This B.C. highrise will be tallest in Canada outside Toronto
The dramatic increase in the number and height of highrises in Kelowna, and two coming for Kamloops, has a lot of people looking up, but a new tower in Burnaby is reaching all new heights.
There could be 25 highrises in Kelowna's downtown core over the next few years if all the projects that are under construction, approved or in the proposal stage get built. There were fewer than a dozen just four years ago.
READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: More than 500 storeys of new highrises in pipeline for downtown Kelowna
So far, the 42-storey Water Street by the Park tower on Leon Avenue, now under construction, will be the city’s tallest.
That's nothing compared to a new building proposed in Burnaby that would be the highest in Canada outside of Toronto. The 80- and 73-storey towers proposed by Pinnacle International are what’s being called Lougheed City in Burnaby.
That area, around the Lougheed Mall, covers 40 acres with plans for 23 highrises, 10,000 homes, more than one million square feet of retail space and more.
By comparison, the Tolko Industries former mill site in Kelowna is about the same size. The City of Kelowna is working on a redevelopment plan for that site.
The Pinnacle project was given first reading approval by Burnaby City Council on May 9 and is scheduled to go to public hearing at the end of the month.
The two towers, if approved and built, will be 60 and 67 floors on a 13-storey podium.
At 80 storeys, they will be the two tallest towers in Canada outside of Toronto.
It will also be taller than the current tallest residential building in Canada. First Canada Place in Toronto is 72 storeys and was completed in 1975.
Since completion is still some years away, once the Burnaby tower is built, it will only be the fourth tallest highrise in Canada.
Destined to become the country’s tallest highrise is the 95-storey Sky Tower at One Yonge Street in Toronto. It’s also being built by Pinnacle and is scheduled for occupancy in 2024.
The One, an 85-storey tower at 1 Bloor Street West in Toronto, is expected to be complete this year, while YSL Residence Tower at 383 Yonge St. in Toronto is coming in at 98 floors but is 9.6 metres shorter than The One. It’s to be completed next year.
None of these residential towers surpass the CN Tower, which was the world’s highest free-standing structure at 553 metres, until 2007.
Sky Tower is a mere 312.5 metres.
The tallest building in Canada outside of Toronto is the Stantec Tower in Edmonton at 66 storeys.
By world standards, even Sky Tower has a long way to go.
The tallest residential tower in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Completed in 2010, it’s 163 storeys and 828 metres tall.
The tallest in North America is One World Trade Centre in New York City. Completed in 2014, it's 541.3 metres, or 94 storeys, tall and ranks number six in the world.
Sky Tower in Toronto won’t make the top 100 list for the world’s tallest buildings.
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