Toronto Pinnacle One Yonge South Block | 296m | 85s | Pinnacle | Hariri Pontarini

[mburrrrr]

It will be interesting to see if any of the areas marked as "not part of submission" are still demolished.

That did seem odd. I was curious too.
I guess this is just a zoning request to speed up the use of the property.
I’m curious how soon this hotel could generate revenue. Minimum 1 year? They mentioned minimum 5 years to start the bigger project.

I think there is a ballroom architect from Washington looking for work.

 

[ComptoirGeneral]

It will be interesting to see if any of the areas marked as "not part of submission" are still demolished.

Hard to say I guess. It looks like they're planning to use the existing loading dock in the podium that faces Freeland Street so at least a portion of it will remain. Whether they demolish the norther portion and just retain the space used for loading/service and the rooftop amenities seems unknown. It probably depends how the structure is built internally.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I will note that this looks to be a rather unusual hotel. A lot of the suites here are quite massive - and even the "small" suites are about 50% larger than a normal hotel suite. Floors 16-25 have suites generally in the 600-1,200sf range, and the remaining floors have "typical" hotel rooms around 450sf. A typical 2-Queen or 1-king suite in most hotels is normally closer to 300sf for comparison. And that's not even considering the 3.6m floor to floor slab heights here, which is going to mean these suites will have ceiling heights 2-3ft taller than a typical hotel!

Like look at the size of these!

Also - the 25th storey has no direct elevator access, requiring guests to take the staircase or a small 1-level shuttle elevator..

The typical floors are also fairly large.

 

[ComptoirGeneral]

I will note that this looks to be a rather unusual hotel. A lot of the suites here are quite massive - and even the "small" suites are about 50% larger than a normal hotel suite. Floors 16-25 have suites generally in the 600-1,200sf range, and the remaining floors have "typical" hotel rooms around 450sf. A typical 2-Queen or 1-king suite in most hotels is normally closer to 300sf for comparison. And that's not even considering the 3.6m floor to floor slab heights here, which is going to mean these suites will have ceiling heights 2-3ft taller than a typical hotel!

Like look at the size of these!
View attachment 701728

Also - the 25th storey has no direct elevator access, requiring guests to take the staircase or a small 1-level shuttle elevator..

The typical floors are also fairly large.

View attachment 701730

How strange. I wonder if those are the longer term stay hotel rooms they referenced earlier

 

[mferna]

Read our update on the hotel conversion for the Toronto Star Building here.

 

[Diablo1983]

Looks to be an all-suite hotel....possibly a Residence Inn / Embassy Suites type hotel?

 

[christiesplits]

One Yonge is Toronto’s most famous address. Why residents say developers’ plaza plans for it are underwhelming​

One Yonge is Toronto’s most famous address. Why residents say developers’ plaza plans for it are underwhelming

Pedestrian area planned for Pinnacle’s towers at 1 Yonge St. doesn’t reflect importance of the area where Yonge meets the lake, critics say.

www.thestar.com

Excerpt (paywall):

Pinnacle’s proposed public realm includes a grand, tree-lined promenade along Yonge Street and a 14,500-square-foot plaza at Yonge St. and Queen’s Quay E. with public art, landscaping, seating and some retail, said David Pontarini, founding partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects.

Colgrass is also concerned about the wind conditions at pedestrian level that could be created by the taller buildings, a concern echoed by urban designer Ken Greenberg, former director of urban design and architecture for the City of Toronto.

Render:

 

[polesingularity]

Didn't they just decide to keep the Toronto Star building for use as a hotel for the foreseeable future? Or is that rendering supposed to represent very long-term plans? (sorry if this is addressed in the article, which I can't access behind the paywall)

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Goodness, that’s a chonky proposal…

 

[1Ć0]

Some more renderings from the star article:

Reminds me a bit of the Clown Towers of Mecca

 

[interchange42]

Didn't they just decide to keep the Toronto Star building for use as a hotel for the foreseeable future? Or is that rendering supposed to represent very long-term plans? (sorry if this is addressed in the article, which I can't access behind the paywall)

Yes, the rendering represents long-term plans. The hotel would operate for "an unspecified number of years."

42

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

^...usually means forever and a dog's life. >.<

 

[ProjectEnd]

Pinnacle, nor Toronto, more broadly, are ready to absorb this kind of thing for at least a decade. In that time this will evolve just like the first Phases of buildings did. Nothing presented here is even close to 'baked'.

 

[Strange Advance]

From Star article:

Plans have changed many times​

Pontarini and Anson Kwok, vice-president, marketing and sales for Pinnacle International, say they have been working on the project since 2012, and have done as many as 100 reiterations of the site, in response to changing needs, and in response to input from residents, city planners and design review panels, which has made the plan stronger.
“It’s an important site for all of us and we want to make sure that it is done well,” said Pontarini, adding that they relied on an engineering study to address issues related to wind.
Kwok said the question of whether the units will be rentals or condos is undecided.
“We’ll have to see where the marketplace is.”
The project has been submitted for rezoning and is under review at the city.

Pinnacle should resize the units and include a good chunk of rental, in my mostly uninformed opinion. Almost nobody wants 400-500 sq ft investor cubbyholes. Those days are over. People need and want living space, especially when they're paying 800 Grand and up. If you're a family of four, for example, you need 3 bedrooms.

The tower designs are not too bad, to my eyes (they look a bit bulky, even though they're not), but I do very much like the descending circular sweep and setbacks of the base/lower levels. There's nothing else like it in Toronto. Yes, it's all a bit too busy, perhaps, as 1Ć0 pointed out, verging on a hodgepodge.
As for the plaza, the Star quoted observers being underwhelmed. Yes, something really spectacular could be done there, such as a standout work of art (Chicago's stainless-steel bean monument is mentioned), but the plaza in the renders is far from hideous or terribly designed. And this is Toronto; we don't do spectacular. I think maximizing the greenery is critical, because there's so little else of it in the surrounding area.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Pinnacle should resize the units and include a good chunk of rental, in my mostly uninformed opinion. Almost nobody wants 400-500 sq ft investor cubbyholes. Those days are over. People need and want living space, especially when they're paying 800 Grand and up. If you're a family of four, for example, you need 3 bedrooms.

The tower designs are not too bad, to my eyes (they look a bit bulky, even though they're not), but I do very much like the descending circular sweep and setbacks of the base/lower levels. There's nothing else like it in Toronto. Yes, it's all a bit too busy, perhaps, as 1Ć0 pointed out, verging on a hodgepodge.
As for the plaza, the Star quoted observers being underwhelmed. Yes, something really spectacular could be done there, such as a standout work of art (Chicago's stainless-steel bean monument is mentioned), but the plaza in the renders is far from hideous or terribly designed. And this is Toronto; we don't do spectacular. I think maximizing the greenery is critical, because there's so little else of it in the surrounding area.

There aren't 2400 people or families who want this kind of thing, regardless of the unit sizes. Bar none. Especially when someone who has a family can get a full house in Toronto for cheaper. The investor market fueled a lot of building starts [and hyperinflated PSFs which wont be coming down] and now that that's [rightly] evaporated, this kind of thing won't be happening for many, many years.