Shakespeare’s famous line in The Merchant of Venice claims, ‘All that glisters is not gold’. But in the case of this downtown Toronto skyscraper, it really is.

The Royal Bank Plaza complex was designed by WZMH Architects in 1976 for the Royal Bank of Canada in the Financial District. Its owner, the Oxford Property Group, and co-investor CPP Investments are looking at selling the complex for 1bn CAD. This jaw-dropping price tag might sound high (even for Toronto, one of the world’s hottest property bubbles); however, it factors in 2,500 ounces of gold melded into the building’s 14,000 gleaming windows.

According to BlogTO, the windows were priced at 70 CAD a unit, costing around 980,000 CAD at construction. This is worth 5,688,900 CAD in 2021.

The Royal Bank Plaza comprises 41 and 26 storeys office towers, respectively, connected by a 40-metre-high atrium enclosed by glass. Its sawtooth facade appears to shimmer in a range of gilded hues thanks to distinctive gold-bronze glass panels.

RBC leases 40% of the bling skyscraper, and the bank would continue as tenant following its sale, according to BNN Bloomberg.

[Via BlogTo; h/t BNN Bloomberg]

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