One Yonge teardown proposal fires up carbon cost debate

A proposal to tear down the 25-storey former headquarters of The Toronto Star to build two even larger towers has put the spotlight on climate concepts known as embodied carbon and more sustainable “circular” construction ideas.

Pre-application consultation documents reviewed by The Globe and Mail show Vancouver-based real estate developer Pinnacle International Realty Group is exploring an option to demolish a 53-year-old concrete and glass office building to raise a 90- and 95-storey towers on the same site on Toronto’s waterfront at 1 Yonge St.

But experts say cities are increasingly grappling with the environmental cost of demolishing old buildings particularly as new construction is a major source of new carbon emissions (as much as 10 to 15 per cent of Toronto’s total emissions).