The Fortis Building is a 12 story high-rise located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Expansion

In January 2010, Fortis Properties, a subsidiary of

Fortis Inc. Fortis Inc. is a Canadian electric utility holding company, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It operates in Canada, the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. In 2015, it earned . Fortis was formed in 1987, when shareho ...

, announced plans to retrofit its existing building and construct a new 15-storey building next to it. The plan also called for 382 new parking spaces, an outdoor plaza and a pedestrian walk-way over Water Street to the TD Building, all at a cost of $75 million. The construction of the new building would have involved removing four of the company's existing buildings at 151 to 163 Water Street and Harbour Drive as well as amendments to the St. John's Municipal Plan to allow a building of this height in the downtown. The proposal was slammed by members of

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, heritage advocates and by the public. After two months of controversy surrounding the proposal, Fortis Properties decided to withdraw their application before it had gone to council to be discussed, stating that they felt they did not have the support of council. The withdrawal of the proposal was also controversial and there were complaints that the city was not business friendly and that the four story height limits in downtown were unreasonable. In 2011, the city council approves a new development proposed by Fortis to construct a 12 story building at a new location on the west end of Water Street. The company still plans to retrofit their current building to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification standards.

References

{{St. John's Buildings and structures in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Buildings and structures completed in 1969