Exhibition Place could be heading for a noticeable glow-up in the years ahead. New planning documents outline a revised vision for a second Hotel X tower and a four-storey performance venue that would add a new mid-size destination for concerts and live events at the grounds. The project has been reworked multiple times since first emerging in 2021, but the latest plans include a scaled-back venue capacity alongside a taller hotel and a revamped public realm plan.
According to a cover letter submitted to the city in December as part of the revised site plan approval application, the proposed entertainment venue will be “a tiered modern concert venue, which can seat up to 5,500 patrons.” And it wouldn’t be solely for musical performances: it’ll also host esports competitions, conventions, corporate events, product launches and awards shows!
The hotel part of the proposal is also significant, calling for 370 hotel units in a 32-storey tower, along with 382 parking spaces (86 surface stalls plus 296 underground) and 99 bike spaces (30 short-term at grade and 69 long-term below grade). The project would replace a 27,600 m² surface parking lot at 125 Princes’ Boulevard (2 Strachan Ave), just west of Stanley Barracks and south of Princes’ Gate, with the existing Hotel X complex located farther east.
Plans also include a redesigned public realm with a plaza along Princes’ Boulevard, new pedestrian connections (including an elevated link between the buildings) and an archaeological overlook under a glass canopy. The cover letter notes that the site design “supports and emphasizes a direct north-south pedestrian link from the Exhibition Place GO Station” down to the pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Boulevard West.
As with most new developments, reaction online has been mixed, but the proposed 5,500-seat performance venue is clearly what people are watching most closely. In a recent Reddit thread about the project, some argued that the size could fill a gap in Toronto’s live-event lineup, with one calling it “a smart idea” because the city doesn’t have many true mid-sized rooms, while another said it “fits nicely between History/Rebel (2–3000) and Coca-Cola Coliseum (9000).”
Not everyone’s convinced it’s the right trade-off, though. A few commenters noted that the site currently functions as event parking and CNE overflow space, with one user warning the lots are “the heart of the CNE Midway.”
