Alleged nightclub in King St. West condo building keeping residents awake

Toronto residents living on King Street West, near Niagara Street, say they have been losing sleep for the past few weeks because of an alleged nightclub, which opened up last month at the base of their condominium building.

“Last week I was only in the office one day because of it. I wasn’t sleeping,” says one resident who lives on the 10th floor of 801 King Street West. “It’s impacting my day-to-day for sure.”

A new establishment called Hyde Social opened up last month in the building and is resulting in a few sleepless nights a week for many residents.

“We’re on the 10th floor, so we can hear the bass. It keeps us up and the cars that are leaving the area at 2 a.m.,” says another resident. “It’s a bit crazy.”

CityNews reached out to the City of Toronto regarding the noise, which confirmed it has received complaints about the club adding it is licensed as an eating establishment.

“The City is investigating to determine if this establishment has the appropriate business licence and if they are in compliance with the Noise Bylaw,” city officials said in a statement. “These are active investigations and we are unable to provide more information at this moment.”

In Toronto the licensing bylaw regulates eating establishments such as restaurants, bars, and cafes and entertainment establishments such as night clubs. Establishments need to apply for and receive appropriate business licenses to operate.

Just a few days ago, the Hyde Social Instagram account posted a video showing a DJ, loud music, dancing and what appears to be crowds enjoying bottle service. Its website lists the hours of operation as Wednesday to Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

“We really want businesses to understand that they live in a community, especially in the downtown core,” says Councillor Joe Mihevc of Ward 10. “It’s a dense community so you can’t be doing things that promote a lot of noise. People need to sleep. They need to go to work.”

Mihevc adds he too has received a number of complaints from frustrated residents in the condo building.

“If our inspectors find them to be true, in other words, they go out and check with real meters what the noise volume is, eventually of course tougher measures can be brought to bear,” says Mihevc.

The city says residents can continue to call 311 to report any issues.

CityNews reached out to Hyde Social for a response regarding these complaints but has yet to hear back.