Prankster trolls Toronto with fake plans for an enormous 96-storey skyscraper
The same prankster who gained fame for a fake heritage plaque honouring Toronto's sketchiest McDonald's is back at it again, playing into residents' fears of tall buildings in a prank that trolled both developers and the locals who react angrily to their proposals.
TikToker Jamison Lightfoot has followed up on this summer's Queen and Spadina McDonald's stunt by digitally modifying an existing development proposal sign for a planned 15-storey building to portray it as an enormous 96-storey tower.
And, as one would expect, the post was met with polarizing reactions, garnering almost 2700 likes and over 200 comments, many of whom took the proposal sign at face value and reacted accordingly.
@.jamisonlightfoot supervillain lair type beat #toronto #condo #skyscraper ♬ original sound - Jamison
"Those signs are literally on every single block in Toronto," writes one commenter who totally fell for the joke. "In 10 years Toronto is going to be the ugliest city in the world," the comment continues.
Lightfoot had a good starting point for the faked proposal for 2-24 Temple Avenue, just south of the King and Dufferin intersection, as there is, in fact, a sign at this location for a much shorter proposal of 15 storeys.
While the actual development proposes a height of just over 52 metres and 269 units, the prank portrays the project as calling for a staggering height of over 356 metres — taller than any building that exists in Canada — packed with 873 units.
Lightfoot came clean and took responsibility for the prank a few days later, dedicating a portion of his explanation video to calling out the torrent of hateful comments that soured the mood of his otherwise innocent stunt.
This is not the first time a fake development sign has riled up locals.
A 2021 sign posted in a midtown park had locals freaking out, thinking that their beloved greenspace was being redeveloped into condos.
More fake signs appeared in 2023, including one purportedly informing the public of a residential development for ants, and another proposing a second CN Tower, because, screw it, why not.
.jamisonlightfoot/TikTok
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