‘Artful luxury’ on Queen St. W.

NEW SKALE DEVELOPMENT LOOKS TO STAND OUT ON VIBRANT STRIP ‘IN A GOOD WAY’ BY LISA VAN DE VEN

Hip. Urban. Young. In Toronto, Queen Street West has a reputation. But Skale’s new condominium project dares to be a little different.

Proving the neighbourhood is growing up, 1181 Queen Street West promises a more sophisticated, design-driven residential experience than the local community is used to, all in a small building of just 118 suites.

“It’s a boutique building with an opportunity for people who want to have design-oriented layouts and finishes,” says Armaan Salek, principal with Skale. “It’s a bit more luxurious.”

Located across from the Gladstone Hotel, the Queen Street West and Sudbury Street site is surrounded by what Vogue Magazine has called one of the world’s “coolest” neighbourhoods, filled with boutique shops and restaurants. But the awkward triangular shape of the property itself — currently home to an out-ofplace retail plaza — made it particularly challenging for condo development, as did a steep incline along Sudbury. Leaning in to the site’s potential rather than its hindrances, Skale turned to Richard Witt, executive principal with Quadrangle Architects, to lead the design process.

Quadrangle — known for such projects as the Remington Group’s Downtown Markham master-planned community, Aragon Properties’ Enigma on the Park and Plazacorp’s Theatre District Residences — was already well-acquainted with the local area, with offices on nearby King Street West. And for Witt, the challenges of the property were an added bonus, allowing him the opportunity to think outside the box, creating something more interesting and design-forward.

“Straightforward sites don’t tend to result in great architecture,” Witt says. “By being forced to investigate all the opportunities and overcome all the challenges, we ended up with what I think is quite an exciting resolution.”

The neighbourhood is “an exciting and urban node” that’s seen a lot of residential development already, Witt adds. His goal was to create something that stood out while also building on everything that’s come before.

The resulting 15-storey building — currently in preconstruction — will feature extensive terracing to reduce shadowing on the sidewalk, creating what Witt calls “a feeling of houses in the sky” and offering plenty of private outdoor space overlooking the action below. The incline along Sudbury is incorporated into the design, creating a full storey of height difference between front and back.

Esthetically, the building will feature a tonal mix of white and grey brick, while a glass front at street level will showcase 7,500 square feet of retail space, contributing to the pedestrian-level engagement along Queen.

“That’s a really vibrant pedestrian strip and we wanted to extend the street and conclude that whole area with this great public realm,” the architect says.

Inside, the interior design team also took inspiration from the surrounding neighbourhood, as well as from Witt’s architecture, to create an esthetic befitting a more sophisticated West Queen Street West buyer. To accomplish that, Skale brought on DesignAgency, the interior design team behind Momofuku Toronto, the Broadview Hotel and William Ashley on Bloor Street.

“We definitely wanted to make it a premium design — very minimal and modern,” says designer Anwar Mekhayech, principal and founding partner of DesignAgency.

“It’s almost, in a way, the antithesis of what people would expect from Queen West, but with some of the DNA of Queen West.”

For that, the DesignAgency team built on Queen Street’s art scene esthetic for a look Mekhayech calls “artful luxury.” For them, that meant working with “curated details” and “authentic materials” like concrete and stone to create a “simple elegance” that would appeal to a more affluent, design-savvy buyer.

The lobby will be simple and tucked away, with 24-hour concierge service, while the amenity spaces — including a fitness centre, art studio, theatre, multifunction room and outdoor terrace — will build on a hotel esthetic and integrate black and white elements for graphic contrast.

Suites at 1181 Queen Street West will range from 610 to 1,719 square feet, with one-bedroom to threebedroom layouts available. Priced from $559,900 to over $1.4 million, they’ll feature quartz countertops and backsplashes, nine- and 10-foot ceilings, and integrated appliances.

“(In the suites) we again tried to go with authentic materials,” Mekhayech says. “There’s lots of black and white, matte feature colours, and very elegant design. It’s almost something you would expect to see in the Yorkville area or King Street East. I think contextually it stands out from anything in that area that’s on the market.”

And that, Salek adds, was Skale’s ultimate goal. By creating something distinctive in the Queen West landscape, they hope to add to the already established location and give the neighbourhood something it hasn’t seen before.

“We get to animate that whole section. It’s tying it all up together and connecting everything,” the developer says. “It’s a pretty unique opportunity, and with that came a responsibility to try to do something that stands out, in a good way.”

Currently in registration, 1181 Queen Street West is slated for Spring 2021 occupancy. To register, visit skale.ca.