A look at the new hotel and concert venue proposed for Toronto’s Exhibition Place

Plans for a new hotel and concert venue at Toronto’s Exhibition Place have been revised.

A second phase of the luxury Hotel X has been in the works for several years, and now new plans, submitted to the City of Toronto last month, show changes to the initial 2021 plan.

The new hotel is now 32 storeys (previously 30 storeys), and the concert venue is now a four-storey, 5,500-seat performance venue, down from a 7,000-seat arena plan submitted in 2021, the city application shows.

Renderings submitted to the City of Toronto show plans for a new concert venue and hotel at Exhibition Place.

The venue would host concerts, esports events, conventions, corporate events, product launches and awards shows.

The proposed hotel building is a 32-storey, 111.92-metre-tall mixed-use tower with approximately 370 guest rooms. For comparison, the current Hotel X is 30 storeys and has 404 rooms.

An illustration shows Hotel X, left, and the new proposed concert venue and hotel.

The new hotel and venue would be built on a parking lot just west of the old Stanley Barracks, the only remaining building from the New Fort York site, with Hotel X complex beyond. The parking lots were built over portions of the New Fort York historic site. The fort served as a military defence base for two decades in the 1800s, replacing the old Fort York, now a national historical site, to the east of Exhibition Place.

The hotel and concert venue designs include several nods to New Fort York.

An aerial map shows the location (highlighted and superimposed on the parking area) of the new hotel and concert venue. Map: City of Toronto submission

The venue exterior is clad in panels that mimic the tone and texture of the sandstone used at the Stanley Barracks, the urban design brief reads.

The hotel employs a lighter façade composed of vertical aluminum mullions (structural elements that divide individual windows) and angled glazing panels, creating a “refined presence along the skyline.” Timber elements are planned at the mid-block level to form a warm transitional element.

This rendering shows the enclosed archaeological site next to the new concert venue and hotel at Exhibition Place.  Rendering: City of Toronto submission

An excavated archaeological site will be enclosed in a faceted glass canopy for public viewing. There are plans for a large information panel.

“The excavated ruin site overlook is a key and prominent feature that transforms a hidden historical asset to create a unique activation and elevate the experience of the Stanley Barracks and their archaeological history,” the urban design brief reads.

Landscape elements, including paths and planters, will draw from the historic design of the old military site.

Plans also include 86 surface parking spaces and 296 parking spaces in an underground garage.

For more information on the proposal, see the City of Toronto website page here.

Lead rendering: City of Toronto submission