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[caltrane74]

Caisse to build office tower in downtown Toronto

Bloomberg

Saturday, September 15, 2007 – Page B8

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada's biggest pension-fund manager, will build a 40- to 50-storey office tower in downtown Toronto to expand its real estate holdings in Canada's largest city. SITQ, the Caisse's office building unit, bought the land at 45 Bay St. in May, spokeswoman Amelie Plante said yesterday. She declined to say when the tower might be built or how much the project would cost. The proposed building, located across the street from the Air Canada Centre, would house about 1.2 million square feet of office space and fill a void in the Caisse's real estate portfolio. Only one of SITQ's four Toronto-area buildings is in the city's downtown core.

Old Rendering




New Rendering

Originally Posted by Mike in TO

This is not a proposal.

I received a package from CB Richard Ellis Limited back in May with that 'fantasy' rendering on it suggesting what could be done with the site. The site was for sale and to help promote the sale of the property a flashy rendering was attached to the front of the document.

I posted something on this several months ago regarding the potential density for the site, but neglected to include the fantasy rendering simply because it wasn't actually a propsed tower.

Some text from the Document distributed back in the spring:

"CB Richard Ellis Limited ("CBRE") has been retained on an exclusive basis to arrange the sale of 45 Bay Street, Toronto, a premier development site located south of Union Station on
the east side of Bay Street in downtown Toronto’s Greater Core (the “Property”). At 2.3 acres, the Property offers investors an opportunity to acquire a large, strategically located development property with outstanding access to transportation amenities and the Financial Core."

"1.2 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF DOWNTOWN DENSITY
45 Bay Street is currently zoned for approximately 1.2 million square feet of office density. The size and strategic location of the Property support a wide range of uses and unique development opportunities.

TORONTO’S NEWEST AND MOST PRESTIGOUS BAY STREET ADDRESS
Bay Street is Canada’s most prestigious professional address and headquarters to the country’s top financial and legal institutions. The Property represents an ideal opportunity to purchase one of Toronto’s premier development sites, with an enviable Bay Street address.

STRONG CONDO MARKET
Sales of high-rise condominium developments across the GTA have been trending upward year over year since 2000. In fact, builders that traditionally focused only on low-rise projects are beginning to favour high-rise development due to the shortage of low density residential sites.

DECLINING OFFICE VACANCIES AND INCREASING RENTS
After peaking at 12.0% in 3Q 2003, Financial Core vacancy rates have experienced a sharp decline due to positive leasing fundamentals. Following a 610 basis point improvement, office vacancy rates are now at lows not seen since 2001. Declining vacancy rates, positive absorption and increasing fundamentals are projected to continue.

UNPARALELLED ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION OPPORTUNITIES
45 Bay Street offers superior transportation and access due to the Property’s strategic location. Union Station, adjacent to west, handles an estimated 160,000 train and bus passengers daily and provides access to the TTC’s University and Yonge subway lines and services the GTA’s surrounding communities. Vehicle access to the Property is also superior due to its connection to Lakeshore Blvd. and the Gardiner Expressway immediately to the south

DIMINISHING SUPPLY OF DEVELOPABLE LAND
The availability of developable land inventory across the GTA in general, and the subject Property in particular, is rapidly declining. The Province’s Greenbelt legislation has severely restricted land supply and development opportunities across the entire region. Recently completed, ongoing and planned residential and commercial development opportunities around the Property have further reduced development opportunities in the surrounding area.

HIGH QUALITY AMENITIES
Over the past several years, ongoing development in the area surrounding the Property has led to further improved amenities and services for nearby residents and tenants. With additional commercial and residential developments in the area, in conjunction with immediate proximity to the Financial Core, Entertainment District and Harbour Front all support the Property’s anticipated success under a variety of development scenarios and uses.

And more information in French

Originally Posted by MartinMtl

The article has just been posted on La Presse's public site. Here's the link:

http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse....1/LAINFORMER01

Link to SITQ: http://www.sitq.com/

[steveve]

interesting.
I hope we get something dramatically better than that early render ^^^^
it's got to look good on the skyline, and yet, possibly be a new landmark for the eye!

this one seems more like a proposal/vision than anything.... i hope i'm wrong though,

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by steveve

interesting.
I hope we get something dramatically better than that early render ^^^^
it's got to look good on the skyline, and yet, possibly be a new landmark for the eye!

this one seems more like a proposal/vision than anything.... i hope i'm wrong though,

Not a vision, but a proposal. Still waiting for details of the project. You never know, they could start construction on this one tomorrow, and I wouldn't be surprised.

They own the land, and the approvals are in place. Don't think there would be much keeping this pension fund from moving forward with the tower whenever they liked.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

Not a vision, but a proposal. Still waiting for details of the project. You never know, they could start construction on this one tomorrow, and I wouldn't be surprised.

They own the land, and the approvals are in place. Don't think there would be much keeping this pension fund from moving forward with the tower whenever they liked.

What approvals? Just because you design something within the permitted zoning requirements doesn't mean you have an instant approval.

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by Tony

What approvals? Just because you design something within the permitted zoning requirements doesn't mean you have an instant approval.

Sorry,mistyped. I meant the zoning was in place.

[M II A II R II K]

47 floors in an 800' building, must have some pretty high ceilings.

[caltrane74]

Don't forget it will have a bus terminal on the ground floors, just like the office tower in New York at the Port Authority.


| NEW YORK | 20 Times Square - Port Authority Bus Terminal Tower | 855 FT | 42 FLOORS

[J. Will]

You stole that "old rendering" from me. That was a picture I took myself in the office of the architect I know who designed it.

And contrary to what "Mike it TO" says, it was a proposal. I know some of the people who were involved in the proposal myself.

[Gresto]

That old rendering is much nicer than the new one (yuck). The old one is also clearly 1000 ft+, not 800.

[M II A II R II K]

That old one isn't a real rendering, it's just an example of anything going at that site when it was first slated for a highrise.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

That old one isn't a real rendering, it's just an example of anything going at that site when it was first slated for a highrise.

J. Will just said that the old rendering was a real proposal.

But then again, it doesn't appear any type of formal application has been submitted to the city for review / approval.

ALSO, the site appears to be zoned to a maximum height of 161 metres.

[caltrane74]

Oh geez. Don't be a party pooper.

If SITQ wants to build 40 to 50 storeys of office tower, with no NIMBYs and no NPS shadowing issues, do you really think the city or the OMB would turn them down?

All that tax revenue from 1.2 million square feet of office space and the Bus Terminal for the City to boot. There is no way this building is less than 200 meters, IMO. Probably between 220 and 250 to be honest.

[Spocket]

Am I the only one who looked at the date on this proposal/vague idea ?
It says 2007 so why is it just being posted here now ? Further , if the idea popped up around 2007 isn't it safe to say that , for the time being at least , whatever is written about it other than a proper update is just somebody's best guess at what might happen on the site ?

[caltrane74]

Toronto's vacancy rate (office) dropped by 15% last year. And we did that in a year when new office towers came online in the downtown core, which itself has a vacancy rate of just 6%.

[yaletown_fella]

The old design is beautiful! Imagine the old rendering today with MSL/Telus.

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by Automation Gallery

Could this be the next office tower to be proposed for Toronto ......From their website

ACTIVITY REPORT
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
2010

OFFICE CHALLENGES FOR 2011: LEASING, REPRIORITIZING AND SEEKING OUT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

A number of leasing-related challenges lie in store for SITQ in the year ahead, particularly in Toronto,
several U.S. cities, Paris, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. In addition, the Company will be readjusting its
investment portfolio to concentrate on high-quality properties in its key target markets. It will therefore
be on the lookout for business opportunities that enable it to sell certain properties to capitalize on their
appreciation in value and take advantage of select acquisition opportunities.

SITQ’s goal is to readjust its investment portfolio to concentrate on high-quality properties in key target markets.

From a development perspective, SITQ’s teams will focus on new, prime locations in its target markets where it can build high-quality properties in the coming years. There are four pending projects that are ready to be green-lighted in North America as soon as the circumstances are amenable: 45 Bay Street, in downtown Toronto, for which pre-leasing is slated to begin in 2011; 900 De Maisonneuve Ouest, in the heart of Montréal; Phase III of The Summit, in Seattle; and the second tower of Eighth Avenue Place, in Calgary, the preliminary design and infrastructure of which are already complete.

http://www.sitq.com/documents/file/p...ort2010_en.pdf

Well, Well, Well.

[Innsertnamehere]

just as i thought this one was dead... it turns out that it has a pulse after all.

[caltrane74]

Well somewhat of a pulse, SITQ might just end up selling the lot if they can't build up properties in the Toronto Market in which they will be a small player.

Might be better for them to take the profit on the land and sell it to a company that will actually be able to build it faster than they can.

[yaletown_fella]

I hope not. I want a quality building like the first render, not some shitty condo.

[caltrane74]

Well the property is zoned commercial.. plus there has to be a bus terminal in the base floors of the building, so that effectively rules out any condo ever being built on this site.