KingSett Capital plans to create event, meeting and amenity spaces on the top floor of Toronto’s 68-storey Scotia Plaza.

Toronto-based KingSett, the property’s owner, has partnered on the project with Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality Group. The top floor will include a 10,000-square-foot meeting and event space open to tenants and the public and 10,000-sf amenity area exclusive to tenants.

The top floor will provide views of the city from the Financial District.

When it opens, the northern portion of the top floor will be custom-configurable to accommodate such varied events as conferences, town halls, classroom-style learning, corporate social events, and luxurious weddings for up to 250 guests.

The southern portion of the floor will be exclusive to Scotia Plaza tenants and offer an upscale café and bar. KingSett says the ‘versatile space” will play host to everything from morning coffee and breakfast meetings to late afternoon drinks and light bites among colleagues and clients.

All events will be exclusively catered and managed by O&B Catering. 

Scotia Plaza is a Class AAA office complex comprised to three integrated buildings spanning about 2.2 million sf. The complex houses Scotiabank’s global headquarers and what the first major Zero Carbon – Performance Standard certified commercial building in Canada.

“At Scotia Plaza, we are building on Zero Carbon certification and other previous improvements to create a best-in-class amenitized space on the top floor,” said William Logar, KingSett’s chief asset management officer. “This will provide our tenants with a unique environment to meet their evolving expectations of the workplace.”

KingSett is among multiple landlords across Canada who are upgrading their office assets to retain top tenants amid disruption caused by the hybrid-work movement, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging market conditions.

“From zero-kilometre food delivery to boardrooms for lunch-and-learns to full-service catering for cocktail receptions, this partnership represents real estate as a service,” said Andrew Oliver, O&B’s president and CEO. “

“Tenants will be able to enjoy access to all of our amenities, as well as utilize the 68th floor as a best-in-class meeting space and an extension of their offices, to create memorable event and culinary experiences.”

According to KingSett, the flight to quality that has dominated office search in recent years is evolving to a “flight to-experience” as occupiers prioritize office spaces that offer in-building amenities. The company said the planned Scotia Plaza top-floor addition has already proven that argument to be true.

National law firm Miller Thomson cited the revamp as an important reason for its renewal of 85,000 sf in the building.

“We’re excited about the new, high-quality amenities and the benefits they will bring to our lawyers, support services, clients and prospective clients,” said Kenneth Rosenstein, Miller Thomson’s managing partner in Toronto.

The new space is expected to open by June 2025.