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Not sure of the specific reasoning in this case, but the short answer in the abstract is that it depends -- different suppliers, different floorplates, different floor heights, different programs, different engineers, different architects, different builders, different pro formas; those are all factors that generally factor into the decision, and it tends to be iterative to at least some degree.

In broad strokes, it has for some years been true that, ceteris paribus, it costs more to do your core and/or one or more of the first floors in timber, but there are definitely suppliers, engineers, and builders out there who are claiming that the cost gap (for at least the latter) has substantially narrowed. Even though there are now lots of tall timber buildings all over the world that are pushing the envelope to a greater degree than which we're seeing in Toronto, there's still a pretty widespread concern here among builders about the bench strength of trades who can work with it here (especially given that there are now actually quite a number of mass timber buildings under construction/in the pipeline).

I was at a presentation on prefabricated mass timber construction by an engineering firm recently where (if I recall correctly) it was stated that the all wood construction is more expensive than the hybrid (wood but with concrete core), but has the ability to significantly reduce the project timetable. Therefore, fully timber construction, especially as it becomes cheaper, could become the better option for many projects for reducing construction time. It will be interesting to see if this is in fact true by watching how long this project takes v. the T3 Sterling.
 
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Hiding all that warm wood in grey...bleh
Yeah...that is a bit disappointing, as the renders where not showing any grey whatsoever. And it wasn't because renders where shot in a reflecting sunset either, as has been done with residentials to hide potentail greyer material choices that would be eventually used. So I'm not sure what happened here. /sheesh
 
It's more beige than grey.
I think it's an issue of how the cladding is reflecting light...as at certain angles it appears much more grey from many of pics that have shown of it. So perhaps it's the type of materials being used. /shrug
 

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