This project seems to have taken for ever to finish, but we’re declaring it officially (nearly) done. The IBI/HB design replaced an earlier Bing Thom proposal for a more complicated, and presumably therefore expensive, condo tower. Previously the site held the hotel’s parking garage, which had to be replaced underneath. The site it sits on is really small – it’s only 100 feet wide, so the ballroom of the adjacent heritage hotel was dismantled, the space beneath excavated for parking, and the ballroom then re-assembled afterwards. The hotel restoration has been completed and open for a while, and so has the office space on the lower floors of the tower. Now the residential element of the 48 storey tower is nearing completion, which for a while will make it the second tallest in the city, just ahead of the Wall Centre (unless you count the bits on top of the Harbour Centre). The blue glazing is very similar to another recent IBI/HB building at West Pender Place. Like that project, this one should have an integral lighting feature as its contribution to public art. We’ll see if the art is met with universal approval once it’s installed and turned on.