In April 2020, a penthouse at KING Toronto sold for $16 million, the highest condo sale in Toronto that year or the year after. In recent weeks, developers Westbank and Allied released KING Toronto’s final set of penthouses.
On Toronto’s King Street West, KING Toronto, a mixed-use development now under construction, stacks terraced units into four “mountain peaks” that overlook a central courtyard. Each unit faces out at a 45-degree angle, creating an undulating appearance that contrasts with typical flat building facades. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and inspired by Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ’67 and Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre, KING Toronto offers downtown Toronto a distinctly different architectural style.
KING Toronto’s six penthouses sit atop its four peaks. The name of each penthouse reflects the custom designs by BIG. Treehouse features an indoor mature planted tree, for instance, while Bibliothèque has a two-floor library. The final two penthouses are the Glass House and the Sanctuary.
The Glass House is a 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath unit with 2,919 interior square feet and 640 exterior square feet. A gray marble fireplace forms the centerpiece of the main double-height living room. Dark steel elements include a staircase and floor-to-ceiling wine storage. The Glass House also includes a library, in addition to a series of terraces and balconies.
The Sanctuary is a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath unit with 2,026 interior square feet and 516 exterior square feet. It keeps with the modern industrial theme of its neighbor, the Glass House. Likewise light-filled and open, the Sanctuary also has multiple glass-block walls and features a floating fireplace in blackened steel and a staircase of deep black oak.
When complete, KING Toronto will include 440 residential homes and 150,000 square feet of workspace and retail.
Building Team:
Architect of record: Diamond Schmitt
Mechanical engineer: Reinbold Engineering Group
Electrical engineer: Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd.
Structural engineer: RJC Engineers
General contractor/construction manager: EllisDon
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Voting center redesigned where it counts
A series of large-scale photographic banners by artist Rebeca Mendez soars above the newly redesigned Los Angeles County Elections Operations Center. L.A.-based Lehrer Architects completely reworked the 110,000-sf concrete warehouse, adding a new floor plan that improves work flow, bold colors, 12-foot-high dividing walls, and original artwork to create a vibrant and people-friendly environment.
| Aug 11, 2010
New pavilion planned for famous boulevard
Located in a prime spot along Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Pavilion will have 9,000 sf of retail space, 35,500 sf of office space, and two below-grade parking levels when it opens in late 2010. The $10 million, three-story building extends a full length of the block to create a window wall of blue-gray translucent, fritted glass panels ove...
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury high-rise meets major milestone
A topping off ceremony was held in late October for 400 Fifth Avenue, a 57,000-sf high-rise that includes a 214-room luxury hotel and 190 high-end residential condominiums. Developed by Bizzi & Partners Development and designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, the 60-story tower in midtown Manhattan sits atop a smaller-scale 10-story base, which creates a street façade t...
| Aug 11, 2010
MOB added to new hospital project
A late-2009 ground breaking is planned for a $20 million medical office building on the grounds of the $211 million, 106-bed Loma Linda University Medical Center in Murrieta, Calif., which itself is under construction. Minneapolis-based Frauenshuh HealthCare Real Estate Solutions is developing the five-story, 160,000-sf MOB, which will accommodate 60 physician offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Firm goes for Gold with office design
DLR Group is designing its new Omaha, Neb., headquarters to achieve LEED Gold. Sustainable features being incorporated into the three-story, 39,000-sf building, which is part of the city’s new Aksarben Village mixed-use development, include daylighting, outdoor workspaces, native landscaping, a green roof, and the pursuit of renewable energy credits.
| Aug 11, 2010
New building focuses on public safety
The $40 million public safety building for the city of El Cajon, Calif., is under construction and slated for completion in June 2011. The five-story, 119,400-sf building will house the city’s administrative offices, a joint police and fire emergency operations center, central data center, indoor firing range, crime lab, and short-term custody facility.
| Aug 11, 2010
BU students move into high-rise dorm
Boston University’s newest residential building rises 26 stories above the Charles River. Part of the school’s 10-acre John Hancock Student Village, the 396,000-sf tower houses 962 students and has three apartments for faculty use. The tower also has a large multipurpose room on the top floor.
| Aug 11, 2010
Mixed-use Seattle high-rise earns LEED Gold
Seattle’s 2201 Westlake development became the city’s first mixed-use and high-rise residential project to earn LEED Gold. Located in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, the newly completed 450,000-sf complex includes 300,000 sf of Class A office space, 135 luxury condominiums (known as Enso), and 25,000 sf of retail space.
| Aug 11, 2010
Theater offers spectacular views inside and out
A 500-seat proscenium theater sits at the heart of the 35,000-sf Performing Arts Pavilion at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts. The entertainment and cultural facility, designed by Stephen Dynia Architects, Jackson Hole, Wyo., also houses glass-walled rehearsal rooms that offer passersby views of the activity going on inside and multifunction lobby with views of Snow King Mountain.
| Aug 11, 2010
Corporate campus gets LEED stamp of Gold
The new 100,000-sf corporate headquarters for The Thornburg Companies in Santa Fe, N.M., earned LEED Gold. Designed in the “new-old Santa Fe style” by Legorreta + Legorreta, with local firms Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and Klinger Constructors on the Building Team, the green building sits on seven acres and features three distinct but interconnected office spaces with two courtyards and ...