Following last month's sales centre relocation, the Toronto waterfront site of Cityzen Development Group and Fernbrook Homes' Tower at Pier 27 is now being readied for the start of construction, with the process set to begin in the coming weeks. Located at the foot of Yonge Street in Downtown Toronto, the 35-storey tower will rise on a lot previously occupied by the striking sales centre, which will now be repurposed at its new location immediately east of the site.

The sales centre has been relocated to make room for construction, image by Stefan Novakovic

Designed by architectsAlliance, the 336-unit tower will be the tallest and most conspicuous presence in the Pier 27 community. Meeting the lake, Waterlink at Pier 27's distinctive mid-rise volumes—accented by a pair of sky bridges—are already an easily recognizable part of the lakefront. Located just north of the recently completed mid-rises, the tower's irregular balcony pattern is designed to open up more views of the water, while adding a slightly playful element to the city's mostly rectilinear skyline. 

Looking northwest from the water, image courtesy of Cityzen / Fernbrook

Alongside the new density, the project will contribute an on-site public green space to the city. West of the tower, the Yonge Street slip (once home to Captain John's) will be fronted by a new park, increasing public access to the water. Replacing a current parking lot, the green space will connect Queens Quay with the water's edge promenade to the south, offering a conspicuous and inviting green space to bring pedestrians down to Toronto Harbour east of Yonge. Eventually, a pedestrian bridge across the slip to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal will also improve connectivity between the parks here.

Looking south, a new park fronts the Yonge Street slip, image courtesy of Cityzen / Fernbrook

While the tower will create a new height peak for the area, the site is set to be neighboured by more imposing projects in the coming years. Across the street to the north, the 1-7 Yonge redevelopment—at the site of the Toronto Star building—includes a building by the Gardiner which would top out at 95 storeys, with similarly ambitious densities proposed for the LCBO site just to the east. Meanwhile, the Westin Harbour Castle just across the Yonge Street slip also madeheadlines early this year, with the auctioning of the hotel re-invigorating discussion of redevelopment to the west. 

The site, looking northwest, image by Stefan Novakovic

We will keep you updated as construction begins, and the 35-storey tower takes shape. In the meantime, further information is available in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to share your thoughts about the project? Leave a comment in the space provided on this page, or join the conversation in our associated Forum thread.