Sapphire Tower facts for kids

The Sapphire Tower was a planned tall building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was going to be a fancy hotel and condominium (apartments that people own). The building was named "Sapphire Tower" because its design included deep blue glass walls, like a sapphire gem. A developer named Harry Stinson wanted to build it. The land where it was planned had been considered for other big building projects before.

First Plans for Sapphire Tower

The first idea for the Sapphire Tower was for it to be about 196 meters (643 feet) tall, with 62 floors. Construction was supposed to start in the spring of 2007. Before this, a much taller plan for a 90-storey building (342 meters or 1,122 feet) was turned down. City officials were worried it would cast too big a shadow and be too tall.

Why the First Plan Didn't Work Out

In 2003, Harry Stinson bought the land. He thought about building a very tall condo-hotel for about a year. He announced his project and found people to invest money. However, Stinson could not get all the money he needed to start building. Because of this, he lost control of the property when his lenders asked for their money back.

On November 15, 2005, a city committee said "no" to building the tower at its planned spot. The main problem was the shadow the building would cast over Nathan Phillips Square. This square is a very important public space next to Toronto's City Hall. The committee wanted to "protect City Hall's public square" from shadows. Stinson planned to fight this decision.

Competing for the Tallest Building

The design of the Sapphire Tower changed and became taller after another big building, the Trump International Hotel & Tower, was approved by the city. Stinson wanted the Sapphire Tower to be the tallest residential building in Canada. His plan would have made it 17 meters (56 feet) taller than the Trump tower.

In early 2006, Stinson said he would try to find a middle ground with the city. Instead of a building with more than 90 floors, he focused on a shorter design. This new plan was for about 70 floors. It also had a slanted roof to help make the shadow problem even smaller.

How the Suites Would Work

The Sapphire Tower was going to be run a bit like Stinson's earlier hotel, 1 King West. In that hotel, each of the many suites was owned by a different person. Owners could make money by letting the hotel manage their suite for guests.

However, some owners at 1 King West were not happy because their suites were not making much money. So, Stinson decided not to offer the same system for the Sapphire Tower. Instead, most of the building would have been private homes. Owners could live in their suite or rent it out themselves. There would have been a small hotel part with about 200 suites. Stinson planned to own and run these hotel suites himself. Even with all these changes, the name "Sapphire Tower" stayed the same.

Second Plans for Sapphire Tower

After many different designs, the final approved height for the second plan was 196 meters (643 feet), with 62 floors. Construction was expected to begin in the spring of 2007. The building was hoped to open in early 2009.

What Was Inside the Second Plan

• Floors 2 to 11 were planned for office spaces.
• Floor 12 was going to be a special floor with things like a gym or lounge for residents.
• Floors 13 to 42 would have been large "house-like apartments."
• Floors 43 to 60 were planned for a "long-stay" boutique hotel (a small, stylish hotel).
• The very top floors, 61 and 62, were designed as special "sapphire penthouse" suites. These were in the crystal-like top part of the tower.

On July 20, 2007, the company that owned the Sapphire Tower project, run by Harry Stinson, went into bankruptcy protection. This meant all future plans for the Sapphire Tower stopped. The company had to sell the land and the project to pay back the people it owed money to.

Selling the Land

In December 2007, two companies, Israel Land Development Company and Skyline International Development Inc., bought the land at 70 Temperance Street. They paid C$24.1 million. The new owners announced they wanted to build a 55-storey building there. It would have offices, a hotel, and homes. They estimated it would cost C$138 million. Later, a design for a 54-storey building was shown.

INDX Tower

By 2011, even after several new designs were shown, no construction had started on the land. In December 2011, the land was sold again to CentreCourt Developments for C$39 million. CentreCourt, working with another company called Lifetime, started a new condo project on the land. The building, called the INDX Tower, has 51 floors and is 179 meters (587 feet) tall. It was finished in 2016. The INDX Tower is shorter than the Sapphire Tower was planned to be.