Toronto Hotel X (was Hotel in the Garden) | ?m | 27s | Exhibition Place | NORR

from today's National Post....

Hall Monitor: Council approves proposal for hotel on grounds of Exhibition Place

Posted: December 01, 2009, 1:52 AM by Daniel Kaszor

Hall Monitor, toronto, council meeting, Natalie Alcoba

City council has approved a design proposal for the first phase of a multi-million dollar hotel on the grounds of Exhibition Place.

The board of governors, which has been trying to get a hotel built on its land for ten years, endorsed the plan put forward by HK Hotels. The board said the hotel would create jobs, generate rental income and also be a huge asset to a nearby conference centre. The proposed hotel will include a slim, 26-storey tower made partially of glass.

HK Hotels promises to play on Exhibition Place's green surroundings, with six gardens around it and plant trees along Princes' Boulevard. Questions were raised during the council meeting about a possible conflict of interest of the Toronto architect who has been hired to design the hotel, Rocco Maragna, and who used to sit on the board of governors for Exhibition Place.

The complaint, however, was dismissed by the city's integrity commissioner, who said it fell outside her jurisdiction and that, in any event, there are insufficient grounds to warrant an investigation.
 
With the fritted/patterned/staggered glass tower, the sensitive treatment of the east Stanley Barracks ruins, and what promises to be lovely and engaging landscaping, I think Rocco Maragna and gh3 just may deliver us a bit of a landmark.

I also still think that this is the best outcome for those who want a place of reflection to mark the site of the former internment/concentration camp, call it what you will: with the promise of a hard edge of parkland running along the eastern edge of the former camp site, instead of it all being buried under the middle of a parking lot, the possibility that a place may come to exist where today's generation may learn from the conflicts of the past is now far more likely to come about.

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:confused:What ever happened to the bigger plan
A bit off topic...........The sole remaining building has since housed a marine museum, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, and office space for the Toronto Civic Historical Committee, and it is now slated to be resurrected as a boutique hotel. Sendzikas has done Torontonians a service by highlighting the history of the oft-overlooked site—and the role Stanley Barracks played in the city's development—through rich detail and interesting personal stories.

Anyways nice article on the Stanley Barracks>.......http://torontoist.com/2011/05/from_red_coats_to_squatters.php
 
Looks like this project may still be alive..:cool:
In this article there is not much that we already dont know regarding the archeological site of the Library District condo project, but an interesting note on the soon archaeological dig of the Barracks at Exhibition Place.

Occasionally some urban archeological remains can be retained intact. At a hotel being planned on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition, the foundations of an old military barracks from the mid-1800s will be excavated and incorporated within the new building.

A key factor at the CNE site, Mr. Williamson said, is that the remains of what is known as the East Enlisted Men’s Barracks are just below the surface of the parking lot, making them much easier to preserve in the design of the new building.

The site, south of the Direct Energy Centre, will be subject to a careful archeological dig soon, and construction of the hotel will likely begin next year. The foundations are what’s left of a complex of military buildings built in the 1840s and known as New Fort York. Only one of the buildings, the Stanley Barracks, remains standing.

“That is a situation where we can demonstrate history in a very exciting way by putting it under a glass floor, pretty much like they do in many parts of Europe,” Mr. Williamson said. In addition to the accessible and well-preserved site, there is a “very friendly developer” and the city is keen to help preserve the remains, so “the stars are aligned,” he said.


Toronto archeological site must make way for condos
More......http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...site-must-make-way-for-condos/article2131936/
 
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Does anyone else think it's strange, that the powers that be, will go to great lengths to preserve a foundation hidden for decades, yet have no problem allowing visible heritage buildings to be torn down or at best facadimized?
 
toto said:
Does anyone else think it's strange, that the powers that be, will go to great lengths to a foundation hidden for decades, yet have no problem allowing visible heritage buildings to be torn down or at best facadimized?
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For one, its about preserving Toronto history as opposed to a non-original 50-75 year heritage run down private structure.
These days in Toronto, i dont see them knocking down or facadimizing Casa Loma/60 Harbour type structures.
I say, were way ahead today on preservation than we were 25 years ago.
 
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Automation Gallery said:
For one, its about preserving Toronto history as opposed to a non-original 50-75 year heritage run down private structure.
These days in Toronto, i dont see them knocking down or facadimizing Casa Loma/60 Harbour type structures.
I say, were way ahead today on preservation than we were 25 years ago.
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That's damn ironic considering they have been tearing down the cities heritage the entire time.

And I'm also gathering from your statements (and other posts) that you believe the only structures worth preserving are the 'casa lomas' of the city.
 
neubilder said:
That's damn ironic considering they have been tearing down the cities heritage the entire time.

And I'm also gathering from your statements (and other posts) that you believe the only structures worth preserving are the 'casa lomas' of the city.
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You sure love blowing a lot of hot air in your posts...name some high-profile heritage sites that have been demolished during the latest Toronto construction boom..
 
Off the top of my head:

- Empress Hotel (Really, arson?)

- Walnut Hall

- Bata HQ

- Lyle's studio at Bedford and Bloor

- That tankroom in the Distillery District

- Hundreds of pre-war homes torn down to be replaced by custom homes
 
- Empress Hotel (Really, arson?) -- possibly, or it could have genuinely been accidental, in either case, the city did not give permission

- Walnut Hall -- "demolition by neglect", but the city did not give permission

- Bata HQ -- okay, this one I agree with

- Lyle's studio at Bedford and Bloor -- don't know enough about this one to say, one way or the other

- That tankroom in the Distillery District -- good riddance, it was an ugly 1920s industrial PoS (most of the rest of the Distillery District was built in the 19th century, but Rack House M was built in 1927

- Hundreds of pre-war homes torn down to be replaced by custom homes -- you're really reaching with this one

So one example I agree with, one example I don't know enough about to say, and four examples I disagree with.
 
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Automation Gallery said:
You sure love blowing a lot of hot air in your posts...name some high-profile heritage sites that have been demolished during the latest Toronto construction boom..
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For the sake of debating with you I am not going to research and compile a list.
Those that have an appreciation for heritage know that the list of historic properties lost to demolition in Toronto in the last 25 years is long and depressing.
 
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