Forma's East Tower is almost complete in Toronto's vibrant entertainment district. The 73-storey first phase will be one of two buildings in a project designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry for the team at Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties. Forma is being built at the intersection of King Street West and Duncan Street. The project's architect is Adamson Associates.
Looking southeast at Forma, designed by Gehry Partners for Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties
Formerly home to Ed's Warehouse restaurant, the mixed-use building will feature new luxury residential suites, as well as ground-level commercial space and institutional space for OCAD University, just a short walk west of St. Andrew Station. It has been just over a year since Forma's groundbreaking in June 2023, which Gehry himself attended. UrbanToronto last provided an update in March 2024, when the site was fully excavated.
Starting in June 2024, the site will be dotted with extensive reinforcement work. At the center of the scene is the white tower crane at the south end of the pit. To the north, a red concrete boom pump extends across the site from the road to pour the concrete for the underground levels. Surrounding this activity, orange safety tarps and anchors secure the retaining walls to the south and west from collapsing.
Looking southwest at an active concrete boom pump at the north end of the site, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Red Mars
Below, a flatbed truck sits next to the staging area west of the site on Ed Mirvish Way, the southern stretch of Duncan Street named in honor of the late businessman, in July 2024. A construction worker uses a crane to hoist bundles of rebar from the truck into the excavation pit, soon to reinforce the concrete of the underground levels.
Construction crews load bundles of rebar from a flatbed truck into the excavation pit on Ed Mirvish Way, photo by AHK, a staff writer for the UrbanToronto Forum.
We look into the densely built pit to the northwest. A forest of vertical reinforcement cages, packed with additional rebar to support future loads from above, rises high enough to be just visible from the street as the development itself approaches grade. Timber formwork is in place to the right. The century-old hand-painted advertising panels on the northern building wall, uncovered during the demolition of Ed's Warehouse, add a historic touch to the scene.
Looking northwest at the forest of vertical rebar protruding above the ground, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor khaldoon
This view from a high vantage point looking northwest across the site shows Forma's progress, with three underground levels and formwork underway for Level P1. The layout of the vertical reinforcement cages for future walls and columns can be seen in the area around the formwork next to the tower crane. At the edge of the site, the building materials are arranged to the west of the site, in the closed off road section. The far left overlooks the site and a billboard at the sales office promotes the eventual construction of the Forma towers.
An aerial view of Forma's west tower looking northwest, approaching grade, image by kotsy, a contributor to the UrbanToronto Forum
Forma's East Tower at 266 King Street West will be 862.8 feet tall and house 864 residential suites, featuring a design of stacked volumes and shimmering glass and metal facades. The West Tower will be 84 stories, or 1,000 feet tall – making it not only a supertower, but also the tallest building Gehry has ever designed. Its base floors will house 1,170 residential units and a hotel.
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more about it in our database file linked below. If you'd like, you can join the conversation in the associated project forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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UrbanToronto has a research service, UrbanToronto Pro, that provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area – from proposal to completion. We also offer instant reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription-based newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from the initial application.