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In the heart of King West, KING Toronto is etching its silhouette into the cityscape. Developed by Westbank Corp and Allied Properties REIT, and designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with Diamond Schmitt Architects, the development is ascending above and behind the heritage walls that make up something of a podium for the complex, where it faces King Street. KING Toronto is now joining the ranks of The Well in the area skyline, another Allied REIT joint-venture project just a block to the south, as an ambitious amalgamation of residential, commercial, and public spaces.
Since our last update in September, 2023, the site has made progress on its vertical ascent.
Captured at the beginning of this month, KING Toronto's construction had just reached the ninth storey. Twin red cement trucks sit at grade with supply for the ongoing concrete work. Above, the tower crane jib hoists a sizable concrete bucket. Red safety barriers delineate the edge of each floor slab, while grey shoring poles remain as concrete slabs continue to cure. The uppermost storeys are swathed in protective tarp, while the distinctive 'staggered-boxes' silhouette is taking shape. Affixed to the slab edges to the left are wall brackets poised for the installation of the signature glass block walls on the second-floor slab, while the wall brackets on the right will hold reconstituted brick walls from the heritage buildings that front King Street.
In this southwesterly view across King, the juxtaposition of old and new is evident: the masonry of the heritage walls firmly anchors the site in the area's past, providing a textured foreground to the rising modern 'mountains' of the development. The staggered forms of the new section stand out, marked by thin columns in the centre of the elevation, facilitating the orchestration required to realize this interweaving of eras.
Looking northwest to the project's south side, we see more clearly KING Toronto's homage to the industrial roots of King West. The new section rises above the heritage walls, while the staggered-box design creates an engaging visual rhythm that will soon be clad in the distinctive glass block and window cladding.
Looking north from where a park will connect KING Toronto to The Well and other points south of the site, this photograph captures the spaces carved out of the building for a north-south pedestrian thoroughfare. A thick concrete slab that crowns the three-storey geometric archway is visible, leading to KING Toronto's public courtyard and the communal spaces that will animate the development's lower levels.
The southeast view from the Waterworks Building caprtures KING Toronto's distinctive massing within the area, before it reaches the levels where its staggered-box design will begin to step back on every floor, creating a mountain-like effect. The stepped-back upper storeys of the Wellington Street buildings of The Well make up the distant backdrop.
The project is expected to top off mid-year. Upon completion, KING Toronto will stand 57.6m and be home to 440 residential units plus extensive retail and some office space on the lower floors.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Diamond Schmitt Architects, Doka Canada Ltd./Ltee, Grounded Engineering Inc., New Release Condo, Rad Marketing, Rebar Enterprises Inc, RJC Engineers, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc. |
