Toronto's glass mountain range might be the coolest new condo in the city

Toronto condo developments don't typically get much love for their designs, but the era of the sterile vertical investor box seems to be fading as a new wave of marquee projects that people can actually get excited about materializes on construction sites around the city.

Case in point: The mountain-range-shaped KING Toronto development is easily one of the most talked-about condo developments in Toronto. While other high-profile landmarks like One Bloor West, the SkyTower, and Concord Sky have captured locals' attention with their immense heights, KING Toronto is a rare example of a project that stands out not for sky-scraping stature, but for its design.

Now in its sixth year of construction, the sculptural mountain-range-shaped complex is rapidly approaching its final form at 489 King St. W. 

The new mountainscape designed by world-renowned architects Bjarke Ingels Group for developers Westbank Corp and Allied Properties REIT reached a final height of 16 storeys back in 2024, and the focus has since shifted to outfitting the complex's glass block exterior finishes, as well as fitting out the interior spaces ahead of residents and retail tenants.

The building's signature combination of glass block cladding and punched windows now encloses all but the uppermost floors of the complex, offering a much clearer picture of how the new landmark will appear once construction wraps up.

According to preconstruction renderings, these glass-block slopes and cliffsides will eventually be draped in greenery, further bolstering the complex's landscape form.

One of the complex's standout features will be the new connection between King Street West and Wellington Street to the south, carved through the base of the buildings.

This large three-storey passage, akin to a cave etched into the base of the mountainscape, opens up to a central courtyard at the heart of the complex, and empties into a park south of the site. 

KING Toronto will add 440 new condominium units to the bustling King West strip. 

Bjarke Ingels Group

One of those units will be home to multi-platinum recording legend Elton John, who purchased one of the four "mountaintop" units occupying the complex's peaks. A unit dubbed "The Treehouse" will be home to John, his Toronto-born husband David Furnish, and their teen sons.