It seems they just can’t build ’em tall enough in Toronto, as the developer behind the construction project primed to become Canada’s tallest building wants to make its megastructure at 1 Yonge Street even taller.
The aptly named SkyTower is quickly rising into its place as the crown jewel in the Pinnacle One Yonge complex at the foot of Yonge Street, and is already fast on its way to becoming both the country’s tallest building and a key fixture on the Toronto skyline.
The under-construction project was granted a monumental height increase from 95 to 105 storeys in late 2023, becoming the first building in Canada ever approved to house 100 or more floors. But developer Pinnacle International has since set its ambitions even higher, and is now seeking a second increase that would add even more prominence to the already-monolithic tower height.
City of Toronto/Hariri Pontarini Architects
When City staff granted the SkyTower’s late 2023 height increase, the building was to rise just shy of 345 metres — roughly equal to the height of the CN Tower’s observation deck. Minimal extra height was granted in a revised plan filed in spring 2024 without any added floors.
Most recently, a Minor Variance application was filed in late February, which seeks to stretch the height of the tower’s uppermost 15 floors and increase the overall floor count via the conversion of a mechanical penthouse level into residential space.
Updated plans — if approved — would see the tower reach a height of approximately 352 metres. This is roughly equivalent to the height of the communication masts atop First Canadian Place, which remains Canada’s current tallest building as of spring 2025.
For a more internationally recognizable comparison, the SkyTower’s new proposed height is almost 22 metres taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower.
By the time Pinnacle SkyTower tops out, it will be overtaking the 85-storey The One, which will briefly claim the title of Canada’s tallest before being overtaken by the new title-holder a few kilometres to the south on Yonge.
SkyTower under construction in January. Photo by Fareen Karim.
The Financial District — where the country’s tallest buildings currently reside — has long been the gravitational centre of the city’s skyline. However, new megatowers like SkyTower are part of a shift that will eventually see the tallest points in town stretch in a spine hugging Yonge Street from the waterfront, through the heart of downtown, and up to Yorkville.
City of Toronto/Hariri Pontarini Architects
