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Pinnacle International has paused its plans to tear down the former Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street, opting instead to pursue a conversion of the 25-storey tower into a hotel for an unspecified number of years. The developer's recent zoning application outlines an interim retrofit that would keep the largely vacant office building in use, as long-term plans for the South Block continue to move through the approvals process. The news comes as construction continues on the 'supertall' 106-storey SkyTower on the North Block.
Completed in the early 1970s, the 1 Yonge tower served as the Toronto Star’s headquarters for more than five decades. The printing plant, originally housed in the podium to the lower left in the image below, moved to Vaughan in 1992. Pinnacle acquired the waterfront property from Torstar in 2012, the paper continuing to lease its offices until 2022, when the newsroom moved to The Well. Today, at least 87% of the building is vacant, and the systems are approaching the end of their mechanical life. Pinnacle sought and was granted a demolition permit in 2024 as part of its broader redevelopment plans for the site.
Earlier concepts envisioned roughly one million square feet of new office space across the One Yonge lands, but post-pandemic demand has softened. Recent policy changes easing office-replacement obligations further opened the door to adaptive reuse. Pinnacle has identified the hotel program as a practical way to keep the tower active while longer-term redevelopment plans advance.
Pinnacle’s new filing proposes converting the 25-storey tower into a 468-suite hotel, including 160 extended-stay units aimed at longer business visits. The plan outlines a full interior retrofit with a new lobby, ballroom, restaurant, bar, and meeting spaces, while retaining the tower’s structure. Major upgrades to aging mechanical systems form a significant part of the work. A hotel brand and design team have not yet been named, though drawings are underway and the developer is targeting a two- to three-year construction window.
If realized, the converted tower would serve as the second hotel on the site, complementing the upcoming Le Meridien Toronto Pinnacle, slated to open in the base of the 106-storey SkyTower in 2026. Also on the north block, the 65-storey Prestige is complete, while a third tower of 95 storeys remains to be built.
Pinnacle is continuing to advance a separate rezoning for the site that outlines a much larger redevelopment in the future. The application proposes two mixed-use towers designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects. Rising 80 and 85 storeys from a stepped podium, they would introduce more than 2,400 residential units, retail space, community facilities, childcare, and a network of public connections across the block. Planning documents describe the hotel retrofit as an interim measure while those approvals move forward, though the developer has indicated that the scope of investment makes a short operating window unlikely.
Set at the foot of Yonge Street, the property is within a waterfront district undergoing sustained growth, with new residential, commercial, and cultural projects extending from the South Core through East Bayfront and into Quayside. Proximity to Union Station, the planned Waterfront East LRT, and the Martin Goodman Trail position the site close to many transport options.
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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