Toronto 212 King Street West | 250m | 80s | Dream Office | SHoP

[rbt]

I'm of the understanding the primary reason the formerly named trump building got a floor reduction was slow unit sales.

At the time they claimed it was due to mechanical design issues, but it was selling very slowly compared to Four Seasons and Shangri-La. The OMB dispute was from Bank of Nova Scotia and likely wouldn't have changed much.

Trump lops 13 floors from luxury T.O. condo

Trump International Hotel and Tower – a five-star, $500-million project at Bay and Adelaide – will now be just 57 storeys.

www.thestar.com

Either way, it wasn't city council.

The city was generally in favour of the original 275.5m One Bloor East proposal too (issues with quality of design, not the scale). When Great Gulf bought the land from the Bazis, they chose a lower height for financial reasons (it was near the limit of their capability to finance). It's notable that Great Gulf has gone nearly 10 years before trying another of the same scale (73 floor Forma).

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Fake news! NO WAY!!

 

[tstormers]

Throwing my opinion in the ring here. If not shadowing, servicing or financial reasons, it's odd that the city would want to cut here. my thought since it makes an odd skyline bow now with it being lower than the financial buildings and was a good design as proposed. I do believe the city as a whole is scared of height as most projects I've worked on it is usually a big sticking point even just the number 48 over 46 (minimal notice from the ground in most cases) has been arguments in meetings.

Still hope it to be a great building with heritage being retained as best as possible.
Just a little sad on the cut...personally.

 

[cd concept]

Off topic but when is someone going to change the new bummer hieght status of this blog lol!

 

[Skyhighzz]

City Hall & staff doesn’t so much ruin things but they are not visionaries or very ambitious. Most city halls in NA are not except for the super star cities, a level which Toronto keeps striving for but never fully gets to. But in saying that, the revised Forma Towers look better than ever imo.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Off topic but when is someone going to change the new bummer hieght status of this blog lol!

Looks like it's been done and done. Still a pretty hefty building at that height and story though.

 

[cd concept]

Looks like it's been done and done. Still a pretty hefty building at that height and story though.

The tower probably has smaller floor plates being at that 250m mark. Combining the 80 storey tower worth of units with the old podium building put together lol!

 

[SilverSable]

Y'all need to stop getting your hopes up about Toronto development proposals. I'm not disappointed because this is what I was expecting all along.

Agreed, no hopes no disappointment. It’s always the same with this developments we shouldn’t be surprised

 

[Doppleganger]

250m is still 'nothing to sneeze at'. At that height, it will still make a significant contribution to the densification of the downtown skyline. My only quip is the seeming mismatch between the lower and upper portions of the tower. Looks like a less-than-satisfying session at the mix 'n' match bin at the Dollar Store. I can almost hear the 'fashionistas' exclaiming, "You're not gonna' wear those pants with that top!" At the risk of milking the fashion analogy for all it's worth, it also confirms the adage that stripes do indeed make you look thinner!

 

[cd concept]

250m is still 'nothing to sneeze at'. At that height, it will still make a significant contribution to the densification of the downtown skyline. My only quip is the seeming mismatch between the lower and upper portions of the tower. Looks like a less-than-satisfying session at the mix 'n' match bin at the Dollar Store. I can almost hear the 'fashionistas' exclaiming, "You're not gonna' wear those pants with that top!" At the risk of milking the fashion analogy for all it's worth, it also confirms the adage that stripes do indeed make you look thinner!

Yeah but the office portion of the tower has disappeared from the new rendering. And that part of the tower's facade made the development look rich. With its rich fancy ivory looking columns. That would have stood out on Kings st entertainment district! They should have left this development alone lol. Or at least combine those ivory columns into the black fins columns running vertically up above!

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

...outside of Forma when this is completed, it could still be one of the tallest building around that district.

 

[Rascacielo]

Yeah but the office portion of the tower has disappeared from the new rendering. And that part of the tower's facade made the development look rich. With its rich fancy ivory looking columns. That would have stood out on Kings st entertainment district! They should have left this development alone lol. Or at least combine those ivory columns into the black fins columns running vertically up above!

Was the office portion axed at the city’s request or because the developer decided there’s little demand for office space in the post-pandemic, WFH world?

 

[cd concept]

Was the office portion axed at the city’s request or because the developer decided there’s little demand for office space in the post-pandemic, WFH world?

I don't know what happened. But when I seen Koops flyby I noticed there wasn't any office section. Just all black facade right down to the old lowrise podiums. Probably catering just to the condo units which kind of bummed me out lol! They might have some office space etc on the levels of the old podium buildings . Which could becom another no thrill Toronto style condo lol!

 

[Rascacielo]

I don't know what happened. But when I seen Koops flyby I noticed there wasn't any office section. Just all black facade right down to the old lowrise podiums. Probably catering just to the condo units which kind of bummed me out lol! They might have some office space etc on the levels of the old podium buildings . Which could becom another no thrill Toronto style condo lol!

I think it was the developer's decision and I don't blame them as they have to reckon with the new normal. However, they could still keep the original look with some minor modifications - if churches can be converted to residential units, 'office sections' can surely house residential units. But eliminating the office component is the perfect excuse to cheapen the proposal. And remember, this is Toronto - 90% of the time a cheapened proposal still looks better than the built form

 

[ProjectEnd]

The largest 'loss', - 'change' might be a better descriptor - is the removal of most of the office space. While this was first publicly proposed in December 2020, after COVID had ravaged us for close to a year, I don't think many were thinking about the long-term ramifications on the office market. I can certainly theorize how now, in Q2 2023, DREAM might be celebrating the opportunity to dump the office component and keep the residential as something of a win.

Podium deference to existing heritage stinks of blinkered, anachronistic, HPS, stodgery though.

/\

I think it was the developer's decision and I don't blame them as they have to reckon with the new normal. However, they could still keep the original look with some minor modifications - if churches can be converted to residential units, 'office sections' can surely house residential units. But eliminating the office component is the perfect excuse to cheapen the proposal. And remember, this is Toronto - 90% of the time a cheapened proposal still looks better than the built form