Manulife Centre

Building in Toronto

43°40′10″N 79°23′18″W / 43.66944°N 79.38833°W / 43.66944; -79.38833Construction started1970Completed1974Technical detailsFloor count51Design and constructionArchitect(s)Clifford & LawrieStructural engineerJablonsky, Ast and Partners^[1]Main contractorGoldie Burgess LimitedReferencesSkyscraper Center^[2]

The Manulife Centre is located on the southeast corner of Bay and Bloor streets, along the Mink Mile and adjacent to the southern edge of the Yorkville district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a 51-storey 800-suite luxury residential tower at 44 Charles Street and a shorter tower at 55 Bloor Street West, connected by a retail complex on the main floor and basement.

History

Designed by the Toronto architectural firm of Clifford and Lawrie Architects, construction began in 1970 and was completed in 1974.^[2] It was developed and built for Manulife Financial, the current owners. Early retail tenants at the Manulife Centre included Bretton's department store (60,000 square feet), Creed's (38,000 square feet), Harridge's, and other luxury tenants. Over time, these three large retailers went bankrupt and closed.

Today

The retail portion of Manulife Centre includes Birks and Indigo Books. Bay Bloor Radio, which was founded in 1946, moved into the Manulife Centre when it opened and remains there today. A tunnel connects the basement level of the shopping concourse to Holt Renfrew at 50 Bloor Street West on the north side of Bloor.

Manulife Centre is home to Canada's first flagship Eataly location as well as Over the Rainbow, a fashion retailer, and Shoppers Drug Mart.

The tower is served by Bay station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth. Tunnels from the Manulife Centre provide access to Toronto's busiest subway station Bloor–Yonge.