For nearly twenty years, The Guvernment and Kool Haus nightclub at Queen's Quay and Lower Jarvis Street provided a musical platform for many emerging artists while also hosting popular top-tier talent. As waterfront development continues to sprout up around the site, its prime location has become an asset to The Daniels Corporation, who today launched their $700 million plans amid the demolition of the famous nightclub.
Hailed as one of the East Bayfront's first fully private-sector developments, and the first to be built on private land, the 1,320,000 square foot 'City of the Arts' will truly be a mixed-use complex. The first phase, to be built on the south half of the site, will include 280,000 square feet of commercial office space in two buildings, a 150,000 square foot 'Creative Industries Hub', and 27,000 square feet of retail space at grade.
The project's second phase, on the site's north half, will consist of 650,000 square feet of residential space within over 900 suites split among two towers. The first residential tower, a condo to be known as the Lighthouse Tower, will climb to 48 storeys and offer residents a 'connectivity package' to access arts across Toronto.
Several tenants have already been announced for the office space, occupancy of which is scheduled for Spring 2018. Daniels intends to relocate their headquarters from their current address at 20 Queen West, while the non-profit arts development organization Artscape, whose cultural hub at Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park has received wide acclaim, will also relocate their head office from Liberty Village to the new waterfront development. The 'Creative Industries Hub' will house a variety of cultural organizations that echo the musical past of the site. Talent management firm Last Gang Entertainment and entertainment law firm Taylor Klein Oballa LLP will make their home in the cultural complex. The Remix Project, a non-profit organization helping disadvantaged youth in the creative sector will also take space in the development alongside Manifesto, whose programs empower youth through arts and culture.
Daniels is working with OCAD University and George Brown College to bring a potential innovation and commercialization centre for the project's 240,000 square-foot post-secondary space. Giannone Petriconne Associates Inc. is designing both the academic portion and the two residential towers with RAW Design creating the office and retail components. The two parcels of the site will be connected via 'The Yard', an east-west pedestrian promenade that will be flanked by retail, cafes and restaurants.
Claude Cormier + Associés, whose work includes Canada's Sugar Beach just across Queen's Quay, will design Sugar Beach North at Daniels Waterfront. The creation of an active and beautiful public realm has been the goal of Waterfront Toronto, who has engaged renowned Greenberg Consultants to ensure the development's urban design principles lead to the emergence of a landmark neighbourhood.
As the Guvernment is reduced to rubble, excavation for the south parcel is expected to start this May. Sales for Lighthouse Tower will begin in the fall. A date for the completion of the Lighthouse is still to be announced.
We will return soon with a more in-depth look at the project and at today's event, but in the meantime, check out the now-fully-updated dataBase file linked below. To get involved in the discussion, leave a comment in the field provided.