We last checked in on construction of Allied Properties REIT and RioCan's King Portland Centre back in June 2016, when demolition and shoring were being carried out at the King Street site of the mixed-use, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed project. In the months since, plenty of work has been done, with the completion of demolition and shoring followed by excavation of the building's three-level underground parking garage. More recently, tower cranes were installed at the north and south ends of the site, as forming for the structure's below-grade levels has commenced.
Aerial view of the King Portland Centre site, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed
The three-level underground structure currently being formed will eventually house the King Portland Centre's 185 parking spaces and 235 bicycle parking spaces. Work on the below-grade component is furthest along at the south end of the site, where crews have formed much of the P3 level. To the north, there is still some earth left to remove along the building's Adelaide Street frontage.
Facing south across the King Portland Centre site, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed
Once construction of the below-grade levels is complete, work will begin on the building's distinctive brick-clad podium levels (floors 1 through 6), which will then be followed by the rounded floor plates of the tower component, expected to be clad in a curtain wall glazing system. The King Portland Centre will contribute 255,565 ft² of office uses to the King West neighbourhood, with Shopify set to anchor the commercial component with a 112,000 ft² space. The project's commercial component will also include 13,035 ft² of retail space fronting onto King Street West.
Facing south across the King Portland Centre site, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed
Fronting onto Adelaide Street West, the north end of the site will feature 15 storeys of residential space. Owing to the lower ceiling heights of residential levels compared to offices, this part of the building will rise to the same height as the connected 13-storey commercial component. The residential component will house 116 rental units, coming in a mix of 52 one-bedroom (45%), 53 two-bedroom (46%), 9 three-bedroom (7%), and 2 three-bedroom + den (2%) layouts.
Northwest aerial view of the King Portland Centre, image retrieved from submission to City of Toronto
The King Portland Centre is currently scheduled for an early 2019 completion. In the meanwhile, additional information can be found in our dataBase entry for the King Portland Centre, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.