Why 485 King West's Been Dormant
In an area where historical brick-and-beam buildings are in high demand, 485 King West, an old textile warehouse, has sat mostly dormant. (Inside are shirts from the '70s in original packaging.) But that may change: It's about to go up for sale on the open market.
Colliers AVP Steve Keyzer, who’s handling the property sale, says 485 King West is “a bit of a mess.” As you walk along King between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street, “it sticks out like a sore thumb,” with its windows boarded up and little discernible activity inside. Steve is pictured here at the property with Jeremiah Shamess, who’s also working on the sale; he notes the property is one of the only remaining brick-and-beam buildings in this part of King West that hasn’t been retrofitted and redeveloped.
And it's rare that such buildings come onto the open market in King West, Jeremiah adds. (The bid date for the property is Oct. 16.) Built in 1896, the three-storey 485 King West, located just west of Spadina (and seen at centre above) has 13.2k SF of space. It's still used as a textile warehouse, but for the past few decades activity there has been minimal. Owned by the family that ran the original operation, the building is littered with old clothing, says Steve, threads once bound for now-defunct Woolco and Biway. Redevelopment might include ground-floor retail space with offices on the floors above. Or it could work as two-storey retail, Steve says. There could be a possible residential redevelopment play, as well.
With all the condo development in King West—including Freed Development’s Fashion House, rendered above—the stretch between Spadina and Bathurst has become a hot spot for restaurants and bars. Retailers have been “understandably slower” to follow, though, Steve notes; the area needed to reach a critical mass of residential first. But the people are arriving in droves now. And that, he says, is a main reason major players like RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT are so keen on redeveloping properties there.
