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LJM Developments has submitted an ambitious proposal in the southeastern corner of Kitchener for a mixed-use complex designed by KIRKOR Architects and Planners. Situated at 4611 King Street East, the site is located just north of Highway 401, offering drivers access to Cambridge and the Greater Toronto Area.
With towers reaching 25 and 30 storeys, the application is seeking significant height and density in an area of otherwise low-rise developments. It sits outside the boundary of the nearest Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA) for a proposed but unfunded ION LRT stop located northwest of the site. The development site is currently vacant, spanning approximately 0.74 hectares with 72m of frontage along King Street East, positioned between the 401 and the intersection near Limerick Drive, the site is located by a neighbourhood with low-density residential properties to the south and a single-storey commercial strip plaza to the west.
Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications envision two towers reaching heights of 82.25m and 100m, connected by a six-storey podium. In total, the development would house 726 residential units. Along with 51,857m² of residential Gross Floor Area (GFA), there would also be 650m² of retail at grade fronting King Street East, alongside office units on the first and second floors totalling 1,242m². The Floor Space Index (FSI) would be 7.82.
The design includes 1,919m² of indoor and 1,454m² of outdoor amenities, located on the first and seventh floors. Each tower would be equipped with three elevators, leading to a ratio of one elevator per 121 units across the entire development, which indicates longer than preferable wait times for residents.
Despite being a distance from rapid transit — Sportsworld stop, once the ION LRT extension to Cambridge is funded and built, would be a 20-minute walk away from the proposal — three levels of underground parking would provide only 405 residential spaces and 32 visitor spaces for the 726 proposed suites. There would also 49 office and 19 retail related parking spaces. Bicycle parking provisions include 161 long-term spaces and 6 visitor spaces, with an additional 161 spaces allocated for office and retail use.
The site is 150m outside of the PMTSA for the proposed Sportsworld ION stop, while Grand River Transit's 203 and 206 buses serve the area currently. Looking to the future, the area could substantially change if the Stage 2 ION extension goes ahead, currently being explored by the Region. The proposed Preston stop, the next one to the southeast, is equally distant and would be challenging for pedestrians to reach as it lies beyond the Highway 401 interchange.
Northwest of the site, closer to Sportsworld stop, three towers ranging from 14 to 18 storeys are under construction at 4220 King Street East, while at 4396 King Street East a trio of towers spanning 8 to 30 storeys are proposed. Southeast of the site in Cambridge, is the 18-storey proposal for 255 King Street West, as well as the Preston Springs Redevelopment, which calls for three high-rise towers from 22 to 26 storeys.
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: | KIRKOR Architects and Planners, MTE Consultants, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering |
