CIBC Square (known during early stages of development as Bay Park Centre) is an

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

complex under construction in the South Core neighbourhood of

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 anch ...

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. The complex, located on

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James ...

south of Front Street, is a joint development of

Ivanhoé Cambridge Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc. is a Canadian real estate company based in Montreal, Quebec. With assets around the globe, its areas of activity are investment, development, asset management, operations and leasing. The company's real estate portfolio c ...

and Hines. It will serve as the new global operational headquarters for the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

(CIBC), consolidating approximately 15,000 staff from several CIBC-tenanted buildings in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater ...

, including its existing headquarters at

Commerce Court Commerce Court is an office building complex on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The four-building complex is a mix of Art Deco, International, and early Modernism architectural styles. The office co ...

. The complex also includes the

Union Station Bus Terminal The Union Station Bus Terminal is the central intercity bus terminal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Downtown Toronto on the second floor of the south tower of CIBC Square, on the northeast corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Bo ...

constructed on behalf of

Metrolinx Metrolinx is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), which comprises much of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region. Headquartered at Union ...

for

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

and other inter-city bus services, connected directly to

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

. The complex will also include a one acre park elevated over the rail corridor.

Design

The complex will consist of two towers to be completed in two phases. The 49 storey south tower (81 Bay Street) will be completed first, built on the site of a parking lot opposite the

Scotiabank Arena Scotiabank Arena (French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Rapt ...

. This tower includes the

for regional

and inter-city bus services, replacing the former terminal on Bay Street. A pedestrian skybridge links the complex to the

and

, expanding the PATH walkway system further south below the railway corridor - to the

One Yonge Street One Yonge Street (also known as the Toronto Star Building) is a 25-storey office building that serves as the headquarters of Torstar and its flagship newspaper, the ''Toronto Star''. It is 100 metres tall and built in the International style. I ...

complex and ultimately to the under-development

Sugar Wharf Sugar Wharf is a mixed-use development currently under construction at Queens Quay East, across the street from the Redpath Sugar Refinery, in Toronto, Ontario. It will contain five high-rise condo towers ranging in height from 64 to 90 storeys ...

project on the LCBO lands farther east. The south tower was scheduled to open in 2020 but was delayed until summer 2021. The 50 storey north tower (141 Bay Street) will be built on the site of the former GO Transit bus terminal, located behind the

Dominion Public Building The Dominion Public Building is a five-storey Beaux-Arts neoclassical office building built between 1926 and 1935 for the government of Canada at southeast corner of Front and Bay streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was designe ...

. The north tower is scheduled for completion in 2024. The base of the towers will be a four-storey podium housing retail space, including a flagship CIBC retail bank branch. At fourth floor level will be a one-acre, publicly accessible park, elevated over the railway corridor, with varied topography: slopes and hills, horticulture, gardens, shade groves, balconies, and vista areas. The overall complex was designed by British architects

WilkinsonEyre WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ha ...

, and

Adamson Associates Adamson Associates is a Toronto-based architectural firm founded in 1934. Gordon Adamson, Gordon Sinclair Adamson (1904-1986) started the firm in 1934 after working for a number of other architects (F. Hilton Wilkes and Edwin Kay), as well as noted ...

of Toronto.

History

The development is being co-led by

and Hines using land acquired from

(as well as city-owned

Toronto Parking Authority The Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), commonly known as Green P for its green-colour branding, is a municipal parking services company owned by the City of Toronto. The TPA was established in 1998 with the merger of parking operations in the area ...

parking lot), and designed by British architectural firm

and

of Toronto. Ivanhoe Cambridge bought 81 Bay Street (formerly 45 Bay Street) in 2007 and later acquired additional land and air rights over the rail corridor. In September 2014, Ivanhoe agreed with Metrolinx to build the new GO Bus Terminal at 81 Bay Street.

Key tenants

CIBC The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

is the primary tenant of the complex with or 60% of the leasable space.

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...

will occupy approximately for its Canadian headquarters.

Microsoft Canada Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

will move into a facility for its Canadian headquarters at 81 Bay Street. The Union Station Bus Terminal is located in the south tower of the new complex and replaced the previous bus terminal on the site where the north tower will be built. Unknown is the fate of the former CP Express & Transport Building dock door and limestone facade, which was incorporated into the previous GO bus terminal.

References

External links

{{commons category, CIBC Square
Official project websiteCIBC Square on HinesCIBC Square on Ivanhoe Cambridge
Bank headquarters in Canada Buildings and structures in Toronto Modernist architecture in Canada Skyscrapers in Toronto Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Skyscraper office buildings in Canada Ivanhoé Cambridge Hines Interests Limited Partnership Buildings and structures under construction in Canada