe and Mail, the final design also features a 175-key hotel.

CORE Architects is the collaborating architect on The One. The development is scheduled to reach completion in 2022. In the meantime, Foster’s projects continue to change skylines across the globe.

Sky-high endeavors

The attention that will accompany The One’s soaring height will be familiar territory for Foster. The firm designed MOL Campus in Budapest, Hungary, an 893,000-square-foot, 400-foot-tall high-rise project that will serve as oil and gas company MOL Group’s new global office headquarters in Budapest and carry the distinction of being the tallest building in the city. And at the mixed-use development Varso Place in downtown Warsaw, Poland, Foster is the visionary behind the 1,018-foot-tall Verso Tower, which will be the tallest office building in Central and Eastern Europe.

Tall buildings, those exceeding 200 meters (656 feet), are on the rise around the world. A total of 128 such structures delivered in 2016, marking a new annual record and bringing the total number of existing tall buildings to 1,168, a whopping 441 percent increase from the year 2000, according to a report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Ten supertall buildings, which are 300 meters (984 feet) or greater in height, came online in 2016. And as for the title of the tallest, 18 finished buildings became the tallest in a city, country or region in 2016.

Images courtesy of Foster + Partners