The new National Bank Headquarters tower celebrated its groundbreaking earlier this week in downtown Montreal. In attendance were Canadian Minister of Finance Bill Morneau, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, National Bank President and CEO Louis Vachon, and MSDLA principals Anik Shooner and Jean-Pierre LeTournaux (as depicted below from left to right). 

Groundbreaking Ceremony, image via National Bank of Canada

The $500 million project represents the largest of its kind within the city in over 25 years. As such, the groundbreaking was endowed with even more significance once the weight of the 160-year-old National Bank's investment is taken into consideration. 

National Bank Headquarters, image via National Bank of Canada

The new National Bank Headquarters, located at 800 Saint-Jacques St W, will sport 40 floors of state of the art, LEED Gold certified office space. Designed by local firm Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTournaux Architectes, the new headquarters will be a handsome structure, clad in a swooping glass curtain wall spread across multiple volumes. A fine addition to the core, the new National Bank tower will soon become an signature piece of Montreal's iconic skyline. 

SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.