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Hyatt Regency Toronto Airport (Regal Constellation site)

Any more news?

I see this thread has died but there are still those of us that die a little inside every year we attend conventions on the airport strip and see the Regal Constellation crumble more with age and decay. It's like a ghost town now...falling apart, leaking and suffering massive water damage. And to think if something had been done sooner without all this legal bantering the hotel could have been saved but now I fear it's death awaits.
My last time staying at the regal was when we found out it was closing it's doors. It was in May at the last Anime North ever held there. We talked to some of the staff and they told us that the old tower was not closed because of asbestos. There is in fact no asbestos in that tower! I would have loved to have seen the inside of that tower myself because from the pictures it looks amazing!! It breaks my heart to know it has been cleared out and was fated to be demolished. Though the tower still stands there as of May 2010 when I was in the area for Anime North but the parking garage has been demolished and the original part of the hotel is falling apart.
I would think that there is still enough of the hotel left to salvage some part of it but Everything for the most part has been so hushed up that I don't even know who the current owners of the building are.
It is sad that amazing pieces of history get abandoned or demolished.
 
Regal constellation

Does any one out there have an update on this project?. The hotel has been in a state of demolition for the last few years. I have noticed that Terresan has removed all their equipment off site and all that remains is piles of debris scattered all over the property. The project looks like it has been abandoned to the four winds.
 
MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP ...

My husband and I both worked at the Regal Constellation when it was still just "The Constellation Hotel". We met there in 1980 - 30 years ago! Back then it was a grand, grand hotel and I loved working there as the Director of both Public Relations and Human Resources. In fact, I was in charge of coordinating the "Connie's" 20th birthday party in 1981. It was owned by George Kalmar back then and he loved his hotel! Mike and I frequently visit "the old grand dame" when we dine at the restaurant just across the street from her. We took the time to actually call Terrisan to try and find out what the current status is on the hotel's future. The gentleman on the phone tried to be helpful, but told us that Terrisan was pulled out of there in the middle of their contract and it has just been sitting there rotting away ever since. He knows nothing of any future plans. I do know that it was used (and may still be) by the Toronto SWAT team to conduct training sessions. Mike and I were there just last week and the poor girl is in terrible condition - windows blown out, grafitti on the windows and walls - very sad! I have contacted George Kalmar's son to inquire as to what he might know regarding the Constellation's future and will update this site as soon as I hear back.
 
^ hey Cheekyempath , i also used to work there , but in the banquet department , u might enjoy this video , 4 months a few college students broke into the hotel and filmed a ten minute video of the inside lobby , the roof top etc....

http://vimeo.com/10972902
 
I contacted mayoral candidate Rob Ford, whose ward the hotel sits in about this property. He replied that the property is being held up in the U.S. in court due to a bankruptcy case.
 
Slickpete83:
Thanks so much for taking the time to send me that video ... it was very informative (and extremely sad) to see the inside of the hotel. It brought back a lot of great memories. You said you worked there in the banquet department. Out of curiosity, what years did you work there and who was the General Manager and Rooms Division Manager while you were there? I am trying to collect as much info as I can regarding my dear old Constellation in hopes that, through thorough investigation, I can obtain some concrete answers. I have connections to help me find possible contacts who can assist in putting the pieces together, so whatever names you can give me during your tenure there would help a lot. Look forward to hearing from you!
 
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cheekyempath said:
Slickpete83:
Thanks so much for taking the time to send me that video ... it was very informative (and extremely sad) to see the inside of the hotel. It brought back a lot of great memories. You said you worked there in the banquet department. Out of curiosity, what years did you work there and who was the General Manager and Rooms Division Manager while you were there? I am trying to collect as much info as I can regarding my dear old Constellation in hopes that, through thorough investigation, I can obtain some concrete answers. I have connections to help me find possible contacts who can assist in putting the pieces together, so whatever names you can give me during your tenure there would help a lot. Look forward to hearing from you!
Click to expand...


i don't remeber the GM's exact name , i think it was some old asian guy with a young asian trophy wife hahahaha...... who lived up stairs in the Penthouse of the hotel , my Bosses were Austin and Alice , i worked there from about Sept 2000 until it closed ( the summer that Sars hit Toronto ) , i remember my last day of work was when Toronto was hosting the famous Sars Stock concert with the Rolling Stones
 
Passing by the Regal Constellation site today - looks like demolition has resumed. Terrasan equipment and signage is gone, with (if I recall correctly) Priestly Demolition now on site.
 
Lots of activity on site today when I passed by. Buildings are actually close to coming down and there are Urbacon signs at every entrance, including a new site office - which seems to indicate that construction will soon follow.
 
Hi everyone,

This past Sunday I visited the Regal Constellation to take my first (and I guess last) proper set of photos...Unlike most of you I don't have a history with the hotel. I set eyes on it for the first time about 2 years ago and I fell in love with its design instantly (I'm talking about the International Tower)...ever since then, when I pass by it I feel great joy...it takes me back to a time which I never experienced. I'm a sucker for midcentury modern design/futuristic design, and this to me is the most beautiful example of that kind of architecture that I've ever seen.

Anyway, I had been postponing taking proper pictures for a long time, only getting haphazard distance shots now and then, I knew it was in the process of being demolished but nothing had really been happening for two years so I wasn't in a big hurry...two weeks ago I noticed an orange tarp hanging out from one of the windows, and the next day it mysteriously disappeared...then in another few days I saw a red banner hanging (which I know now was with the PDI logo), and again it disappeared, this got me curious and I checked the wiki site to see what was going on...and there it said that a new company (PDI) got the contract to demolish it after Terrrassan went bankrupt...I was secretly hoping that maybe someone else had bought the site and was going to restore the building....unfortunately that wasn't the case. (Wishful thinking doesn't hurt right?)

Anyway, so I learned that the buildings would be demolished by the "end of 2011" and I finally felt compelled to take a proper set of pictures before it was too late. When I visited the site on Sunday an entire back panel of the International Tower was removed, and parts of the roof had been chipped away at, the front still remains intact..with a paint job and new windows no one would ever guess how old it is! (Of course, not knowing the state of its interior). The outer panels of the other building have been removed about halfway..and I suppose you know that the third building no longer exists.

Between Sunday and today they have removed the "Regal" part of the sign..my heart sank when I saw it, I hoped that there would be a little time left for me to see the building now and then till its completely gone..and this to me kind of marks its death. The building seems incomplete without that sign! Who would have thought a couple of red letters could complement its structure so perfectly...I am so grateful that at the last moment I was able to capture the hotel as it was and on a beautiful sunny day with a blue sky!..looking regal and majestic.

I don't even understand why I feel such a connection to this building, when I never even stepped foot in it! Even in its state of decay...its beautiful, so very beautiful!
Anyway...that's it I guess...I dread the day that I see the main building in a state of demolition...and I dread the day that there will be nothing there but rubble, and a bunch of unmemorable generic buildings with a gaping hole between them...it will NEVER be the same...and I will never even bother looking in that direction after the beautiful Regal Constellation is gone. So that's it I guess...I've said my goodbyes to a building that in my opinion, should have been preserved and maintained with care, and restored to its original state....but I know the reasons that couldn't happen, and I accept them.

Last of all..if anyone could help me with these questions it would be great...does anyone know if the sign is being preserved? does anyone know when and who removed the "constellation" part? It would make me really happy knowing that at least part of this building is being preserved...and does anyone know the name of the architect who designed it? (I've looked around...but I think it was guru who said he doesn't remember)..Any help is appreciated :)
 
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I believe it was by Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden. And as for the Regal Constellation sign: remember that it's 80s/90s at the earliest; before that was a scripted "Constellation" sign...
 
I took some pictures maybe 10 days ago. If I have any worthy shots of the old building, signs, etc... I'll post them for you electrikmode.
 
adma: thank you for the info about the architects! i will see what i can find when i get a chance..
also that article was quite nice..the author sure has a way with words :) the last paragraph was quite beautiful..oddly optimistic. I liked the line "the Constellation now feels like the product of an eccentric and singular imagination"...i suppose its kind of a compliment!

i'm starting to wonder if maybe i saw the original scripted sign when i was a kid or maybe i'm confusing it with another hotel...i know you said it was the 80s/90s but does anyone know exactly when it was replaced? or if there are any photos of it? (the link in this topic is dead)

marko: thanks! i'd love to see what it looked like back in the day! unfortunately the only photos floating around are of it in its current (sad) state...it would be nice to see pictures full of life :)

anyway, i saw it today and there's nothing really different..the "ion" part of the west building is detached..and there's a small bulldozer (or two) on top of the main building. does anyone know exactly how they plan to demolish this? is it just going to be chipped away at? do they even do those full explosion kind of demolitions here? i guess the real question is..how was the third tower demolished..was it smaller and thus easier to deal with? i know...i know...i'm asking way too many questions lol
a few days ago i was looking at the vegas implosions of the Sands etc...i found them quite disturbing, especially with the fireworks and all that. in a way i'm glad that nothing like that will happen here...
 
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