In Toronto's busy King-Parliament district, First Gulf's next high-rise office project is well underway at the corner of Ontario and Adelaide streets, and can now celebrate another milestone with the announcement of its largest major tenant yet. Equitable Bank will be moving its headquarters from its current Yonge and St Clair location to the new tower in Downtown East, and will occupy more than 175,000 ft² over 8 floors of the building. The tower will also be renamed from The Shift to the EQ Bank Tower.

Rendering of EQ Bank Tower, image courtesy of First Gulf.

The 23-storey tower is designed by Sweeny &Co Architects and includes a 3-storey heritage facade retained at its base, with heritage specialists ERA Architects overseeing its restoration. The LEED Gold office tower already has two confirmed major tenants, with co-working firm Spaces occupying 105,000 ft² across six floors, including a 2,200 ft² terrace, and Think Research taking 88,000 ft² of space across four floors.

View of EQ Bank Tower under construction, image by Forum contributor ADRM.

Construction is currently underway, with the latest photographs showing drilling and shoring continuing in preparation for excavation.

View of EQ Bank Tower under construction, image by Forum contributor coreybrendan.

Demolition is still progressing on the structural elements of the heritage building. The west and north facades will remain in situ, while the already-demolished east facade will be partially reconstructed using original materials. The steel bracing required to hold the retained facades in place has not yet been erected.

View of EQ Bank Tower under construction, image by Forum contributor ADRM.

We will keep you updated as construction continues to progress on the EQ Bank Tower. In the meantime, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.