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PhotoTO: Bay Adelaide Centre
The newest addition to the Toronto skyline has been a long time coming. Originally planned in the 1980’s, the Bay Adelaide Centre was to accompany some of the Toronto’s newest and biggest office towers (BCE Place, Scotia Plaza). Construction began in 1990, but with an economic slowdown quickly approaching, it was soon obvious this project did not have the legs to finish. What remained by 1993 was coined “the stump,” an empty shell of a building in the heart of Toronto’s Financial district.
The stump stood as Toronto’s monument to the recession, and had been owned by a variety of developers, none of which were able to revive the project. In 2001 Brookfield Properties bought the land, and just as it seemed they would be just another placeholder, a sign went up announcing Bay Adelaide Centre, a mixed use high-rise tower. The stump was demolished and construction begin in 2007; what will stand on completion in 2009 will be a 218 meter, 52-storey skyscraper. Here’s a first look.