Context King West condo project in Toronto nixed

A condominium project originally planned by Context in downtown Toronto will probably not be built at the site, which has since been acquired by a joint venture between RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust.

“Plans for the intensification of the site are being developed now,” Allied Properties REIT president and chief executive officer Michael Emory stated in an email to the Daily Commercial News.

“One thing is almost certain. We won’t be building the condo project that Context had planned. There may be a condo portion, but there will be a much, much larger commercial component than envisaged by Context.”

Earlier this year, Context had planned to build a 450-suite project, to be named Context King West, which would occupy part of the middle of the block east of Bathurst Street and north of King Street, about 1.5 kilometres west of the financial district.

But in mid-July, the Allied and RioCan joint venture announced it plans to develop a mixed-use office, retail and residential complex in that area.

“The property has actually been resold to Allied/Riocan joint venture and we are currently no longer involved in the site,” stated Craig Taylor, director of design and marketing at Context, in an email to the Daily Commercial News.

Originally, Context had planned to build the King West development with four fronts, with storefronts and laneway pass-throughs. The Context site had been designed by David Pontarini, a partner at Hariri Pontarini Architects, and was to have been undertaken by a team including Bluescape Construction Management.

In a press release, Allied and RioCan said the site they plan to develop includes 602-606 King Street West, currently owned by Allied. The joint venture plans to acquire adjacent properties to the west, comprised of 620 and 622 King, 501 and 505 Adelaide Street, 106 Portland and 1 and 11 Adelaide Place. The site will include 61,608 square feet of land with frontage on King, Portland and Adelaide streets.

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The joint venture plans to build about 400,000 square feet on that land.

The joint venture, which will be structured on a 50/50 basis between RioCan and Allied, was formed with the intent of acquiring sites “in major Canadian cities that on a stand-alone basis are suitable for mixed use intensification,” the firms stated.

“The joint venture will also seek to identify properties currently within the Allied and/or RioCan portfolio that are suitable for redevelopment or intensification on a stand-alone basis or those where an assembly of adjacent lands is possible.”

The other Toronto property identified in the press release is on College Street at Manning Avenue, about two kilometers west of the Ontario Legislature building at Queen’s Park.

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The firms intend to build a mixed-use office, retail and residential complex with about 125,000 square feet of gross floor area at that site, which would have 185 feet of frontage on College Street.

It is in a mixed-use area commonly known as Little Italy, west of Bathurst Street, about two kilometers north of the King West lands. The site includes 551-555 College Street, currently owned by Allied and 547 and 549 College Street, currently owned by RioCan.

For the entire joint venture, both firms would act as joint development and construction managers.

“Upon completion of any projects RioCan would act as property manager for any retail portion of the property and Allied would act as property manager for any office portion,” the firms stated.