What to know
- New skyscrapers are changing some familiar views of the CN Tower, prompting debate over how much of Toronto’s iconic skyline should be protected.
- The City of Toronto protects specific views of the CN Tower from designated locations, but that does not guarantee the tower will remain visible from everywhere.
- Urban planner Benjamin Hoff says protecting every existing sightline would severely restrict high-rise development across downtown.
- More towers could obstruct particular views in the future, but Hoff does not expect development to make the CN Tower disappear from Toronto’s skyline.
- A weaker condo market could also slow the rise of new supertall buildings, with developers currently facing greater challenges selling hundreds of units in major projects.
For decades, spotting the CN Tower between Toronto’s buildings reminded residents and visitors of the dynamic city they were in. But as the skyline around the structure gets taller, the breathtaking views are disappearing.
Recent developments have prompted residents to question whether the City of Toronto is beginning to build in front of viewpoints to its most recognizable landmark, and whether the CN Tower could one day become difficult to see from much of the city.
While the city says they do protect certain views of the CN Tower, urban planner Benjamin Hoff says preserving every view of the familiar landmark would realistically mean capping off a majority of downtown development indefinitely.
Are Toronto’s CN Tower views actually disappearing?
Lately, the Queens Quay & York Street area has been in conversation, as Q Tower Condos is under construction right in the eyeline of the CN Tower.
Soon to be a 60-storey high-rise development at 200 Queens Quay West, users on the community forum website Reddit spoke about how the view may be gone in a year’s time.
‘When I was a youngling, the Royal York Hotel was the tallest thing in the city,” one Reddit user said. “Toronto had a beautiful skyline that is buried behind condo towers. You can barely see the lake from the Gardiner now.”
Other residents said the city should have planned to highlight the CN Tower more intentionally.
“They should have halted development in ‘95 and let the city be the CN Tower and a series of surface parking lots,” one Reddit user said.
Some reminisced about earlier years of the tower, prior to major developments.
“One of the best views of the CN Tower was when you were on the Gardiner heading westbound approaching the Yonge exit,” one Toronto resident said on Reddit. “Unfortunately, that view disappeared with the construction of the CIBC tower.”
While many other residents said a short walk will give you a different view of the CN Tower, others said that wasn’t the point.
“Yeah, you can walk somewhere else and see the tower, that’s obvious. But there are certain picturesque locations that do get stolen forever,” one Reddit user said.
Does Toronto protect views of the CN Tower?
Currently, Toronto has an official plan that protects certain views and areas in the city.
In an email to Now Toronto, the City of Toronto said their guidelines include protected views of the city, such as specific views of the CN Tower, the Toronto skyline, and the silhouette of Toronto City Hall and Old City Hall.
Under the protected views, the CN Tower’s visibility conditions include:
- Clearly from the north shore of Toronto Island Park just beyond the northern terminus of the Avenue of the Islands, alongside the Rogers Centre dome
- Gardiner Expressway looking eastbound at Kipling Ave
- Gardiner Expressway looking eastbound at Humber Bay Shores, framed by the buildings
- Fort York, throughout the grounds of Fort York.
- North shore of the Toronto Islands
- Jennifer Kateryna Koval’s’kyj Park, clearly from the waterfront edge, located at the end of Polson Street.
- Broadview Ave at Bain Ave, clearly from Broadview Avenue at Bain Avenue across
- Riverdale Park East.
- Prince Edward Viaduct, clearly from the south-east end of the Prince Edward Viaduct
- Southbound on the Don Valley Parkway, south of Leaside Bridge
- Sir Winston Churchill Park, clearly from the footpath in the park, rising above the natural ravine setting.
- At the top of Baldwin Steps, east of Casa Loma
- On the south terrace of Casa Loma
- Top of the mound at Parc Downsview Park
- Top of Lake De La Sage College’s Lake Iroquois escarpment.
- The elevated platform and multi-use pathway at SmartTrack Station, and at the intersection of Lake Shore Boulevard East and Broadview Avenue.
However, outside these protected sightlines, an existing view of the CN Tower is not necessarily guaranteed to stay unobstructed as the city develops.
Could the CN Tower eventually disappear behind skyscrapers?
Benjamin Hoff, planner and partner of Urban Strategies, told Now Toronto that the company recently got approved to move forward with the construction of a new office building near the CN Tower.
“I’ve actually secured the approval for a 300 meter tall office tower just a block away from the CN Tower, which, if constructed at that height, would in fact impact views of the CN Tower from certain parts of the city,” Hoff explained. “…If the office market does come back, there may be some major towers within the financial core, generally east of the CN Tower, that could continue to build up Toronto’s skyline and could have impacts on views of the CN Tower.”
Hoff added that along with the CN Tower, the city protects multiple sites’ views across the city, something he says can be difficult to preserve.
“The challenge is how do you protect views when it’s something that’s experienced across the city?” he said.
He added that the same goes for the CN Tower.
“There may be some really significant places where you see the CN Tower. It’s impactful. It’s something that many people experience,” Hoff explained. “…but it’s very hard to say you should be able to see the CN Tower from anywhere. If you were to try to do that, you’d essentially say we can’t build any towers above 250 meters.”
Hoff also added the current market is looking for shorter buildings rather than super tall skyscrapers, explaining that cases like One Bloor West, which is set to complete the residential project with 85 floors, are not common.
“Many of them were started earlier in previous market cycles where the condo market was a lot stronger, and you could sell the hundreds and hundreds of units that are in a super tall building… That’s not the case anymore,” he said.
The current market, according to Hoff, is more constrained, with developers looking to build fewer units in shorter buildings due to lower levels in sales.
Looking back to the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, as skyscrapers first began to rise around the CN Tower, Hoff said he believes intensification and preserving views have always been up for discussion.
“It’s a change,” he said. “In some cases, we have someone who’s been living in a condo tower for years or decades. They’ve had an open view…. Sometimes development comes in and obstructs that view, and the concern is more about a loss of privacy or sunlight and shadowing… those tend to be the bigger concerns from the public’s perspective.”
Additionally, Hoff said residents are always able to take a few steps and get another view of the tower.
“I don’t anticipate any kind of future pattern development that will really truly obstruct it in a way that will upset people, or lead us to a point where we look back in time and say, ‘where did we go wrong? Why didn’t we do something to protect this more?’”
