Description

King Toronto is a new condo development by Westbank and Allied Properties currently in preconstruction at 533 King Street West, Toronto. King Toronto has a total of 514 units. The long-awaited KING Toronto development by Westbank, Allied REIT, and Bjarke Ingels is coming to the heart of King West’s Entertainment District. The area which is known for its charming low-rise historical brick architecture and vibrant lifestyle is set to be the site for Toronto’s first project by ‘starchitect’ Bjarke Ingels. The BIG group and Westbank collaboratively have pushed the envelope for KING Toronto by creating a unique and significant addition to Toronto’s skyline. Bjarke Ingles is widely known for buildings that defy convention while incorporating sustainable development principles and bold sociological concepts. KING Toronto will be the third architectural addition to Canada from Westbank and BIG. Previous collaborations include the highly successful Vancouver House and Telus Sky in Calgary. The development of KING Toronto is reminiscent of Montreal’s Habitat 67 with the architecture designed to incorporate the building into the landscape of the area. KING Toronto is set to rise 16-stories above King Street West with four peaks wrapping around the central courtyard of the property. The gradual recession on each floor allows for a large percentage of the suites in the building to offer spacious terraces and multiple exposures. The design centers on adding to the sense of community along King West, putting a significant amount of focus on the interaction of public spaces, extensive art installations and retail spaces along the street level and through the courtyard. Currently on site on the KING Toronto site at 485-539 King Street West is the installation of Unzipped, designed by Bjarke Ingels and The BIG Group, which began as part of the Serpentine Galleries in London, UK and will be open to the public as an exhibition celebrating the launch of KING Toronto. KING Toronto comes as the fourth Toronto project for Westbank. Their first project in Toronto was the successful Shangri-La Hotel & Residences Toronto. Their two projects currently under construction are at 19 Duncan Street and the highly-anticipated Mirvish Village redevelopment.