13K 
For a few years now, One Bloor West — until recently known as The One — has been one of Toronto’s most ambitious development stories. The 85-storey tower at the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor streets is now under the control of Tridel, with the developer rebranding the project and taking over as development, construction, and sales manager. Designed by Foster + Partners and Core Architects, the skyscraper is inching toward the 300-metre threshold that would mark it as Canada’s first ‘supertall’ tower.
Since UrbanToronto’s last construction update in February, 2025, work has steadily advanced through the final residential levels, bringing the tower closer to structural top-out in the heart of the Bloor-Yorkville skyline.
In this dramatic drone view from earlier this month, One Bloor West asserts its dominance over the Yonge and Bloor intersection, with the concrete core and structural framing reaching approximately the 84th floor. The tower’s formwork traces the initially cruciform slab edges — waiting for the suspended corners of the uppermost dozen storeys to be formed that will square the floor-plates — while the recently jumped tower crane, likely jumped for the final time, now stands with its boom raised above the 300-metre mark.
The drone view below captures the building's eastern and northern faces. At the lower portion of the image, the Rail Climbing System (RCS) that shelters workers as they install window sections, has now advanced above the third mechanical section at the 59th floor. These sections are defined by deep setbacks that visually and functionally distinguish them from the residential levels. Above, arrays of shoring posts support concrete slabs as they cure. Blue auto-climbing formwork encloses the upper perimeter in two areas, both where the suspended corner slabs are being finished, and above where the uppermost storeys are being formed. In between is where framing of the fourth and final mechanical section is now fully exposed at the 77th and 78th floors, its raw concrete ready for the MEP fit-out that will soon start.
This close-up of the south elevation reveals the staggered progression of the RCS across the tower’s facades, with the south RCS to the left of the tower crane still partially positioned over the mechanical section. The RCS platforms, affixed to climbing rails embedded on the structure, mechanically ascend via hydraulic jacks, enabling crews to install curtain wall glazing panels and mullions while shielded by the protective screening. One the right, yellow nets extend from the building to catch that accidentally drops from it.
In this wide-angle view looking south along the Yonge Street spine, One Bloor West now dominates the Bloor-Yorkville section of Toronto’s skylines, piercing into the sky well above neighbouring towers. Below, a continuous stretch of curtain wall glazing extends to about the height of 1 Yorkville, which from this perspective blocks out a fair bit of One Bloor West.
Most recently, looking to the northeast from Queens Park, this perspective captures the dark curtain wall contrasted by light-toned framing. At the summit, a new structural development is visible as we see vertical steel beams emerging above the super columns, part of the crown's structural frame, standing at about the 295-metre mark.
Upon completion, One Bloor West will house 476 condominium units and a luxury hotel. With the forming of residential floors nearly complete, the focus is beginning to shift to the crown, within which the building's tuned mass damper will be installed. Soon, the upper blue perimeter screens can begin their disassembly and descent, revealing the tower’s full complement of residential floors.
As forming work on the residential levels wraps up, UrbanToronto is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, May 13 at 1 PM, with Core Architects’ Earl Mark, who will discuss the design challenges and innovations behind this project. Architects working on Forma and Pinnacle One Yonge's SkyTower will also be joining us for the event! You can register for it here.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
* * *
UrbanToronto has a research service, UTPro, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe — from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
