Huge construction project on King West will be unlike anything else in Toronto

Toronto's condo frenzy may have passed its expiration date, but some of the building boom's biggest and brightest — pre-sold during better times — continue to make a growing impression on the city's ever-changing skyline.

Approaching 14 years since a mammoth redevelopment of Toronto's King St. W. from Toronto-born 'starchitect' Frank Gehry (1929-2025) was unveiled in 2012, plans have morphed into a two-tower complex with a design that, while watered down from its original ambitions, is still shaping up to be unlike anything else in the city.

The team of developers Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties are pressing forward with the construction of their 'Forma' complex's first phase, a 73-storey condominium tower just next door to the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties

Forma's first phase has been under construction since mid-2023 and is beginning to assert its future landmark status.

As of late January, the tower has climbed 26 storeys above King St. W., standing just over one-third of the way towards a final height of almost 263 metres, rising as high as some of the taller towers situated in the nearby Financial District.

But it's not just height that will make Forma a landmark on Toronto's skyline. The tower is setting itself apart from the typical box-shaped condos with an exterior treatment that boasts the unique textural qualities that define much of Frank Gehry's architectural portfolio.

Stainless steel panels imported from a manufacturer in Italy feature a flowing, folded, and seemingly melted aesthetic that stands in its own category, apart from the ubiquitous nondescript glass-covered point towers that have proliferated across the city over the last two decades.

This distinct exterior treatment stalled for several months, with only a single panel installed, but installation has since expanded to enclose the first seven levels of the building.

The project will stand as a local legacy for Frank Gehry, who passed away at the age of 96 this past December. While Gehry did not live to see the project's full realization, Forma will give Toronto its first large-scale serving of the legendary architect's signature Deconstructivist style.

Gehry's only other architectural work in Toronto, the 2007 expansion of the Art Gallery of Ontario, takes on a more restrained form compared to the undulating, seemingly melting forms of his more famous works.

And despite many revisions to the design that chipped away at costs and removed much of the wow factor, the resulting first phase of the Forma project is still turning out to be unlike anything else in the city.

However, much of Forma's architectural appeal stemmed from its second-phase tower to the west — an even taller tower whose future is now in limbo.

Planned to rise 84 storeys to a height of 308 metres — approved as one of the tallest buildings in the country — the taller second phase tower's future is in doubt amid the current condo market downturn, and the project will likely not proceed until condo demand experiences a significant resurgence.