65 King East, a new 18-storey office tower just west of Church Street in Downtown Toronto is approaching completion. The Carttera Private Equities project features a sleek, minimalist design from IBI Group and WZMH Architects, and upon completion will provide 400,000 ft² of new office space, all of which has been leased out to Google. 

Our last update on the project was in February, when crews were in the process of forming the thirteenth floor and the first full row of glazing had been installed on one of the lower levels. Now, the building is topped off at its final height of just under 83 metres, and has had the majority of its cladding installed. 

Glazing installed at 65 King East, image by UT Forum contributor Benito

The cladding used for the tower is a highly reflective curtain wall, which offers a seamless, mirrored look on the north half of the building, while fins that act as brise soleils have been applied in vertical strips between the windows on the south half of the building. The simple design is in contrast to the more ornate architecture of the heritage buildings being incorporated into the base of the building along King Street and in the wider neighbourhood. 

Heritage restoration revealed at 65 King East, image by UT Forum contributor DSC

At the time of our February story, the heritage facades were still being supported by a steel framework. Tied into the new structure behind them by the middle of that month, the temporary support was removed over the late days of February and early days of March, and by mid-March a scaffold was being erected, behind which restoration work on the walls could begin. Last week, the scaffold came down and the restoration work was revealed. The restored heritage walls will front 10,700 ft² of new retail space facing King Street.

Heritage restoration revealed at 65 King East, image by UT Forum contributor condovo

Upon its completion, 65 King East will join other mid-sized towers that create a transition from the high-rise towers of the city's Financial District to the west, to the mid-rise buildings that populate the St. Lawrence neighbourhood to the east.

65 King East with Google signage, image courtesy of Carttera

You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

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Related Companies:  Arcadis, Bass Installation, Carttera Private Equities, Doka Canada Ltd./Ltee, Entuitive, Kramer Design Associates Limited, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, PCL Construction, RJC Engineers, Snaile Inc., WZMH Architects