Eight Ambitious Designs Redefining Toronto’s Next Generation of Buildings

DEVELOPMENT ARCHITECTURE
November 21, 2025 by Anthony Teles 845

Eight ambitious designs that redefine Toronto's next generation of buildings

Toronto's ongoing construction boom is giving the city some of its boldest expansions in years and redefining what's possible here. As new towers continue to emerge, a series of bold proposals and active construction sites are introducing forms, materials and structural systems that go far beyond the familiar. These designs, from curved and faceted to pixelated and draped, show us how the city is shaping its future built identity.

Below we highlight just eight of many outstanding developments, four currently under construction and four in the development pipeline, that reflect this wave of ambition:

form
Forma unveils two Frank Gehry-designed towers of 73 and 84 stories for Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties, bringing its most ambitious Canadian work to the edge of the Entertainment District. The cladding strategy sets the tone: flat, reflective glazing climbs the tower in a continuous curtain wall, while adjacent molded stainless steel panels warp and fold to create a cascading effect that Gehry likens to a waterfall. Each metal plate bends at multiple angles and varies in reflectivity, creating an ever-changing surface that responds to changing light.

Looking northwest at the progress of cladding installation on the East Tower in Forma, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor KhaldoonForma designed by Gehry Partners with Adamson Associates Architects for Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties

A Bloor West
One Bloor West, an 85-story residential, hotel and retail tower designed by Foster + Partners with Core Architects, brings an exoskeleton structure to the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor. The tower's eight mega-columns frame its cruciform first levels, creating the champagne-colored structural expression that defines its exterior. At 308.6 m tall, the Tridel project is Canada's first “supertall” and an engineered addition to the Toronto skyline.

Looking southwest at One Bloor West, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Johnny AuOne Bloor West designed by Foster + Partners with Core Architects for Tridel

KING Toronto
From Westbank Corp and Allied Properties REIT, the terraced, pixelated collection of Bjarke Ingels Group's design has taken shape in the King Spadina Corridor, erecting 16 stories of 45°-angled living cubes over preserved historic buildings (heritage work led by ERA Architects). The stepped, hill-like shape is enclosed with prefabricated window and glass block panels. Projecting volumes with angular glazing, grilles and glass blocks reflect BIG's sculptural concept. On the ground floor, the design includes a three-stage passageway for a new north-south pedestrian link from King Street through the courtyard towards Wellington.

South view of KING Toronto, image by AHK, UrbanToronto Forum contributorKING Toronto designed by Bjarke Ingels Group with Diamond Schmitt Architects for Westbank Corp and Allied Properties REIT

A deli
Designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang for Slate Asset Management with WZMH as Architect of Record, this 44-story tower consists of eight-story modules that change shape from a square at the base to a round crown above. Each family of modules alternates between balcony and curtain wall expressions, creating a ridged exterior that becomes more pronounced as floor plates rise. The podium reinforces the Yonge Street façade, while deeper terraces and wing wall balcony enclosures create a sheltered microclimate inspired by European beach chair seating.

A drone view looking northwest at One Delisle, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor hawcOne Delisle designed by Studio Gang with WZMH Architects for Slate Asset Management

In addition to what is currently planned, there are a number of other impressive proposals waiting for the right time to get started. We can't be sure when the next four we're highlighting will be operational and which of them may change between now and then, but here are just a few of the buildings we expect to see in the coming years!

55 Yonge
Planned as a 68-story mixed-use tower designed by PARTISANS and BDP Quadrangle for H&R REIT, 55 Yonge's profile would be defined by its sculpted steel façade. At the heart of the design is a 25-story podium that rises before tapering into a slimmer tower, all wrapped in a continuous “draped” façade described by the designers as a high-performance textile. Its geometry tightens at two key points to indicate changes in the interior program, moving from solid modules to an open grid that extends over exterior terraces, visually merging the podium with the upper tower.

55 Yonge Street, designed by PARTISANS and BDP Quadrangle for H&R REIT

Renovation of College Park
The redevelopment, led by GWL Realty Advisors and planned by Hariri Pontarini Architects with ERA Architects for historic preservation oversight, envisions three 65-story, 75-story towers and a 96-story “supertall” rising behind the restored Art Deco landmark at Yonge and College. The plan completes the long-unfinished southern podium with an eight-story hotel addition designed in the language of Ross & Macdonald's original design. Most of the 1920s structure remained, including the carlu on the seventh floor and the arcades on the ground floor. Above the expanded base, the towers would mimic the proportions of an early 20th century skyscraper.

College Park Redevelopment designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects with ERA Architects for GWL Realty Advisors

241 Yonge
The 67-story design by Hariri Pontarini Architects for Angel Developments would introduce a bronze tower form rising from a reconstructed streetscape and anchored by the preserved Art Metropole building. The west facade of the listed structure would form the entrance to the residential lobby. The restored storefront details rejoin a series of new, complementary facades designed as contemporary interpretations of Yonge Street's traditional retail facade. The monument protection work is being supervised by ERA Architects. Its stepped podium would have a series of terraces bridging the podium with the tower's slender mass.

241 Yonge Street, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects for Angel Developments

30 SCollard
This sharp-edged 63-story tower, designed by CAL with Zeidler as architect of Constantine Enterprises, would bring a diamond-shaped diagrid façade to the northern edge of Scollard Street in Yorkville. The tower's angled top and slender form would rise from a boldly faceted podium that extends the grid expression to street level, framing both Scollard and Davenport with an 8-meter-high ground floor and multi-story retail frontage. The result is a structured vertical composition that carries CAL's sculptural grid across the entire height of the building.

30 Scollard Street, designed by CAL with Zeidler Architecture for Constantine Enterprises

UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of these developments, but in the meantime you can learn more in our database files linked below. If you'd like, you can join the discussions in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.

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UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe – from proposal to completion. Other services include instant reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from the first application.​