Toronto 550 Wellington West and 1 Hotel | ?m | 15s | Freed | a—A

Archivist:

Is it my imagination or did no earlier rendering show that Crangle's add on? It sure is ... well, crangled in there, isn't it?
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There are indeed no previous public renderings that show Crangle - however, there is at least one city report indicating that the facade is to be rebuilt - I am sure it was floating around somewhere on UT.

AoD
 
I remember this was an early requirement, but when Crangles disappeared lock stock and barrel I sort of assume it was gone to Building Heaven. But no, it's been stored somewhere and awaits its reconstruction.
 
I wonder what the plans are for the crangles section. I can imagine a great restaurant and patio filling this space.
 
from today's Globe:

RESTLESS CITY: THOMPSON TORONTO GOING UP

How many five-star hotels can this city carry? Plenty
DEIRDRE KELLY

February 16, 2008

Conquest of the growing Canadian luxury-hotel market is the stated objective of the New York-based Thompson Hotel chain.

"We think of Toronto as a great extension of cities where we already have hotels, in New York and Los Angeles," Thompson co-owner Stephen Brandman, 44, said from London this week.

Thompson Toronto, yet another five-star hotel for the city, is opening summer, 2009, at 550 Wellington St. W. at Bathurst, within walking distance of the old Fort York garrison (which is also going through refurbishment for 2009, the year of Toronto's 175th birthday). The Canadian location will be a litmus test of how well Mr. Brandman's hot hotel brand can travel outside the United States, where its five art-laden properties are frequented by such celebrity guests as Russell Crowe, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Kidman and Prince.

The lure, observed Peter Freed, the Toronto condo developer who will piggyback a 340-unit residential project on top of the hotel's 102 guest rooms, is that unlike other so-called boutique hotels, the Thompson is more than just cutting-edge decor.

"I have stayed at 60 Thompson in SoHo, and also at the Roosevelt in Hollywood, and, basically, I was impressed not only with the design but with their ability to handle food and beverage in such a way as to make the hotel a destination."

The Toronto location aims to be a magnet of cool. Its three high-rise towers will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, 42-inch plasma TVs, private 40-seat screening rooms, and creative, interdisciplinary decor by hip Barcelona design studio Estudio Marsical, headed by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal.

Even cooler? An outdoor skating rink with an ice-side lounge, and on the roof, an infinity outdoor pool and bar, with unobstructed views of Lake Ontario, Fort York and the CN Tower.

Just don't call it a boutique hotel.

"I hate those words," decried Mr. Brandman. "The term has become so denigrated. What is a boutique hotel? A 900-room Hudson? A 100-room Mayfair? To many, the answer is more an oversized floor lamp with a red lampshade. We have nothing to do with that. We are a small, luxury hotel, a lifestyle hotel, if you will, that operates with the same consistency of a Ritz Carlton."
 
"Its three high-rise towers "

that sounds a bit optimistic based on the renders posted on this thread doesnt it? Or have I missed something?
 
I am staying at 6 Columbus, which is a Thompson, in New York this weekend (at an over $400 discount...I guess it really is off-season). Anyway, should give some idea of what to expect in the Toronto incarnation.

Edit: incidentally the Thompson website is touting Toronto as "one of Canada's most exciting cities," which strikes me as, erm, rather tepid praise.
 
I stayed at 60 Columbus circle a few months back. Not bad. Small hotel, but rather nice.
Not sure how this will work in Toronto though. I guess the profit from the condo component to all these boutique hotels makes the cost of construction worth the effort.
 
What? Thats a stupid idea. I have never heard such a stupid idea in my entire history on this board. Remember that investors are usually just realestatejunkies and vulturs who only want MoreMies.


;)
 
urbandreamer said:
They could always transform the hotel portion into investor-friendly units;)
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Actually, I remember for the first bit of the year when they started selling the condo units, they sold the hotel units to the public. You'd get a portion of the revenues based on your "utilization" of your hotel unit, or something like that.

Then suddenly, they stopped selling the hotel units to the public... They said that the builder wanted to keep it for himself.
 
caveatemptor said:
It's more a function of the ongoing building maintenance costs being subsidized by the condo owners through their monthly condo fees. However, owners quickly grow frustrated by constantly rising costs associated with subsidizing the hospitality portions of these kinds of projects- 'I never use the pool/party room/etc. but I pay for it every month!' They ordinarily only work in instances where the projects are 'pied a tier' quality and not really intended as full-time residents such as this one.

My gut says that Freed lacks the experience to pull this one off properly and that many of the buyers are in for a huge shock when their monthly condos fees are stabilized at a very high rate relative to condo-only buildings.
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They also said that the hotel maintenance fees and the condo maintenance fees are going to be kept seperate... don't remember if the hotel guests get to use all of the condo amenities though, or vice versa...
 
Why am I defending this project? Because I bought here myself, to live in
:)

Wise or not, I wanted it for the lifestyle and amenities (that I'll never use).
 
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