Allied Properties REIT's recently built Queen Richmond Centre West raised the bar for heritage-sensitive office development in Toronto, showing how you could add more density while retaining existing buildings, and do it in a spectacular way. Holding new space aloft with eye-catching support structure was what made QRC West such a hit, and following that success, architects Sweeny &Co are being tapped for a similar arrangement at 58 Atlantic Avenue in Liberty Village by another developer. It could be the beginning of a trend: a third such office development is now proposed at 582 King Street West and 471 Adelaide Street West.

To be known as the King Adelaide Centre, the design by KFA Architects for property owner YAD Investments calls for up to 12 storeys of office and retail space to rise above all but one of the existing buildings on the development site, including the 4.5-storey heritage building at 582 King Street West—planned to be retained in situ and incorporated into the new complex. A surface parking lot at the southeast corner of Adelaide and Portland would also be redeveloped as part of this plan.

King Adelaide Centre's King Street frontage, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto

The bulk of the density will be pushed towards the north end of the site fronting Adelaide, while the south end's heritage frontage along King will remain largely unchanged, maintaining the uninterrupted row of heritage frontages on this part of King. Flanking the site along King Street, the Spoke Club to the west and a two-storey building to east, are not included in the proposal.

King Adelaide Centre's design uses sculptural structural steel and poured reinforced concrete to support the “floating” density above, while adding some visual kick to the building's design. Renderings and elevations included in the recently-submitted Site Plan Approval application reveal how these structural elements will transfer the load of the new levels across a set of diagrid-shaped bracing and down to the foundations.

King Adelaide Centre's Adelaide frontage, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto

In addition to the preserved heritage brick exteriors and highly-visible structural supports, new materials used to clad the development will include anodized aluminum panels, window wall with dark mullions and clear glazing, a spider clamp-fastened glazing system, stone veneers, and multiple tones of curtainwall glazing.

Southwest-facing aerial view of King Adelaide Centre, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto

The 56 metre-high complex would add just over 26,189 m² of retail and office space to the trendy King West area. Tenants of the King Adelaide Centre would have access to a new underground garage containing 122 parking spots. This proposal follows closely on the heels of another recent office proposal on the same city block, at 445 Adelaide Street West, which would replace the low-rise buildings seen on the same block in the image above.

We will return with updates as new information on the project emerges. In the meantime, additional information and images for the project can be found in our database file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.