This week's Throwback Thursday takes us back over a year and a half for a view of the future location of a major Downtown Toronto office tower. Back in May of 2017, a large surface parking lot at Bay and Lake Shore—across from what was then the Air Canada Centre—had just been closed to make way for construction of phase 1 of CIBC Square from Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines.

Former surface parking lot closes to make way for CIBC Square, May 2017, image by Forum contributor Michael62

The same vantage point in January 2019 shows the rising 49-storey first phase of the WilkinsonEyre-designed office complex across from what is now the Scotiabank Arena. The tower's central concrete core recently surpassed the 25-storey mark, while steel structural work is forming the tower's shape down below. Once complete in 2020, the project will bring 1,300,000 ft² of office space to the site, while the opening of its new GO bus terminal will free up space for the second phase tower just across the rail corridor to the north.

CIBC Square's south tower rising, January 2019, image by Forum contributor Gizmo

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!

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