Status Pre-construction Country Canada | Town or city Toronto | |
 | ||
Address Yonge and Bloor
Toronto, Ontario Height 340.6 metres/1,117 feet Architect Foster and Partners, Core Architects | ||
The One is a planned skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When completed, it will be the tallest skyscraper in Toronto and the tallest skyscraper in Canada. At 304 metres (997 feet), this will be taller than First Canadian Place, which has been Canada's tallest building since 1976. It will also be Toronto’s first supertall skyscraper, as defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Contents
Located in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood at the intersection of Yonge and Bloor, The One is across from the 257 metre (844 ft) tall One Bloor condominium, currently under construction, and a block from the recently approved 50 Bloor Street West condominium. It will neighbour existing office building Two Bloor West. The site of The One involves land assembly that includes properties at 768 Yonge Street, in addition to those at 1 and 11 Bloor Street West.
Developer Sam Mizrahi acquired the building in October 2014 for $300 million. Mizrahi received approval from the city to build on September 12, 2016. The total cost for the project is reported to be $1 billion.
Design
Mizrahi hired the London-based Foster and Partners as the design architect, and Core Architects as the local architect. He travelled to London to design the building using an exoskeleton structure. The building's design and height have gone through multiple revisions; most recently, the expensive exoskeleton structure was removed from the tower and limited to the podium of the building. The design of the building was also revised based on recommendations from RWDI and the organization's wind tunnel testing. The extra height of the building has been determined to not have increased shadowing impacts on nearby parks.
Retail
The first 8 storeys of the One will be a retail shopping mall. An Apple Store is expected to be the anchor tenant of The One, and the retail portion of the tower is scheduled to open in 2018.
Residential
Above the retail outlet, the tower's residential section will have 8 units per storey up to the 48th floor, followed by an 36 storeys with 4 units each then four storeys with two large penthouse units per floor. 4 storys of parking will exist underground, and the building with connect to the PATH system and the Bloor–Yonge TTC station.
Acquiring the property
For 114 years, One Bloor West, where The One will be built, was the location of Stollerys, a mens and womens fine clothing store. Stollerys had been owned by the family of its President, Ed Whaley, for equally as long. Other developers had interest in buying and developing One Bloor West. However, Mizrahi met with Whaley regularly and the two developed a friendship around shared values. Whaley called Mizrahi a “gentleman” and someone who “builds a quality building”. After Mizrahi purchased the properties for The One, Mizrahi provided a written promise to Whaley that a monument, built from the stones of Stollerys, would be developed at the site of The One.
On January 7, 2015, Mizrahi applied for a demolition permit of the Stollerys building. Six days later, local Councillor, Kristyn Wong-Tam, put forth a motion at the Toronto and East York Community Council in order to designate the building as a heritage site. However, Mizrahi was granted the demolition permit on January 16 and in order to prevent the heritage designation, started to demolish the building on the weekend starting Saturday, January 17. These actions angered many in the heritage groups and prompted calls for new processes for heritage and demolition in the city of Toronto.
Progress
Most recently, in June 2016, the city of Toronto’s planning staff gave a positive report on plans for The One’s development, including in their report a number of community benefit recommendations. The report found that plans for The One met Toronto’s planning policies and guidelines. As of the summer of 2016, more than 2,000 people have pre-registered for residential units in The One.