Concert Properties celebrated ground breaking for 'Kip One,' the 29-storey first tower at their Kip District development in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke this morning. The IBI Group-designed tower is the first of five, which will gradually fill the six acre site surrounding a central green space.
'Kip One' at The Kip District, designed by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architect for Concert Properties
The Kip District is located on the south side of Dundas Street just went of Kipling Avenue, and is just a couple minutes' walk from Kipling subway and GO station. Its site was formerly home to a Canadian Tire store, but its proximity to rapid transit has made it—and other nearby sites where strip malls predominate—appropriate for higher densities and attractive for redevelopment. The property is within the Etobicoke City Centre growth node of Toronto's Official Plan, and just west of a planned new downtown area for the former Toronto borough. Construction has started on the realignment of Dundas and Bloor Streets near Kipling Avenue so that a pedestrian, bike, and redevelopment-unfriendly interchange (known as the Six Points) can be removed in favour of a new centre for Etobicoke, one which is to reflect contemporary notions of what makes for good planning and a vibrant heart for the area.
The Kip District concept site plan, by Concert Properties
The Kip District represents the latest Concert Properties investment into the area, which started at their Village Gate West development to the immediate north of the new Etobicoke City Centre site a decade ago. Among those celebrating the ground breaking for The Kip District were (pictured below) local City Councillor Justin DiCiano (Ward 5), Nilda Patey and Judy Leroux of Youth Without Shelter—a local social services agency which Concert Properties has helped support since arriving in Toronto from their home base of Vancouver—and Concert's President and COO Brian McCauley. Along with planting a ceremonial "first tree" (the maple will go back to the nursery and be replanted on the site with many others when Kip One is finished), McCauley and Concert Eastern Region VP Andrew Gray spoke of Concert's commitment to city building. Gray called particular attention to Concert's aim to master plan new communities on sites which do not yet meet today's standards of high quality urban space.
Celebrating the ceremonial ground breaking of Kip One at The Kip District, image by Craig White
While some ground breaking ceremonies that UrbanToronto attends have been scheduled before construction equipment and personnel are actually available to begin work, in this case The Kip District site is already a going concern, with excavation having started a few weeks ago. Looking southwest in the image below, Kip One will rise in the middle of the image, with a park to site between it and Dundas Street. The small office building and various strip retail properties seen behind it were recently purchased by Pinnacle International, who are now planning a similar redevelopment of this outdated suburban landscape.
Looking southwest across the Kip One excavation, image by Craig White
Looking west across the site from in front of the office building, the Kip One excavation pit stretches across about a third of the Kip District property. With a two-storey parking garage to eventually underlie the full site, internal roads, gardens, the park, and the Kip One tower will rise above the section currently under construction. Kipling subway and GO station is to the immediate east of the condominium seen at the back of this image.
Looking east across the Kip One excavation, image by Craig White
We will be back to follow development of Kip One and future phases on this site, and to look more closely at plans for Etobicoke's new downtown. For now though, if you want to know more about The Kip District, our dataBase file, linked below, includes further renderings and more detailed information. Want to talk about the project? You can join in on the conversation in our associated Forum threads, a leave a comment in the space provided on this page.