The Sapphire Tower was a proposed luxury

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

and

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, to be built by developer

Harry Stinson Harry Stinson (born June 3, 1953 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian real estate developer from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is president of Stinson Properties, Inc. He has been called Toronto's "condo king". Biography Stinson's most significant ...

. It was so named because all plans for it had deep blue glass curtain walls. This site had been involved in numerous other proposals, including Stinson's own Downtown Plaza concept, and an earlier proposal that would have incorporated the neighbouring Graphic Arts Building.

First proposal

The first iteration of Sapphire Tower would have stood at or 62 floors. Scheduled to begin construction in Spring 2007, the previous 90-storey proposal on Temperance Street, which would have stood at , was rejected because of shadow and height concerns. According to a story in the February 16, 2007-edition of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', after acquiring the property in 2003, high-profile Toronto developer Harry Stinson toyed with a skyscraper condo-hotel project for about a year. However, after announcing the project and securing investors, Stinson was unable to secure the full amount he needed for construction and lost control of the property when lenders recalled their loans. On November 15, 2005, the Toronto and East York Community Council, a committee of Toronto City Council, refused permission for the tower to be built on its proposed site. At issue was the thin shadow that would have been cast by the building over

Nathan Phillips Square Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or ''New City Hall'', at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toro ...

, site of Toronto's City Hall. The Council argued that it needed to "protect City Hall's public square". Stinson planned to appeal the decision to the

Ontario Municipal Board The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) was an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It heard applications and appeals on municipal and planning disputes, as well as other matters sp ...

. The design evolved to its proposed height in response to the approval of the Trump International Hotel & Tower by the city council. Stinson intended to create a friendly rivalry for the tallest residential building in Canada. Sapphire Tower would have been 17 metres taller. In early January 2006, Stinson announced his intent to compromise with city council. Instead of a more than 90-storey building, the focus shifted to designing a shorter building of approximately 70 storeys, with a slanted roof that would further minimize the shadow concerns. Sapphire Tower was to be operated much like Stinson's earlier hotel project

1 King West One King West Hotel & Residence (or 1 King West) is a condo hotel located at 1 King Street (Toronto), King Street West in the Financial District, Toronto, financial district of Toronto, Ontario. It was completed in 2006 after a new tower was attac ...

. Each of the over 1,000 suites was to be individually owned by its purchaser, with the opportunity of generating revenue through enrolment in a central management system. Facing high levels of dissent from 1 King West owners at the hotel's lack of profitability, Stinson decided not to offer the same system to Sapphire Tower purchasers. Instead, the building would have consisted primarily of private residences, where the purchaser may occupy the suite or lease it out themselves in a traditional fashion. There would have been a small hotel component to the building of roughly 200 suites, but they would have been retained and operated by Stinson. With all the design and use changes, a new name to replace "Sapphire Tower" was expected but did not occur.

Second proposal

After numerous designs the finalized height for the second proposal had been approved at 196 metres (643 feet) or 62 floors and 58,993 m² (635,000 sq. ft.) in density. Construction was expected to start in spring 2007, with an opening in early 2009. Levels 2 through to 11 would have been office space, Level 12 would have been an amenity floor for residences, Levels 13-42 would have been 'house like apartments', Levels 43-60 would have been a long stay

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

, and Levels 61-62 would have been the sapphire

penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

suites in the crystalline part of the tower. On July 20, 2007, Sapphire Tower Development Corp., the parent company owned by Stinson, was approved for bankruptcy protection. All future plans of development for the Sapphire Tower were stopped. Sapphire Tower Development Corp. listed the development (including land) for sale to respective buyers in order to repay creditors.

Sale of the site

A partnership of

Israel Land Development Company Israel Land Development Company (ILDC) ( he, הכשרת הישוב, Hachsharat HaYishuv) is one of Israel's largest conglomerates, with fields including real estate, construction, energy and hotels. It was acquired in 1987 by Yaakov Nimrodi. His ...

and

Skyline International A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or ...

Development Inc. (the Canadian division of Mishorim Development) purchased the site at 70 Temperance Street in December 2007 from the property's receiver for C$24.1 million. The partners announced plans to build a 55-storey office, hotel, and residential skyscraper on the site for an estimated C$138 million. A 54-storey design by Page+Steele architects was later revealed.

INDX Tower

By 2011, after several designs had been released, no construction had begun. In December 2011, Mishorim sold the undeveloped lot to CentreCourt Developments for C$39 million. CentreCourt, in partnership with Lifetime, marketed as a new condo development on the lot. The 51-floor INDX Tower was completed in 2016 is shorter than the planned Sapphire Tower.

References

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