The largest Toronto office project of the last decade has been realized with architects WilkinsonEyre announcing yesterday the second phase of the mega CIBC SQUARE masterplan is complete.

The completion of the second tower at 141 Bay St. brings together a three-million-sq.-ft. office campus, built across three linked sites, totalling eight acres, adjacent to Union Station. The 49-storey CIBC SQUARE I building at 81 Bay St. was completed in 2019.

WilkinsonEyre designed the project with architect of record Adamson Associates and said the completion of the 50-storey second tower establishes "a new transit connected commercial campus spanning the Union Station rail corridor."

The two 250-metre commercial towers are linked by a one-acre elevated sky park that spans the active rail infrastructure at Union Station. The park's gardens, walking paths, gathering spaces and outdoor amenities will be accessible to the public.

“CIBC SQUARE presented an extraordinary opportunity to rethink how large commercial developments can contribute to the life of the city,” Dominic Bettison, director at WilkinsonEyre, said. “Rather than treating infrastructure as a barrier, the project embraces it as an organizing element that connects transit, landscape, workplace, and public space into a seamless urban experience.”

141 Bay St. is fully leased

The new building is already fully leased, developers Hines and La Caisse announced in February. Major tenants in the towers include the anchor tenant CIBC which has leased over 1.6 million square feet of space across both towers, as well as the Business Development Bank of Canada, AGF, Boston Consulting and Microsoft.

WilkinsonEyre said wellness considerations were important to the anchor tenant.

"The development consolidates CIBC’s workforce into a highly connected environment centred around natural light, public accessibility, and hospitality inspired amenities," the announcement said.

"Restaurants, fitness facilities, conference spaces, art galleries, gardens, and large scale event spaces were integrated throughout the campus to create an experience that extends beyond the traditional office tower."

The towers' distinctive reflecting façades are intended to maximize light within the workspaces. "Both towers are defined by lightly folded glazed façades that create a repeating diamond geometry across every ten floors," the announcement said. "The faceted envelope introduces depth, scale, and changing reflections across the skyline while maximizing daylight within the workplace interiors."

No major new Toronto office development on the horizon

With the second class-AAA tower at CIBC SQUARE complete, the pipeline of office space delivery in Toronto is running dry. No major office developments have been announced since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite office vacancy in Toronto running at 13.4 per cent in Q1 2026 according to CBRE, class-AAA space is far more sought after with a vacancy rate running under four per cent.

In addition to office space, CIBC SQUARE offers trading floors, conference facilities, retail spaces, restaurants and transit infrastructure. But WilkinsonEyre said the development always sought to offer more than just commercial space to the city.

“From the outset, the public realm strategy was fundamental to the success of the masterplan,” Bettison said in the release. “The creation of three new public plazas, connected by the elevated sky park and a new urban laneway, helped integrate a development of this scale into Toronto’s existing urban fabric.”

The company said CIBC SQUARE reflects a growing need for projects across Canada that combine commercial density with public transportation and civic amenities.

CIBC SQUARE was designed "to support the future growth of downtown Toronto while reducing dependence on automobile based commuting," the announcement said.

The office campus connects with Toronto's transportation network which includes pedestrian links into Union Station, the subway, LRT systems, and an interregional bus terminal for Metrolinx. It also expands the existing PATH network and Bay Street Teamway system.

Sustainability goals for the project included LEED and WELL Platinum certifications and energy efficiency throughout the campus.

The project was one of London, England-based WilkinsonEyre's first in Canada.

"Following the success of CIBC SQUARE, we hope to expand our work across Canada and North America, designing projects that contribute to the region's broader city building ambitions through investments in infrastructure, connectivity, and meaningful public space," Bettison said. 

Tim Kocur, executive director of the Waterfront BIA said the development was an inspiration the city should build on.

“The completion of the CIBC Square North Tower and the elevated park is an inspiration of north-south connectivity," he said in the announcement. "Our waterfront has benefitted greatly from expansion of the Financial District southward, but the Gardiner Expressway and rail yards remain a barrier that’s difficult to ignore.

"The elevated park is a visual nod to crossing those barriers and we look forward to seeing more improvements in Toronto that this encourages, including the City and Bentway’s Under Gardiner corridor improvement plans.”