Kazakhstani Developer to Transform Yonge and Bloor: Very Niiice!

Leave it to the Kazakhstanis. Just days after Donald Trump was in town and it was announced that his 70-storey building at Bay and Adelaide was set to begin construction, Kazakhstan-based developer Bazis International declares its own plans to build an 80-storey building at Yonge and Bloor. Zing!

For those of you tracking this development, it was way back in 2002 that the city approved a 60-storey tower for the site to a different developer. In fact, as recently as 2 months ago, this plan was still on the table. However, it seems the site has been sold to Bazis and they will formally announce their plans for the tower at a press conference in April. Bazis also happens to be the developer behind Crystal Blu-a 34-storey tower a stone's throw away from Yonge and Bloor on Balmuto Street.

I think this is fantastic news for Toronto. Finally people are starting to dream big for our city and especially our for the downtown core. Yonge and Bloor is one of the busiest intersections in the country. It should be a showpiece, but instead, it's an eye sore. It should be a gateway to Bloor Street-Toronto's most exclusive shopping district, but it feels more like a flea market.

Height has a long history at Yonge and Bloor. When the Manulife Centre was completed in 1974, it was the tallest residential building in the British Empire, and the tallest concrete structure in Canada. A tower as bold as the one proposed by Bazis would go a long way towards putting Yonge and Bloor back on the list of the world's greatest intersections.

What do you think of the proposed mega tower? What do you think Yonge and Bloor should look like?