SkyTower at Pinnacle One Yonge is more than another glass tower rising above Toronto; it’s set to reshape the city’s skyline and waterfront.
At 106 storeys and about 352 metres tall, the tower is set to become Canada’s tallest residential building and one of the country’s first true super-tall skyscrapers.
Located at the foot of Yonge Street, SkyTower will add a new vertical landmark to a skyline long defined by the CN Tower, which stands at 553 metres tall. In fact, the upper residential floors are about eye-level with the CN Tower’s main observation deck.
SkyTower is part of the larger Pinnacle One Yonge master-planned community, a mixed-use redevelopment of one of Toronto’s most prominent addresses. The project is transforming the former home of the Toronto Star into a dense urban community with 950 residential units, a hotel, retail, as well as community and public components.
To tackle construction of the skyscraper, contractor Premform purchased a Terex CTT 472-20t flat-top tower crane. The crane climbed to an impressive final height of 348 metres on the landmark development.
Cropac Equipment, Eastern Canada’s Terex Cranes dealer, supplied the flat-top tower crane to Premform.
“We are proud to have partnered with Premform, contractor of the project, from the earliest stages of the development by providing a lifting solution capable of supporting the project’s ambitious schedule and height requirements,” said Joel Hunt, Senior Sales Representative for Cropac Equipment.
Utilizing an anchoring system made of 16 internal ties, the tower crane progressively climbed alongside the structure, ultimately reaching the height of 348 metres.
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“Development of this scale requires lifting capacity, great tower versatility and the ability of adapting to evolving site conditions, while maintaining high-performance throughout every phase of construction. Included in the supply package, Cropac provided additional mast sections, tie-collars and related climbing components,” Hunt said.
Configured with a 55-metre jib and a 6.24 tonne tip load, the CTT 472-20t is equipped with a hoist of 80kW, lifting at a maximum speed of 196 metres per minute. This configuration provided the reach, lifting capacity and operational reliability required to support material handling operations throughout the project.
Terex CTT 472-20
Introduced by Terex in 2017, the Terex CTT 472-20 is a 20-tonne flat top tower crane designed for large, complex lifting jobs such as high-rise construction.
The crane offers a maximum jib length of 80 metres and can lift 4 tonnes at maximum radius, or up to 4.5 tonnes with Terex Power Plus. The crane offers 11 jib configurations from 30 to 80 metres, allowing contractors to adapt the crane to different site requirements.
Terex designed the CTT 472-20 for transport and erection efficiency. The jib sections come preassembled with lifelines, while galvanized jib walkways are intended to improve durability and safety during installation and maintenance.
The crane can also be configured with H20, HD23 and TS212 Terex mast sections, giving fleet owners more flexibility when working with existing Terex tower crane components.
The cab was also a major focus. The CTT 472-20 was the first Terex tower crane model to feature a newer cab design for its flat top, hammerhead and luffing jib models.
Features include a fully adjustable seat, joystick controls, an 18-cm display, as well as heating and air conditioning.
On the technology side, the crane includes Terex Power Plus, which can temporarily increase the maximum load moment by up to 10 per cent under controlled conditions. It also features Power Match, which lets the operator choose between higher operating performance or reduced energy consumption depending on the lift requirements.
SkyTower topped off
Construction of SkyTower began in late 2020 and topped out at its highest occupied floor in March. The Terex CTT 472-20t arrived on the jobsite four years ago, and is set to be dismantled later in the third quarter of 2026.
The skyscraper is opening in phases with occupancy beginning this year.
