What to know
- The SkyTower has reached its full height of 106 storeys, making it Canada’s tallest residential building.
- At 351.85 metres, it matches the observation deck height of the CN Tower, though it remains shorter than the iconic structure overall.
- The mixed-use tower will include a hotel, nearly 1,000 residential units, and 80,000 sq. ft. of amenities.
- Part of a larger waterfront redevelopment on Yonge Street, the project aims to transform the area with additional towers, retail and public space.
Canada’s tallest residential building is about to become a part of Toronto’s iconic skyline, having just reached 106 storeys.
Construction of the Pinnacle SkyTower, located at 1 Yonge St., is set to be completed by this fall, as the building will reach the final height of 351.85 metres, which is the same height of the CN Tower’s observation deck.
While the iconic CN Tower remains the tallest freestanding structure in Canada, sitting at 553 metres, the SkyTower is set to be the tallest residential tower in the country. The striking Toronto landmark is internationally recognized for its size, as it held the post of tallest freestanding structure in the world from 1976 when it was completed, until 2009. It has since been surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The SkyTower construction is being led by Pinnacle International, a real-estate development company based in Vancouver, B.C. that leads residential, hotels and commercial projects across the country.
As the project reaches its top height, officially becoming the tallest apartment building in Canada, Pinnacle International’s Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Anson Kwok, tells Now Toronto its top floor will reach the height of the CN Tower’s observation deck, falling short of topping the landmark only by its antenna.
“We’re part of the postcard view. I think it’s very symbolic of Toronto for people to take pictures from the [Toronto] Islands towards the city, so that you can have the CN Tower in it. The only difference is that now we’re also up in the air with the CN Tower. So, [it is] very critical to mark the exciting city and the progress that we’ve made,” he says.
Besides being a new staple in the city’s external skyline, from the inside, the building also promises to impress. Having recently climbed to the top of the tower, Kwok says the view is certainly something to look forward to.
“It’s pretty incredible. You get to see all of Toronto. You get to see outside of Toronto and across Lake [Ontario] . You can see Rochester [N.Y.]. So, you can see a lot. And it’s a very different perspective of the city, for sure,” he added.
Standing alongside the SkyTower are other Toronto buildings that top the city’s skyline, including:
- One Bloor West at 1 Bloor St. W., which is 308.6 metres tall;
- Concord Sky at 391 Yonge St., which is 300.2 metres tall;
- First Canadian Place at 100 King St. W., which is 298.1 metres tall;
- The St. Regis Toronto at 325 Bay St., which is 276.9 metres tall.
According to Kwok, the SkyTower will be for mixed use, holding a new Le Méridien Toronto Pinnacle Hotel from floors 1–12, 958 residential units from floors 13–105, as well as 80,000 sqft. of amenities across the building.
The SkyTower is part of a 4.4-million-sqft. project that aims to transform that section of the city’s waterfront by adding residences, outdoor spaces and retail to the area. The tallest building will be accompanied by two smaller but also significantly-sized residential towers, with one sitting at 65 storeys and the other at 80 storeys.
“Obviously, with trying to keep the community interesting, we had to go with a variety of different heights of buildings, so it looked a little bit more unique,” Kwok said.
“I think it was really important to signify and kind of reestablish Yonge Street as the spine of the city. That’s where the subway is, it’s also the longest street. And you see that throughout the city. We’re starting to get taller buildings on Yonge Street at Yonge and Gerrard, Yonge and Bloor, andYonge and Eglinton. It marks where the city’s spine is moving from north to south.”
Construction for the building started in 2019, and crews needed plenty of tools to put up the large tower, including a large external crane and concrete pumps to bring materials up.
“We have an external crane that helps us bring things up. And then we also have a concrete pump that pumps the concrete up so it goes from the ground floor all the way up to the 106th floor,” Kwok said.
“There are a lot of team members up there that work on all different components. Right now, for example, we have people installing windows on the 92nd floor, we have people working on the mechanical rooms on the 106th floor. So, there’s a lot of details being worked on throughout the building, from [the] ground all the way up to the roof.”
The project is now set to be completed by this fall, when Pinnacle International expects to begin receiving people at Le Méridien and residential units. There are units still currently available for sale in the SkyTower.
