Toronto's Financial District remains as the economic heart of our nation. Home to the country's major banking institutions, most prominent legal firms and of course the TSX, the Financial District's importance to the business sector is unmatched by any other locale in Canada. Beyond its economic significance, the Financial District is also where one can find many of Canada's tallest buildings, including all from the current top 5. Skycraping office buildings are the primary built form in this part of the city, and that trend shows no signs of slowing down with construction progressing on multiple high-rise office buildings within the Financial District. On the block of Adelaide West between Yonge and Bay Streets, construction continues on Brookfield's Bay Adelaide East, the second phase of the eventually three-towered office complex.

Bay Adelaide East seen from Temperance Street, image by Jack Landau

Designed by architects KPMB and Adamson Associates with heritage consultants ERA, Bay Adelaide East will rise 44 storeys and provide 980,000-square-feet of leasable commercial space. The development's construction got off to a quick start last year thanks to the pre-existing underground garage constructed for the previous unrealized attempt at building the complex in the late 1980s, but that isn't the only reason that this office tower is climbing at an impressive rate.

Bay Adelaide East viewed from Adelaide west of Yonge, image by Jack Landau

Unlike many of the concrete condominium towers currently under construction in the city, Bay Adelaide East is being built with structural steel surrounding a concrete elevator core. The combination of the tower core's narrow footprint and the use of structural steel are allowing this tower to rise much faster than we would see from the more typical concrete construction we see in Toronto.

Bay Adelaide East viewed from Adelaide and Yonge, image by Jack Landau

The tower's vertical steel columns stand three storeys in height, allowing this building's floorplates to rise three levels per cycle. After the three-level segments of steel have been welded in place, corrugated metal flooring is laid out and then finished with a poured concrete overlay.

Bay Adelaide East viewed from Temperance and Yonge, image by Jack Landau

Bay Adelaide East is already starting to make an impact from various vantage points around Downtown. From just outside the UT offices at the corner of Sherbourne and Adelaide, the project's concrete core and tower cranes can be seen rising into the skyline of the Financial District.

Bay Adelaide East viewed from Sherbourne and Adelaide, image by Jack Landau

At street level, heritage work is ongoing on an existing four-storey building at 132 Yonge. The building is currently having historic brick cladding rapplied, something we covered in depth during our last visit to the site. When complete, it will be home to new retail at ground level, plus mechanical facilities for the entire complex on the building's upper floors.

Restoration work at 132 Yonge Street, image by Jack Landau

For additional information about the Bay Adelaide Centre East, visit the dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or add your voice in the comments section provided at the bottom of this page.