After six years of false starts, financial uncertainty and reworked plans, One Bloor is finally beginning to rise. First announced in 2007 by Kazakh/Canadian developers Bazis International, the One Bloor project has gone through more than the usual share of drama. A series of financial machinations began with money from Kazakhstan, France and the US, and ended with Bazis selling the one-acre property to Great Gulf Homes. Great Gulf then brought architect Hariri Pontarini on board to completely rework the project. The new design has piano curves swooping elegantly down the tower's sides and echoing along the podium. The total height has been scaled back, from Bazis's original 91 storeys to a slightly-less-dizzying 75 (three less than Aura, Toronto's tallest condo).
To no one's surprise, One Bloor isn't priced for the common folk. One-bedroom suites currently start at just over $500,000, and a two-storey "city suite" will set you back $1,700,000. Amenities will include two swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), two sculpture gardens, outdoor fireplaces, a Pilates room, and a Laconium and Tepidarium (those last two are steam-therapy rooms, not minor characters from I, Claudius). Interior renderings show common spaces that are curved and glowy, like ice caves with hip light fixtures. Barring any more setbacks, One Bloor should be ready for occupancy in December 2014.
· Podium Taking Shape at Great Gulf's One Bloor East [UrbanToronto]
· How the Plan to Build Canada's Tallest Condo Fell Apart [Globe]