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Plans have been submitted for a redevelopment of 4 Gilead Place in Corktown, where The Pearl Group is seeking Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment, and Site Plan Approval to replace a 1-storey industrial building with a 20-storey purpose-built rental tower. Designed by Turner Fleischer, the proposal targets a compact mid-block site between King Street East and Eastern Avenue within Downtown Toronto. The site is located within the Protected Major Transit Station Area (PMTSA) for the tentatively renamed Distillery District station (previously Corktown station) on the under-construction Ontario Line 3.
The site is a 1,233m² parcel on the west side of Gilead Place, partway between King Street East and Eastern Avenue. Currently developed with a 1-storey non-residential industrial building and associated surface parking, the property sits in a mixed-use pocket of Corktown characterized by a blend of low-rise residential, commercial, and light industrial uses. Immediately surrounding the site are small-scale commercial buildings, parking areas, and semi-detached homes.
The existing building dates to 1947, when it was constructed as a masonry industrial facility for the Canada Lighter Company to designs by E.I. Richmond. While the property is listed on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register as part of a broader survey of the King-Parliament area, a recent Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report found that it does not meet the criteria for designation under Ontario Regulation 9/06. As a result, the proposal includes demolition of the structure, with the design responding to nearby heritage resources along Trinity Street through setbacks, step-backs, and materials.
The purpose-built rental building would rise to 20 storeys / 74.48m from a 2-storey podium, with a floor-plate of approximately 784m². The building would contain 14,258m² of residential Gross Floor Area, resulting in a Floor Space Index of 11.57 times coverage of the 1,233m² lot. The 297-unit program would be mostly smaller units, with 148 studios and 94 one-bedroom units, alongside 37 two-bedroom and 18 three-bedroom units. Residential amenities would include 437m² of indoor and 334m² of outdoor areas distributed across the first two floors.
A residential lobby would front Gilead Place, alongside a leasing office, indoor amenity space, and back-of-house functions. The tower would rise with step-backs ranging from 2m to 5.5m, and wider step-backs along the north elevation reaching up to 9.4m.
A single underground level would house mechanical and service functions. No long-term vehicular parking is proposed, reflecting the site’s location within a PMTSA, though three pick-up and drop-off spaces would be provided at grade along with one loading space. Bicycle parking would be supplied at a total of 174 spaces, including 134 long-term and 40 short-term spots. Vertical circulation would be handled by three elevators, resulting in a ratio of one elevator per 99 units.
The site is positioned approximately 350m west of the future Distillery District station on Ontario Line 3, placing it within a five-minute walk. Existing streetcar routes are found along King Street East and Queen Street East, with north-south buses on Parliament Street. Dedicated cycling facilities in the immediate area remain limited.
The proposal is within an intensifying pocket of Corktown. To the south, other proposals include a stale plan for a 31-storey Curio by Hilton Distillery District and the 44- and 46-storey residential towers proposed at 281 Front Street East. West of the site, a cluster of developments includes 550 Adelaide East at 29 storeys, the 36-storey Berkeley House, 517 Richmond East at 45 storeys, and a 46-storey tower at 134 Parliament. To the east, the 13-storey Cherry Place is under construction, while further intensification is proposed at 1 Sumach Street with a 59-storey development. Southwest, the Corktown Transit-Oriented Community's North Site calls for 46 and 54 storeys, and the South Site proposes three towers from 22 to 58 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: | Goldberg Group, Gradient Wind Engineers & Scientists, Grounded Engineering Inc., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Turner Fleischer |
