Ontario Construction News staff writer
Despite the pandemic, Dream Office REIT has submitted an application to the City of Toronto to build a 79-story tower at 212 King St. W. If approved, the building wil become one of the city’s tallest towers, with construction to start in 2012.
The 310-m. structure designed by SHOP Architects of New York will include both residences and offices. It is the largest project application to be introduced since the start of COVID-19, The Globe and Mail reports.
There will be 660,000 sq. ft. of office space and 588 residential units. The base – in portions of three heritage-protected loft buildings – will include 10,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaraunt space. One of the building’s owners, Humbold Properties, is partnering with Dream on the project, the published report says.
Dream chief executive Michael Cooper says he is confident that Toronto’s core will rebound and remain attractive as a place to live and work after the pandemic. “Downtown Toronto is exciting and vibrant,” he was quoted as saying. “That’s been true in the past, and it’s still true now.”
Cooper said working from home will become a standard practice after the pandemic, but argued it is unclear how this will ultimately affect demand for office space.
“Employers and employees want to be in the best office space available,” he said. “People want to be in great environments; there will be flight to the interesting buildings in locations like this.”
City filings indicate the proposed building will include a multistorey lobby for the offices, bordered by retail; a restaurant on the seventh floor would sit atop the retained portions of the heritage buildings. Above that would be wide office floors, and then narrower residential floors at higher levels.
The proposed structure would, if approved, be 13 metres taller than First Canadian Place, Toronto’s tallest office tower. It will also be 11 metres taller than Commerce Court 3 owned by QuadREal Property Group.
A City of Toronto spokesperson told the newspaper that public consultation meetings will begin early in 2021 and construction could begin in 2022.
Gregg Pasquarelli, a partner at SHoP architects, was quoted as saying the Toronto project’s mix of residential, office and commercial uses represents a progressive approach to development.
“Sophisticated cities are learning that a mixed-use building creates a more vibrant neighbourhood,” he said. “Different uses keep the block vibrant 24 hours a day.”
Pasquarelli said arguments about COVID-19 and “the death of the city” are overstated. “After 9/11, a lot of people said that no one in New York City would ever want to rent in a tall building again,” the Globe and Mail quoted him as saying. “Now we have 10 buildings taller than the Empire State Building. What makes cities great is not going away.”