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We are just over a week into a new year, and with 51 weeks left to go in 2014, it is time to start looking forward towards the changes we will see in Toronto during the next 11.71 months. [ed. note: that's very specific Jack, but we'll let that stand]. Yesterday we covered the high-rises of the Entertainment District, and today we move west to take a look at the many developments set to transform the hip King West neighbourhood. While the borders of this area can be difficult to agree on, the developments we cover today lie in an area bounded by Spadina Avenue to the east, Strachan to the west, Richmond to the north and Front Street to the south. Unlike the high-rise Entertainment District, most of the developments in the King West area take the form of mid and low-rise condominiums.
Freed’s Fashion House ended 2013 on the figurative construction home stretch. The 12-storey, Core Architects-designed condominium is still some months away from completion, with crews currently applying finishing touches to the condominium as well a thorough renovation of the attached historic Silver Plate Building. In the photo below, we can see the structurally complete building and at right the recently installed signature red curtains, a welcome new feature on King Street West that will be lit up in the evenings.
Just one block to the south, at Portland and Wellington, Parallax’s Downtown Condos is also nearing completion. The 11-storey, Sweeny Sterling Finlayson &Co Architects-designed condominium should be seeing its first occupants pretty soon.
Steps east of the King and Bathurst intersection, Freed Developments’ Thompson Residences ended off 2013 with work underway on the fifth floor of the 15-storey, Saucier + Perrotte Architects-designed building. We anticipate the rise of this interesting project which will feature a façade of staggered drawer-like protrusions, creating a unique push and pull effect.
The area also has quite a few construction projects in the early stages. Harhay Developments’ oneeleven Condos, a 17-storey Core Architects-designed condominium, is currently in its shoring phase at Bathurst and Adelaide. When Forum member Red Mars stopped by the site in late 2013, piles were being driven into the ground in preparation for the excavation phase.
Lamb’s Brant Park was in a similar position at the end of 2013, with shoring underway for the 11-storey, architectsAlliance-designed condo on Adelaide, west of Spadina.
Curated Properties’ Edition Richmond finished off 2013 standing 3 storeys above Richmond Street, just east of Strachan. We expect to see a great deal of progress on this AUDAXarchitecture-designed condominium/townhome development over the next several months. In the photo below, taken in November of last year, we get a good look at both the steel and wood frame construction methods being used on this site.
Aside from the many construction projects already reshaping the area, the King West neighbourhood has a lot more on the horizon. Many developments planned for the area are currently in marketing phases, including Plaza’s Musée, Menkes Developments’ Fabrik and Lamb and Fortress Developments’ Harlowe. Another interesting project currently being marketed is Fieldgate Homes’ 90 Niagara, a 5-storey, 45-unit boutique condominium planned for Niagara Street, just west of Bathurst, while the Town Lofts at 143 Strachan will be a nice addition to that street.
We are also anticipating the launch of Minto’s BFront Condos at some point this year. We have little more to go by besides City documents and renderings of the Wallman Architects design, but this will certainly be a project to look out for this year.
Active proposals for properties like 602-620 King West and 89-109 Niagara Street are also worth keeping an eye on in 2014, as the neighbourhood and context around proposal sites continues to change. With a whole lot under construction, in sales and in the planning phases, the King West neighbourhood will be an exciting one to watch this year!
Additional information about the projects covered in this article can be found in the dataBase files linked below. To join in on the discussion, check out the associated Forum thread links, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided below!
