Telus Building Edit Building

Identification

Also known as - Union Plaza, Telus Tower

Approximate Address - 25 York Street [map]

City - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Region - Greater Golden Horseshoe

Nearby Buildings - 18 Yonge Condominiums, One Pinnacle Centre, Govenor's Hill - Building 1, Govenor's Hill - Building 2, York Mills Place, 4 Teddington Park Avenue, Yonge Corporate Centre - Building 1, Yonge Corporate Centre - Building 2, Yonge Corporate Centre - Building 3, Hillside at York Mills

Technical

Type - High-Rise

Designation - Office

Status - Construction

Height - 136m446feet

Floors - 30 above ground and 3 below ground

Total Floorspace - 75251m²810000feet²

Office - 72464m²780000feet²

Commercial - 2787m²30000feet²

Companies

Architect - Adamson Associates Architects

Architect - Sweeney, Sterling, Finlayson & Co. Architects

Developer - Halcyon Partners Fund

Developer - Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan

Developer - Menkes Developments Inc.

Electrical Engineering - Mulvey & Banani International Inc.

Environment Consultants - Sweeney, Sterling, Finlayson & Co. Architects

General Contractor - Menkes Developments Inc.

Landscape Architect - The MBTW Group

Leed Consultant - Enermodel Engineering Limited

Mechanical Engineering - The Mitchell Partnership Ltd.

Structural Engineering - Stephenson Engineering Ltd.

Building Record History

2008-03-15

Reference Material

Contributors: Jonathan Martins, Mark Simpson, Rod Taylor, Vita Leung

• "SpectraNet" [1.29MB]. (2007, 16 May).

• Church, Elizabeth. (2006, 7 October). "Telus to join Toronto skyline". Globe and Mail.

  TORONTO — Telus Corp. is adding its name to the Toronto skyline as the major tenant for a new 30-storey tower to be constructed beside the Air Canada Centre.

  The $250-million tower is being built by privately held Menkes Developments Ltd. through a joint venture partnership with Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan and U.S. private investor, Halcyon Partners Fund. Construction is expected to begin this fall with a target date for completion of January 2009.

  Telus has leased 60 per cent of the 780,000-square-foot tower and plans to move 2,000 workers to the site as part of a major consolidation and expansion effort in Ontario.

  "We see Toronto as a significant growth market for us," said Andrea Goertz, vice-president of Enterprise Services at Telus. The Vancouver-based firm plans to move staff from 15 different locations throughout the Toronto area to two sites, one in Scarborough on the east side of the city and the new building downtown.

  Telus currently has 400 staff working in the city centre, but Mr. Goertz said the new tower will allow all staff involved in services to business clients to work out of out of the same location and in close proximity to major customers. The building, situation between the Gardiner Expressway and a major commuter rail line, will also give the firm huge visibility on the city's skyline.

  "It will be like a jewel box,' said Peter Menkes, president of commercial and industrial projects at his family's firm, when asked to describe the new, glass-clad tower. The building will belinked directly to Union Station to the north andis the first office project for the firm in the downtown,which until now has focused its office development inthe north end of the city.

  Yesterday's announcement was widely expected and follows a competition that concluded in May with the selection of the Menkes site. The decision by Telus to consolidate staff in the city centre, rather than at a suburban location, is a shot in the arm for Toronto's downtown. The site has long been pegged for office development by the city, but has sat empty for years because of lack of demand.

  The Telus building is the second major downtown office project announced this year after more than a decade of little activity. This spring, Cadillac Fairview, the property arm of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board announced a tower on the western side of the downtown near Roy Thomson Hall. Brookfield Properties Corp. also is expected to announce this summer that construction will begin at its long-dormant Bay-Adelaide site.

  Telus shares trading down 10 cents at $45.30 on the Toronto stock market Monday.

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• "PRIVATE OFFICE BLDG - Telus Building, 25 York St, M5J". (2006, 21 August). Reed Construction Data - Key Mail.

  cast-in-place concrete structural frame, fuel fired heating system, curtain wall cladding; Enwave cooling system; gypsum board walls and ceilings; some exposed ceilings; metal doors and frames; various floor finishes; 17 elevators, proposed const of a 30-storey office bldg with a two-storey podium containing retail and restaurant space. Project will be LEED certified.

  780,000 square feet; 30 storeys

  Owner: Menkes Developments Inc

  Gen cont: Menkes Developments Inc

  Architect: Sweeny Sterling Finlayson & Co

  Architect: Adamson Associates Architects

  Landscape architect: MBTW Architects

  Structural cons eng: Stephenson Engineering Ltd

  Mechanical cons eng: The Mitchell Partnership

  Electrical cons eng: Mulvey & Banani Int'l Inc

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• "Staff Report". (2006, 18 August). Toronto City Hall.

• "Menkes Developments and TELUS announce new office development in downtown Toronto". (2006, 10 July). Menkes Developments.

  Menkes Developments and TELUS today announced that they are moving forward on the development of a new landmark office tower in downtown Toronto.

  The TELUS building will be a 30-storey tower featuring 780,000 square feet of Class "AAA" office space, located at 25 York Street on the northeast corner of York Street and Bremner Boulevard. The estimated construction cost of the building is $250 million. Situated adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, the building will feature direct access to the Air Canada Centre galleria and Union Station.

  The project is being developed by Menkes Union Tower Ltd., a joint venture partnership between Menkes Developments Ltd., Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Halcyon Partners fund, an institutional real estate equity fund. TELUS will be the lead tenant of the building, occupying approximately 440,000 square feet or 60% of the total rentable area, and will have prominent roof-top and podium signage rights.

  The 30-storey office tower includes a two-storey podium, conference and wellness facilities, as well as 30,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The project will feature a three-level underground parking garage with 270 parking stalls

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• "Final Report" [1.32MB]. City Hall.

• "Menkes 25 York Website".