Earlier this week, we were sitting in the office, trying to decide how we could get some sweeping views of Toronto and beyond.  We just thought it would be cool to show how the city is growing as a whole.  After a quick phone call, we hung our heads with disappointment – discovering that a helicopter ride starts at about $2,000 an hour.  So, we headed out to the CN Tower, which is also cool, we guess.

For this photo, cast your gaze east along Front Street and the train tracks, and over the bank buildings.  There are a number of great developments visible in this photo. At the bottom right, you can see the L Tower by Cityzen, Fernbrook, and Castlepoint, and that hole to the south of it is their Backstage site. Heading a bit further east, you will come upon Market Wharf, a condo and townhome project by Context, which is scheduled for completion by early next year.  You can’t see it from here, but you’ll always be able to pick out Market Wharf from the ground because of its unique balcony design.

Now, look a little further east and you’ll see Clear Spirit by Cityscape and Dundee Realty.  Clear Spirit is rising in Toronto’s historic Distillery District, one of the most exciting and interesting neighbourhoods in the city.

Speaking of Dundee, they have partnered with Kilmer to become Dundee Kilmer, in order to redevelop the West Don Lands into a master-planned community.  See that empty land north of Clear Spirit?  All of that is being developed in time for the Pan Am Games.  Last time we went and checked out the site, there were three cranes up.  Expect more to rise very soon!

OK, so this is looking west out of the CN Tower.  Most people already know about Concord Adex’s CityPlace, which is located at the bottom right of the photo, so that gives you a good idea of the area.

Concord Adex has another project going up in this area just south of their other towers.  See that flat lot of dirt?  That’s it.  Quartz hasn’t made it off the ground yet, but it will soon, and when it’s done, it’ll be one of the nicest designs in CityPlace.

If you look at the centre of the photo, you can see a building that looks about half-done; that’s The Garrison at Fort York, a cool mid-rise condo, planned for completion by 2014.  Onni has another project, Local at Fort York Condos, which is still in preconstruction, but will eventually rise on the south side of the Gardiner.

Most people who have ever had to drive in and out of the city know about the Plaza projects that line the south side of the Gardiner; you can see them along the left side of the photo.  Well, Plaza has another interesting development planned for that area called York Harbour Club, which will sit next to Onni’s Local at Fort York.

Now, for this one, you might have to strain your eyes a bit because we didn’t have a telescopic lens.  Even though it’s kind of blurry in the distance, we wanted to share this one with you, just because if you really squint, you can kinda see the supple curves of Cityzen’s Absolute Towers — cool! Right on the other side of Humber Bay, you can see two significant projects: Beyond the Sea by Empire Communities, and Nautilus by Monarch.  Recently, we had a chance to go take a closer look at these two projects, and we must say, they are doing special things for the Humber Bay area.

So, you’re probably wondering where our other CN Tower shots are, especially the northern ones.  Well, you can see the entire album on our Facebook page!  Try counting the cranes, and leave a comment letting us know what developments you can spot!