Scotia Plaza is a commercial skyscraper in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built to serve as the global headquarters of Canadian bank Scotiabank, it is in the financial district of the downtown core bordered by Yonge Street on the east, King Street West on the south, Bay Street on the west, and Adelaide Street West on the north. At , Scotia Plaza is Canada's third tallest skyscraper and the 52nd tallest building in North America. It is connected to the PATH network, and contains of office space on 68 floors and 40 retail stores.

Olympia and York developed the complex as an expansion of the adjacent headquarters of Scotiabank and the bank continues to occupy approximately 24 floors of the structure. Olympia and York owned the complex from its completion until the company was liquidated due to overwhelming debt in 1993. Scotiabank led a consortium of banks to purchase the mortgage for Scotia Plaza and over the next five years, it purchased additional shares from its partners until it was the property's majority owner.

On January 19, 2012, Scotiabank announced it would sell the iconic building In 2016, H&R and Dream sold 50% of the building to KingSett Capital and AIMCo; in 2017, Dream sold its remaining 50% stake in 2017 to the same two companies. The bank continues to retain a significant corporate presence at Scotia Plaza, having renewed a 560,000-square-foot lease in 2021.

Architecture

The tower incorporates the historic Beaux-Arts Bank of Nova Scotia Building at 44 King Street West, by architects Mathers and Haldenby with Beck and Eadie, built between 1946 and 1951 on the site of Cawthra House. The , 27-storey structure was designated as significant under the Ontario Heritage Act by the City of Toronto in 1975 and was renovated with a historically sensitive design that includes a 14-storey glass atrium connecting it to the new structure. The atrium houses a large banking hall incorporating architectural features from both the historic and modern components of the complex and includes a large, metal structure referred to as the Circle of the Provinces which houses the teller services for the Bank of Nova Scotia's main branch.

WZMH Architects designed the modern tower which was built between 1985 and 1988. Excavation for the tower extended , the deepest for a building in Canada's history. and Yonge Street wing incorporates the Dunfield Building.

Essential to the project during construction was maintaining the Bank of Nova Scotia's head office and Toronto Main banking Branch functions with minimal disruption throughout the eight-year, two-phase construction. The tower's project and construction managers were Goldie-Burgess Ltd., followed by W. Tamm Consulting Limited.

Scotiabank's vault of gold and other bullion is below Scotia Plaza.

<gallery>

File:Toronto Scoria plaza construction.jpg|Scotia Plaza construction

File:Yonge and Front Toronto 2010.jpg|Scotia Plaza in 2010

File:Scotia Plaza Covered Plaza 2021.jpg|Covered Plaza

File:Scotia Plaza Office Lobby 2021.jpg|Office Lobby

File:Scotia Plaza Basement Arcade 2021.jpg|Basement Arcade existing Void removed after 2017

File:Derek Michael Besant Waterfall.jpg|Waterfall (1989), mural by Derek Michael Besant in the lobby

File:CN Tower observation level 2023i.jpg|View from the CN Tower in 2023

</gallery>

See also

  • List of tallest buildings in Toronto
  • List of tallest buildings in Canada
  • Tour Scotia in Montreal
  • Scotia Place in Calgary

References

  • Scotia Plaza