A late 2018 proposal for a 15-storey office building at 578-580 King Street West in Toronto's King-Spadina area has been revised as talks with the City continue. A refusal report issued by City staff late in January identified several concerns including height, built form, massing, and heritage impact. In an effort to resolve these matters without appealing the proposal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), the latest revisions come with a request to defer the project's upcoming appearance at the Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) and allow more time for dialogue between developer C-Squared and City staff.

Scaled back plan for 580 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

Designed by AUDAX architecture with heritage elements overseen by GBCA Architects, the overall concept remains from the initial submission, but with the height reduced from 15 floors down to 11 storeys plus mechanical, reaching a height of 48.5 metres. The total gross floor area of 6,079.6 m² (65,440 ft²) marks a significant reduction from the previously proposed 8,469 m².

Scaled back plan for 580 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

A new 5.5-metre stepback from the property line above the 6th floor would act as a buffer between the building and the adjacent Fashion House complex to the east. Like the previous version, the height for this portion aligns with the light well of Fashion House. Other stepbacks have been introduced to break up the massing into smaller volumes.

Looking west to 580 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

The materiality of the exterior has also changed somewhat, most notably along the east elevation where angled louvres are now proposed, restricting views to the adjacent condo suites while still allowing natural light to penetrate the office spaces.

East facade of 580 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

The development team is now awaiting a response from City staff to the revisions. If the changes do not result in a settlement with the City, the developers may decide to appeal the proposal to LPAT.

Additional information and images can be found in our database file for the project, 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.

* * *

UrbanToronto has a new way you can track projects through the planning process on a daily basis. Sign up for a free trial of our New Development Insider here.