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Pinnacle International has returned with a major redesign for the final phase of its five-part master plan at One Yonge, re-envisioning the South Block as a housing-led mixed-use development in Toronto’s Waterfront area. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the proposal replaces the previously approved office complex with twoa pair of towers at 80 and 85 storeys. The new design is the developer's repsonse to the decline in office demand post-pandemic, replacing the earlier employment-based concept with a mixed-use program heavily weighted to housing.
Occupying the northeast corner of Yonge Street and Queens Quay East, the 11,236m² South Block at 1–7 Yonge Street is currently home to the 25-storey Toronto Star Building and its 5-storey podium, constructed in 1971. The structure now stands largely vacant. The surrounding area reflects the district’s transformation from an port-dominated waterfront to a dense mixed-use node: to the west lie the South Core’s commercial and hotel developments, while to the east, the Lower Yonge Precinct, East Bayfront, and Quayside areas are emerging.
The developer received approval in 2017 from the Ontario Municipal Board for a five-phase master plan introducing over 410,000m² of mixed-use space across the North and South blocks for several towers, the tallest of which is currently on its way to 106 storeys. The site is bisected by an easterly extension of Harbour Street, named Downes Street, with three mostly residential towers on the northern parcel and originally a mostly commercial group of buildings on the southern parcel. Both parcels would include hotels, while residential uses were explicitly prohibited on the south parcel. Since then, the first two towers in the northern parcel, the 65-storey Prestige and the 106-storey SkyTower are respectively complete and under construction. A third tower of 95 storeys is yet to go ahead. In the meantime, the South Block’s originally planned 24- and 40-storey office and hotel towers — which were to incorporate the 25-storey portion of the Toronto Star building onsite — did not materialize before as pandemic-era shifts sharply reduced office demand. The developer reconsidered retaining the Toronto Star building, and applied to demolish it in late 2024, receiving approval for that in December. Nearly all of the building is now vacant.
Bousfields has now submitted Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications to the City of Toronto on behalf of the developer for two towers of 80 (279.4m) and 85 storeys (296m), rising from a 3- to 14-storey podium that wraps the block with articulated wings. Together, the buildings would deliver a Gross Floor Area of 220,333m², achieving a Floor Space Index of 19.6 times coverage of the parcel. The layout would centre on a 1,360m² curving public plaza at the southwest corner and a Yonge Street promenade, complemented by mid-block connections linking Queens Quay to Downes Street and Yonge to Freeland Street.
The program proposes 2,406 residential units, comprising 2,297 condominiums and 109 affordable rentals, alongside 237 hotel suites fronting Queens Quay. In total, 27 elevators would serve the project, including ten per tower that span the full residential levels, equating to roughly one elevator per 94 units, indicating reasonable response times.. Ground-floor uses would include 1,816m² of retail space distributed across all four street edges, while upper podium levels would house a 955m² childcare centre and a 1,716m² community facility. The proposal incorporates an extensive network of indoor and outdoor amenities distributed throughout the podium and towers. A total of 7,983m² of amenities is planned, 4,697m² indoors and 3,286m² outdoors.
Ground level plans include double rows of street trees, continuous canopies providing weather protection alongside widened pedestrian boulevards, establishing an animated public realm intended to anchor the southern gateway of Yonge Street within Toronto’s Central Waterfront.
Two mid-block connections (one north–south linking Queens Quay to the future Downes Street, and one east–west linking Yonge to Freeland) would create permeability through the block, activating retail frontages and courtyard spaces. Beneath the site, six underground levels would accommodate 1,091 motor vehicle spaces, including 1,060 for residents, 26 for visitors, and five for non-residential uses. Bicycle infrastructure entails 2,661 spaces, comprising 2,170 long-term and 491 short-term spots.
The site is approximately 250m from Union Station, meaning short walks to GO Transit, VIA Rail, the UP Express, and both TTC Line 1 Yonge and University subway lines. The planned Waterfront East LRT would run directly along Queens Quay East with a stop at Freeland Street beside the property. The proposal also neighbours the Martin Goodman Trail and the planned extension of Queens Quay’s protected cycle tracks, giving continuous active transportation links between the Financial District, the Central Waterfront, and the emerging East Bayfront community.
The South Block is joined by major projects reshaping Toronto’s Central Waterfront skyline. To the west, The HUB office tower is proposed at 59 storeys, while to the east, Sugar Wharf Phase 2 envisions three residential towers between 70 and 85 storeys. South across Queens Quay, Pier 27 Phase 3 would add 11- and 45-storey residential towers. To the north are Pinnacle’s earlier One Yonge phases, with the 65-storey Prestige completed, an approved 95-storey third phase, and the 106-storey SkyTower under construction.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversations in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This artile has been republished to include a statement regarding the demolition of the Toronto Star building.
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