Toronto skyline's newest crown jewel marred by unfinished roofline

Canada's tallest building now soars 106 storeys above Toronto, but a last-minute design change has left a bare concrete patch on what was supposed to be its crowning detail.

The Pinnacle SkyTower, developed by Vancouver-based Pinnacle International, claims the height record from First Canadian Place at 352 metres — roughly eye-level with the CN Tower's observation pod. The enormous structure dominates the downtown skyline and will soon house a restaurant on its 106th floor with views rivalling the CN Tower's famous 360 Restaurant.

But architects Hariri Pontarini made a quiet late-game revision to the roofline. Pre-construction renderings showed a sleek glass parapet and screen extending beyond the roofline, designed to conceal the mechanical floor and building maintenance equipment. The completed tower instead terminates in a blocky, bare concrete section that breaks the building's carefully curved glass exterior — what one local photographer likened to pairing a tuxedo with a ratty old baseball cap.

The revision leaves the mechanical level and the permanent crane-like building maintenance unit clearly visible behind a low glass parapet, a stark contrast to the polished finish promised in renderings. The tower has evolved considerably since the first plan emerged 13 years ago, scaling up from an initial 88-storey proposal to the 106-storey structure now on the skyline.

Pinnacle International has not yet responded publicly about the reasons for the design change or its cost. The company was reached for comment by blogTO but did not provide a statement at publication.