The Royal Alexandra Theatre is getting a nifty but very narrow new neighbour, the Theatre Park Condos are being constructed right next door on King West. It's a 47-storey glass building with 234 units and a standout architectural design by architectsAlliance. Built on the former site of a parking lot, the building had to be narrow to fit into the space but saw some drama in its planning stages. Back in 2009, the city rejected the initial design plans, concerned about the building's height, creating a precedent for future developments in the Entertainment District neighbourhood (Sound familiar, Frank Gehry? The Mirvish+Gehry massive 80-storey towers are proposed for the same area). The developers challenged the decision and reached a settlement before appealing to the Ontario Municipal Board. In this previous video, developer Brad J. Lamb talks about the project.
When we bought this property…we were aware that we would have an issue with the historic nature of the street. The idea was that we had to bring something absolutely spectacular to the city and to this part of King Street West… What we decided was the create a beautiful little park like Paley Park in New York that would have a pond, a waterfall so in the wintertime, the water would free and form an ice sculpture along with several trees, benches and a deck calling the area Theatre Park. Sounds lovely right? Since that marketing video was shot, plans for that delightful water feature was scrapped, and that front area is now referred to as an "open landscaped courtyard." It's not as exciting as the original design. But hey, if you want water, the rooftop pool still has a great view of the city.
· Don't Call Gehry a Fucking "Starchitect" During this Interview [Curbed Toronto]
· Will Frank Gehry Perform a "Facadectomy" to Save King St. Project? [Curbed Toronto]
· A Look Back at Gehry's Unlamented Childhood Home [Curbed Toronto]
· While Toronto Debates, LA Gives Gehry the Go-Ahead [Curbed Toronto]
· Back to the Drawing Board for Mirvish+Gehry? [Curbed Toronto]
· Renderings via Lamb Development Corp. [Lamb]