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Stinson has a new 'surprise' up his sleeve
April 08, 2009
Andrew Dreschel
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/545102
You have to hand it to Harry Stinson. He knows how to create a buzz.
This Saturday, the offbeat developer is planning to make a "surprise" announcement regarding his Hamilton Grand project in the downtown core.
Stinson won't say what the announcement is other than it represents a "significant change" to the hotel-condo venture.
No, he's not planning to add 100 floors to the project, as he once mused about doing to the Connaught during his failed bid to buy that landmark hotel.
Stinson says the Hamilton Grand on John South will still only be 11 storeys tall, with 177 suites and 39 offices.
And the idea of making the boutique hotel look like a 19th-century building is also being maintained.
But he believes the "surprise" will add considerable punch to the project.
"It will make more of a visual impact," he said. "It will also function a lot better.
"We think it's a big design breakthrough. I think it will have more of a physical presence in the city."
Stinson says he can't disclose details for two reasons.
One, he's "inches away from finalizing some signatures" in connection with the project.
Two, he doesn't want to go public with the recalibration until the people who are investing money have heard about it directly.
That's what's happening Saturday during a private lunch at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Other than investors who have already bought suites, the guest list is restricted to potential buyers and a few local politicos.
Stinson's scheme of turning the former Liaison College and Crazy Horse Saloon into an apartment hotel is based on convincing investors to buy suites as rental properties and then participating in the costs and profit of running them as part of a full-service hotel.
So far, according to Stinson, almost 100 suites -- which go for about $200,000 each -- have been sold, mostly through a Toronto-based private investment club.
Stinson needs to inform the buyers of the planned change because, according to the purchase agreement, a material change allows them to pull out of the contract.
He doesn't think that's going to happen, though.
"There's no way they can say this will make it less appealing; this will make it far more appealing."
But he doesn't want to blindside them in the media.
Fair enough.
Stinson, once known as the condo king of Toronto, landed in Hamilton with a big splash last year.
Skeptics thought he was simply fleeing turf sown with the salt of his legal wrangles over One King West, a 51-storey hotel-condo project .
But others, relishing the quirky personality and visionary reputation he brought with him, had high hopes he would be able to jump-start the stalled Connaught renovation.
Though that fell through, the Hamilton Grand concept is again stirring both hope and doubt.
Stinson himself is struck by the fact that of the 100 or so suites sold, only three have been bought by Hamiltonians.
He attributes that to general incredulity in a community used to project delays and misfired plans.
"I think that will change as a result of people getting the sense that maybe this project is for real."
Perhaps.
In the coming months, Stinson intends to help matters along by launching a more visible marketing push in Hamilton.
But surely the best cure for cynicism will be shovels in the ground, an event Stinson predicts will happen this summer.
April 08, 2009
Andrew Dreschel
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/545102
You have to hand it to Harry Stinson. He knows how to create a buzz.
This Saturday, the offbeat developer is planning to make a "surprise" announcement regarding his Hamilton Grand project in the downtown core.
Stinson won't say what the announcement is other than it represents a "significant change" to the hotel-condo venture.
No, he's not planning to add 100 floors to the project, as he once mused about doing to the Connaught during his failed bid to buy that landmark hotel.
Stinson says the Hamilton Grand on John South will still only be 11 storeys tall, with 177 suites and 39 offices.
And the idea of making the boutique hotel look like a 19th-century building is also being maintained.
But he believes the "surprise" will add considerable punch to the project.
"It will make more of a visual impact," he said. "It will also function a lot better.
"We think it's a big design breakthrough. I think it will have more of a physical presence in the city."
Stinson says he can't disclose details for two reasons.
One, he's "inches away from finalizing some signatures" in connection with the project.
Two, he doesn't want to go public with the recalibration until the people who are investing money have heard about it directly.
That's what's happening Saturday during a private lunch at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Other than investors who have already bought suites, the guest list is restricted to potential buyers and a few local politicos.
Stinson's scheme of turning the former Liaison College and Crazy Horse Saloon into an apartment hotel is based on convincing investors to buy suites as rental properties and then participating in the costs and profit of running them as part of a full-service hotel.
So far, according to Stinson, almost 100 suites -- which go for about $200,000 each -- have been sold, mostly through a Toronto-based private investment club.
Stinson needs to inform the buyers of the planned change because, according to the purchase agreement, a material change allows them to pull out of the contract.
He doesn't think that's going to happen, though.
"There's no way they can say this will make it less appealing; this will make it far more appealing."
But he doesn't want to blindside them in the media.
Fair enough.
Stinson, once known as the condo king of Toronto, landed in Hamilton with a big splash last year.
Skeptics thought he was simply fleeing turf sown with the salt of his legal wrangles over One King West, a 51-storey hotel-condo project .
But others, relishing the quirky personality and visionary reputation he brought with him, had high hopes he would be able to jump-start the stalled Connaught renovation.
Though that fell through, the Hamilton Grand concept is again stirring both hope and doubt.
Stinson himself is struck by the fact that of the 100 or so suites sold, only three have been bought by Hamiltonians.
He attributes that to general incredulity in a community used to project delays and misfired plans.
"I think that will change as a result of people getting the sense that maybe this project is for real."
Perhaps.
In the coming months, Stinson intends to help matters along by launching a more visible marketing push in Hamilton.
But surely the best cure for cynicism will be shovels in the ground, an event Stinson predicts will happen this summer.
