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Following years of construction, the Sun Life Financial Tower and Harbour Plaza Residences in Toronto's South Core area is another step closer to completion. Yesterday afternoon, financial services giant Sun Life officially opened the project's 35-storey, 800,000 ft² office tower at One York Street. Designed by architects Sweeny &Co to achieve LEED Platinum status, the podium connects to Union Station and Waterpark Place via the city's PATH network, and includes 200,000 ft² of retail space still to open.
Sun Life's occupies 17 of the 35 floors of One York, housing over 2,000 employees. The offices provide employees with more than 400 collaboration and meeting spaces, and a full floor dedicated to digital and Client innovation called "The Ignite Studio." Sun Life's new offices also include technology features like a 40-foot interactive "Skyline Video Wall", a "People Collage Wall" where employees can share photos in real-time, and an interactive touch-screen timeline displaying Sun Life's history.
To achieve the LEED Platinum designation, the project includes a number of efficiency and sustainability features, including 300 bike racks, nine electric vehicle charging stations, and two rainwater cisterns capable of saving over 5 million litres of water per year.
"Our new building is bright and sustainable – inside and out," said Dean Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sun Life Financial in a prepared statement issued on Wednesday. "Our investment in One York is one more step along the journey of reducing our environmental impact. Leveraging technology, reducing the amount of energy we use during peak hours, and using less paper are just a few things we're doing to keep sustainability top-of-mind," added Connor.
As part of the tower's branding, roof signage was recently installed on the north and south faces of the mechanical penthouse level. A time lapse video released by Sun Life—embedded below—shows the installation process for this roof signage, and its impact on the Toronto skyline.
Additional information about the Sun Life Financial Tower and Harbour Plaza Residences complex can be found in the project's database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.
