Stalled construction a sign tower-building craze is on the wane
This article concerns both Bell Lightbox and Pinnacle 4.
Peter Kuitenbrouwer, National Post Published: Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Daniels Corp., one of Toronto's premier condominium and home developers, was talking tough about the future yesterday, as hundreds gathered to sip coffee, eat doughnuts and sign a prodigious girder that will rest atop the Bell Lightbox, the future home of the Toronto International Film Festival.
"We don't have any trouble getting financing," says Tom Dutton, senior vice-president at Daniels, "because we have this guy, Mr. Daniels, who has a golden pen, and the banks love him."
Even so, it is worth noting that although this shindig is billed as a "topping-off ceremony," the 42-storey tower, which will include a five-storey home for TIFF with five movie theatres, is currently only four storeys high.
"It's not what I would call a traditional topping-off," Mr. Dutton says. "This represents a major milestone in the construction of the building. We're on schedule right now, but we don't have a final completion date. Early next year or mid-next year."
And even as people cheer on King Street, there are signs across Toronto that our tower-building craze is on the wane. One casualty stands at the corner of Harbour and Bay streets, across from the Westin Harbour Castle: a one-storey, cast cement stump.
Round columns support a cement pad roof. But the untouched pure white snow around the base tells the story: this project, the fourth tower of the Pinnacle Centre condos, is halted. Rebar rusts under a snowdrift.
"This was supposed to be 50 storeys," Mario Seixeiro, a worker with Preform, said at the site yesterday. "We started in February and got five levels of parking built, then one storey up from ground level, they shut it down in July-August, because no money. Our company lost money over there."
At Pinnacle headquarters in Vancouver, marketing consultant Grace Kwok said, "We are doing the third tower, and the fourth tower may be delayed a little bit. But that is quite normal in this market. Most of the developers are going slow right now."
Meanwhile, everyone who walks by the Trump Tower, at Bay and Adelaide streets, stops and stares at the project, and asks the workers whether there is truth to rumours that the project is dead. But workers are busy pouring cement. Howard Tikka, director of marketing, called from Phoenix to insist that, "we're moving along. There's still 25% of the building left to sell. While other people have been struggling, we're full speed ahead."
Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), is very worried about the slowdown; developers have stopped knocking on his door, he says. Still, he predicts projects already in the approvals pipeline, such as a 44-storey Daniels tower north of the Bell Lightbox, and a 42-storey Pinnacle tower next door, will eventually get built.
"In fact there is no problem with financing, but a general slump in condo sales is creating a concern across the industry about how soon projects will get started and it's not unique to any one company. Daniels are one of the healthiest companies in the city."
David Pontarini is the architect for the 42-storey Pinnacle project, at Adelaide and John streets. He said an urban design review by the City of Toronto has slowed that job, not market conditions. But he admits he may shave a few storeys off the tower as demand slows.
"Right now it's 42 storeys," he said. "That will evolve. Everyone is waiting to see what the market is doing."
Back on Harbour Street, Mr. Seixeiro is hooking re-bar on to a crane to complete the final, 53rd floor of the third Pinnacle tower. A father of four who lives in Hamilton, Mr. Seixeiro, 45, has worked 27 years in construction, in a unionized job with Local 183. He has enough money to retire, and is in line for a pension of about $3,000 a month.
But many fret about the future, he says. "Everybody is worried: steel-men, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, metal guys."
He finishes his cigarette and spits into the snow. His walkie-talkie squawks to life. "OK, I have to go back to work," he says.
pkuitenbrouwer@nationalpost.com
