Gargantuan skyscrapers approved to rise up to almost 100 floors above Toronto

A plan to construct three enormous towers — including one of the country's tallest buildings — above the landmark College Park shopping complex in downtown Toronto is about to get the green light.

A redevelopment of the iconic Art Deco landmark at the corner of Yonge and College is on the cusp of approval, and could soon shake up the city skyline.

Great-West Life Realty Advisors (GWLA) — the Toronto-based asset management arm of Canada Life's parent company — unveiled plans to construct a trio of towers above the Art Deco landmark in July 2025, following earlier statements that it had no intention to redevelop the site.

The proposal's Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed towers were proposed with heights of 65, 75, and 96 storeys. Following revisions to the plan, the tallest of the pack is now proposed to rise over 344 metres, which would put its top floor roughly eye-level with the CN Tower's observation pod.

The plan has been recommended for approval ahead of a July 8-9 meeting of East York community council, but there is still a long planning process ahead before these new titans can take over skyline views.

The decision report recommends approval for rezoning to permit the enormous heights, along with an amendment to the City's Official Plan to permit development to rise within the protected view corridors of both City Hall and Old City Hall.

Once the proposal is given a stamp of approval, it will next head to City Council for final consideration during the upcoming July 29-31 session.

Though the recommendation for approval all but seals a green light for the project, a rental housing demolition application to demolish 210 existing units on site must be approved.

As part of that approval, the developer will be required to provide 216 replacement rental units and offer existing tenants the right to return at similar rents, along with financial compensation.

The three towers would combine to provide over 2,340 residential units and also include space for hotel, commercial, and retail uses. 

For anyone fretting about lost heritage, the existing College Park building would be preserved and integrated into the new complex, along with its major event space, The Carlu.

Locals grumbling about all the new height will get a little something back in exchange. A 600-square-metre parkland dedication at the southwest edge of the site would expand the existing College Park public space.

While skyscrapers atop College Park might come as a shock to some locals, College Park's original 1920s vision from the firm Ross & Macdonald called for a huge Art Deco skyscraper to be constructed at Yonge and College.

However, the Great Depression saw plans scaled back dramatically, resulting in the stump that has existing for roughly a century.