A new profile on Queen West
Andrew Kelly, second from left, discusses the condo with Armaan Salek and Jamie Phelan, right. Creative design made for hip, niche market
Andrew Kelly has travelled the world, but his heart — and home — belong to Toronto’s Queen Street West.
Kelly, 33, is co-founder of Secret Walls a global “Fight Club” of the art scene as the world’s largest black-and-white live-illustration event, and works with emerging street artists in 42 cities, including Toronto.
“I love the Queen West-Ossington area so much. I’m helping on the mural front and have helped curate street art and to guide artists,” Kelly says. “Art is important to me — and what we can do in the community to elevate it.”
Four years ago, after exploring various city neighbourhoods, he moved to a condo on Queen West.
“There’s a creative buzz that’s happening and I’m part of the fabric of that.” He plans to move again — this time to a new, twobedroom condo across the street from his current residence. Kelly has bought a unit at 1181 Queen West, an architecturally unique building designed by Quadrangle Architects for Skale Developments at the corner of Queen and Sudbury Sts. The development is tentatively slated for occupancy in 2021.
“I really loved the design esthetic and the ethos of what they are striving to build. It’s not a loud, brashy condo. Every single unit is stand-alone, no two units are alike,” Kelly says.
The pie-shaped, 15-storey building of glass, brick and stone on a triangular lot will have multiple levels, setbacks and dramatic angles.
“We probably went through half a dozen schemes to come up with the design,” says Armaan Salek, president at Skale Developments. “As the building goes up, it steps back, pushes forward, steps back, pushes west, then comes back east. It’s like a boomerang effect. Once it’s built, you will see two different masses, like a sculpture pulling away from another sculpture. It twists and pulls back in.”
Salek says while his team wanted to respect the nature and context of the neighbourhood by incorporating brick into the façade, “we didn’t want to just blend in with all the other red brick buildings, so we are using white brick.”
Salek has lived on Queen West and rather than an entry- to mid-level project, wanted to offer a higher standard of design. “We figured there was a niche market here for creatives and professionals that are well-todo financially, who want to live in a condo and be in this area, so we were confident taking that route.”
Anwar Mekhayech, of the project’s interior design firm The DesignAgency, used chiaroscuro — an artistic technique employing high levels of contrast between light and dark — as the decor inspiration. The result is minimalist, with highlights of warm materials and classic patterning.
“There is great attention to detail,” Mekhayech says. “It’s pristine, detailed, elevated design. We design a lot of hotels and wanted the lobby to feel like a hotel.”
Amenity space on the third floor includes a yoga studio, gym, screening room, co-working space, party room and a professional chef’s kitchen. The in- terplay of light and shadow will extend to the triangular outdoor amenity area, with black brick and white stone, teak decking, concrete details and wood panelling.
Inside the suites, Mekhayech says residents can expect to see the chiaroscuro theme continued, with natural stone and porcelain, white cabinetry and brass details and classic oak floors in light or dark tones. The kitchen will feature a dark, army green accent colour, but “there are no pops of colour. It’s ablank canvas in a very elevated way for people to make their own,” Mekhayech says. “The layout of units is interesting and not typical. There are some boxes but some unique corner units have interesting shapes and layouts, and the private terraces get bigger and bigger as the building steps back.”
As well, 1181 Queen West will be built to Toronto Green Standards Tier 2 — beyond the mandatory Tier1requirements. The building will have stations for electric vehicle charging, bicycle parking for each unit, enhanced energy efficiency, water-saving fixtures and features. It will also have a green roof on the ninth floor, rather than on the top floor, so residents living above will be able to enjoy the view.
“I think this will turn into an iconic building and development on Queen West and that’s why I want to own a unit there,” Kelly says.
“Queen West is a melting pot of really interesting individuals. This street speaks for itself and this development will speak for itself.”