If you’ve been walking across King St. West recently, you probably noticed the proposal signage for the very popular Mirvish+Gehry development. We hear about developments way before they reach the proposal stage, but it’s still super exciting to see these signs pop up at sites around the city. They are signs of progress (pun not intended)!

The proposal for Mirvish+Gehry

The plan for Mirvish+Gehry calls for three soaring towers. The site, which is actually two sites being combined into one, is at John St. and King St. West. The East Parcel of land is where Tower 1 will stand and is technically 266-270 King St. West. Tower 2 and 3 will occupy the West Parcel - 274-322 King St. West.

Tower 1 is planned to stand 82 storeys along King St. West on the east side of Ed Mirvish Way. It will have it’s own six-storey podium.

Tower 2 will be the tallest at 86 storeys on the west side of Ed Mirvish Way. This tower will also have entrances on all bordering streets, including Pearl St. to the north of the development.

Tower 3 will rise 84 storeys at the corner of John and King. Its only entrance will be on John. It will share a six-storey podium with Tower 2.

Other Mirvish+Gehry stats

The proposal calls for approximately 239,174 square feet of non-residential gross floor area, 311 parking spaces, and 2,709 residential suites.

Three towers, all over 80 storeys tall, and 2,709 new units in the Entertainment District/King West neighbourhood! We’ve watched this area of Toronto flourish over the past few years, but we haven’t seen anything like this - not anywhere in the city. If this proposal is approved with all three heights remaining over 80 storeys - the standard for architecture in Toronto will change forever.

The locals of King West

Almost every condo in the Entertainment District has been fought by locals. The restaurant owners along Restaurant Row don’t want condos, and even some people living in high-rises in the neighbourhood don’t want new high-rises - which doesn’t even really make sense.

Surprisingly, there hasn’t been much of a push back against the Mirvish+Gehry development, even though the heights double some of the other proposals that are being fought. The only thing we can attribute this lack of push back to is the names behind the project. Gehry is a world renowned architect, and the Mirvish family is famous in Toronto.

We’re very excited to watch the Mirvish+Gehry development move forward! Stay tuned, we’ll be keeping our eye on this one until the finishing touches.