Toronto street home to Canada's two tallest buildings and third is on the way

Toronto's skyscraper core has always been centred around the Financial District, but in the span of just a few years, Yonge Street has overtaken Bay and King streets as the dominant skyscraper canyon in Canada.

Just a few years ago, Canada had no buildings taller than First Canadian Place, which rises 298 metres above King and Bay. Now, both the Pinnacle SkyTower and One Bloor West developments along Toronto's Yonge Street have shattered that longstanding record just months apart, and another sky-scraping monolith is soon to join their ranks.

The development known as Concord Sky is set to become Canada's third-tallest building in a few months, as well as Toronto's third tower to reach the "supertall" status designated for buildings exceeding 300 metres in height by the Council on Vertical Urbanism. 

The 85-storey condominium tower from Vancouver-based developer Concord Adex has a complicated history stretching back almost a decade.

Initially proposed by now-defunct developer Cresford in 2017, the slender skyscraper envisioned at Yonge and Gerrard was originally known as YSL (Yonge Street Living) Residences.

Cresford would later face a "cash crisis," and YSL, along with other plans from the developer, were ultimately placed in receivership amid early construction activity at the Yonge and Gerrard site. Construction was halted shortly after in 2020, leaving an abandoned pit at the prime downtown intersection.

Concord Adex stepped in to take over the project in fall 2021, altering plans and renaming the project Concord Sky. Construction on the rebranded project resumed just months later in early 2022.

Over four years since the construction site sprang back into life, Concord Sky has had its cavernous underground component formed and begun its steady ascent into the sky.

Concrete forming has progressed above the 36th floor, and the tower is already making its mark on the cityscape from surrounding viewpoints.

At just a fraction of its final height of just over 300 metres, Concord Sky is now a prominent fixture in views captured from points along Yonge Street, including the bustling Sankofa Square a few blocks to the south.

The distinctive knife-edge profile advertised in preconstruction renderings of Concord Sky will soon become apparent in views from the east and west, as forming has progressed past the repeating floorplates of the tower base, and is now beginning to taper away along the northern elevation.

Zooming in from the east, a closer look at the tower's north elevation shows how the floorplates have begun to taper away, which will gradually form the tower's signature feature as it rises taller.

Up close, cladding installation is rapidly enclosing the tower floors, and now stretches as high as the 26th floor.

Its reflective blue glazing isn't likely to stand out against the countless similarly finished buildings dotting the Toronto skyline, but between the tower's extreme height and distinctive pointed roofline, it's sure to cement itself as one of the city's most recognizable structures over the months to come.

Concord Adex

Concord Sky was most recently scheduled for an October 2027 completion, though even at the tower's quick pace of ascent, it is unlikely the project and its over 1,400 new homes will make it to the finish line as previously advertised.