How tall is First Canadian Place?

[Koops65]

How tall is First Canadian Place? Most sources say it's 298 metres tall to the roof of the Mech. But, Google Earth says its closer to 292 metres in height.

What is the source for the 298 metre height? I cannot locate a reliable source for that number. It seems to have been lost over the decades...

First Canadian Place - The Skyscraper Center

www.skyscrapercenter.com

 

[christiesplits]

Could the recladding of the tower in the early 2010s have led to additional height on the exterior?

 

[Koops65]

I highly doubt that... maybe some width perhaps.

 

[Koops65]

You're taking Google Earth's "word" for it.

Yes, of course I am. Don't you trust in science and technology? Lasers and satellites? Rocket scientists figuring these things out for us?

The accuracy of Google Earth is +-1 metre. Google Earth Pro narrows that down to 1/10th of a metre.

The 298 metre height for FCP is off by a full 6 metres.

Again, I urge everyone to go to Google Earth and measure the height yourself. Many have already done so, and the height they all came up with is 292 metres. Find out for yourself, don't take somebody else's word for it.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I spotted this years ago on Google Earth and had the same question.

I actually did as much research as I reasonably could on it to determine if the number is on record somewhere - including digging up the original zoning approval for the tower from back in the 70's.

The by-law unfortunately didn't specify. I honestly have no idea where the 298m came from, but it's likely not correct as it's unlikely Google Maps has it off by so much. This is especially true as Google has actually updated it's 3D imagery of Downtown Toronto since I noticed this and it has remained the same height, and that Google gets the height of other known buildings (i.e. - Aura) accurate to within a metre.

The only way to know for sure is to get the as-built drawings for the tower, but you would need sign-off from Brookfield to do that.

 

[wopchop]

Could the recladding of the tower in the early 2010s have led to additional height on the exterior?

Not significantly. The inside corner parapets are slightly lower than the straight wall, by approx a foot. I believe everything was at one elevation prior.

I've been trying to find some information on the overall height, but having no luck.
The mech penthouse roof being approx 6m taller than the main roof kind of makes sense to me but it doesn't explain the error if the top of mech PH is actually 292m

 

[Koops65]

Measuring the heights of Toronto buildings with Google Earth has been done with hundreds of towers now, many of them recent builds, with known height figures from the architectural plans. The heights match up almost perfectly. Just a few towers are off by a metre or so. For me, this has "calibrated" Google Earth's measuring system. Using it to find the heights of towers without a known source (like FCP) seems perfectly reasonable.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Not significantly. The inside corner parapets are slightly lower than the straight wall, by approx a foot. I believe everything was at one elevation prior.

I've been trying to find some information on the overall height, but having no luck.
The mech penthouse roof being approx 6m taller than the main roof kind of makes sense to me but it doesn't explain the error if the top of mech PH is actually 292m

It's 291m to the top of the mech.

Google identifies it as 369m asl, while King St is 78m asl - meaning a height of 291m.

From the roof itself, it's 363m asl, or 285m.

 

[innsertnamehere]

For comparison - Google Earth measures the following heights compared to their known heights:

One Bloor East: 258m vs. known height of 257.2m
Aura: 273m vs. known height of 271.87m
CIBC Square: 239m vs. known height of 237.8m
Harbour Plaza: 238m vs. known height of 236.5m

If anything, Google tends to read a little high by about a metre. FCP may be as low as 290m in reality.

 

[wopchop]

It's 291m to the top of the mech.

Google identifies it as 369m asl, while King St is 78m asl - meaning a height of 291m.

From the roof itself, it's 363m asl, or 285m.

Right. The difference in height at ~6m makes total sense to me.

I no longer have the drawings, so unfortunately cannot confirm.

 

[Koops65]

Perhaps @interchange42 knows of a reliable source for the 298 metre figure...

 

[Koops65]

Well I guess not. How about @Paclo ? Any Insights into this subject?

 

[Paclo]

Well I guess not. How about @Paclo ? Any Insights into this subject?

Without seeing the elevations I can't add much insight further than what @innsertnamehere has provided. The zoning bylaw has a maximum of 287m for the 100 King W parcel, but keep in mind FCP was built on an as-of-right basis because zoning bylaws regulated only density in parts of the downtown core prior to City Council passing the Central Area By-law in 1976. And maximum height allowances also would not include the mechanical box and further fixed architectural protrusions above shown in @wopchop 's post. There is mention of FCP being 287m in various city staff reports for surrounding proposals in the last couple decades including for 311 Bay (St. Regis) and 40 Scott, however they are likely referring to the ZBL maximums and not accounting for architectural protrusions.

There is a passage in this report that states the 2018 submission of Commerce Court 3 would have been the exact height of FCP, which would mean it is 289.65m.

But again, non-standard height definitions and can't confirm anything without the drawings.

 

[Koops65]

/\ Thanks.

 

[Koops65]

So, all that does is move the goalposts back... the question now is where did DIALOG get that number from? And... why is it a full 6 metres off what Google measures?

We need somebody to stand on the edge of the roof with a 300 metre long measuring tape.