Toronto The New Residences of Yorkville Plaza | 92.05m | 31s | Camrost-Felcorp | WZMH COMPLETE

Should the Queens Park view corridor be preserved?

  • Yes

    Votes: 168 43.3%

  • No

    Votes: 145 37.4%

  • Don't Know

    Votes: 15 3.9%

  • Don't Care

    Votes: 60 15.5%
  • Total voters
    388
i would agree on tips but I'm not sure about service charges which the article says was paid up front to the hotel and taxed as income in the server's hands. To me that sounds like wages. In any event, I think the the hotel has a moral obligation to pay what these people were effectively making. I think the Four Seasons can afford it (I doubt the severance charges would exceed the salary of the CEO) and I suspect many of these longterm employees are going to have difficulty finding new jobs in their industry or jobs with substantially the same salary outside of their industry. Further, they had a choice, they didn't have to let them go and hire younger cheaper workers for the new location.
 
Too bad. Some of the best service in the city was at the Four Seasons, I had many dinners and banquets at the hotel over the years. I guess Four Seasons will fellow the Ritz when it opens and hire part time clueless college kids to fill the jobs once held by staff who did those for jobs 20 to 30 years. "Hospitality careers" seems to be a thing of the past.
 
gabe said:
Too bad. Some of the best service in the city was at the Four Seasons, I had many dinners and banquets at the hotel over the years. I guess Four Seasons will fellow the Ritz when it opens and hire part time clueless college kids to fill the jobs once held by staff who did those for jobs 20 to 30 years. "Hospitality careers" seems to be a thing of the past.
Click to expand...

In fairness, the Four Seasons I guess has to get with the times. If SL, Trump and Ritz all have non unionized staff at lower wages, it becomes difficult for the Four Seasons. I really see both sides of this dilemma. Hopefully despite no union the hotels will hire qualified people but if the initial Ritz experience is true, then maybe not.

Marsh, I am not sure that the hotel was doing anything more than collecting prearranged gratuities paid by the customers for the staff. While I understand that the wages received where far more than the base wage, I am not convinced that the hotel was doing nothing more than acting as a collection agency and flowing through the gratuities. I am not convinced of the argument put forward. This is clearly complicated and I suspect there will be some compromise solution worked out in the middle or a judge will decide in the end. I don't think the issue is whether the hotel can afford it or not. I think the issue rather is one of fairness to all parties though clearly it becomes the David and Goliath story with the sympathy vote going to the long time workers.
 
Well it's still in sales as per their website. I've also walked past the building in the last couple weeks and saw some action (albeit not much) going on behind the hoarding.

And the "new" renderings you mention in those links still show the old Four Seasons with a new facade treatment, the most notable being the enclosed balconies and altered podium. Perhaps you mean you had hoped they'd do more to the exterior than what's planned?
 
Xray_Crystal_Junkie said:
Well it's still in sales as per their website. I've also walked past the building in the last couple weeks and saw some action (albeit not much) going on behind the hoarding.

And the "new" renderings you mention in those links still show the old Four Seasons with a new facade treatment, the most notable being the enclosed balconies and altered podium. Perhaps you mean you had hoped they'd do more to the exterior than what's planned?
Click to expand...

sorry i get it wrong and nvm. thanks for reply and hope it will be a great project to the yorkville!
 
ypo5.jpg
 
They are literally defacing this thing to the point of there not being a point in even keeping the tower. This project baffles me. Their "preservation" efforts are all in bad faith - what they really want is a new building entirely, but they want to feign respect for the landmark the old building really is. So they're straddling a ridiculous middle ground and they'll end up with a building that is neither the stern beauty that it was nor something in a completely new spirit - in other words a confused building.
 
Will it be a good idea to put a Gehry style ultra modern tower in the place of demolition, and let it become a interesting comparison to the old four seasons tower?
 
MatthewK said:
They are literally defacing this thing to the point of there not being a point in even keeping the tower. This project baffles me. Their "preservation" efforts are all in bad faith - what they really want is a new building entirely, but they want to feign respect for the landmark the old building really is. So they're straddling a ridiculous middle ground and they'll end up with a building that is neither the stern beauty that it was nor something in a completely new spirit - in other words a confused building.
Click to expand...

That podium was brutal at street level. What C-F is proposing is better I think (altohugh the new tower is a step backwards, certainly). There are more access points directly at street level and better rhythm with the concrete meeting the street. I don't mind the balconies becoming glass, and I believe they will retain the same shape.

Anyway, this building is being treated much more kindly than what Lanterra is doing with Sutton Place.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top