A proposal to redevelop a stretch of the Restaurant Row on King Street West between Peter and John streets in Toronto's Entertainment District has resurfaced following a December, 2019 settlement offer. The Scott Shields Architects-designed proposal at 305-319 King West has changed considerably since it was initially tabled in 2013, and is now planned with a redesigned transitional volume that aims to better articulate the tower above from the retained heritage restaurant frontages at street level. The settlement offer was made to the City is in hopes that a hearing at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) could become a simply a ratification of what the developer and City worked out, and in fact the offer was adopted—with amendments—at the February, 2020 City Council meeting. 

Looking southwest to revised plan for 305-319 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

Originally proposed at 42 storeys (and 176 metres tall) as a mixed-use plan with commercial and hotel space, it was resubmitted as a 48 storey primarily residential building. What has been settled on is 50-storey, 157 metre-high residential tower. The building's proposed total residential gross floor area (GFA) has been decreased slightly from the last plan's 28,992 m² / 312,148 ft² to 28,440 m² / 306,128 ft², while the proposed commercial GFA increases slightly from 3,100 m² / 33,368 ft² to 3,252 m² / 35,009 ft², and the amenity area (indoor and outdoor combines) also goes up slightly, from 1,743 m² / 18,766 ft² to 1,798 m² / 19,357 ft².

Looking south to revised plan for 305-319 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

A suggestion from Heritage Preservation Services has resulted in the most dramatic change in the design. A streamlined "neck" transitions the heritage and infill podium components to the tower above, increasing in floor area gradually above the third floor before reaching its full floor-plate width at the eighth floor. This angled neck replaces the previous design's rectilinear connecting volume between the tower and podium elements.

Looking southeast to revised plan for 305-319 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

Other design changes introduced include the removal of balconies that would have protruded from the building’s east side, and aligning the podium infill buildings with the heritage buildings at the property line along King Street, although the third storey above the preserved frontage of heritage 309 King Street West has been set back 1.5 metres to better identify and maintain the site's heritage street-wall. 

Looking west to revised plan for 305-319 King West, image via submission to City of Toronto

The revised proposal calls for a total of 403 units, including 52 studios, 178 one-bedroom and one-bedroom+dens, 132 two-bedroom and two-bedroom+dens, and 41 three-bedroom units round off the mix, those largest suites accounting for 10% of the total unit mix in the building.

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 below.

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