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Sheraton Centre (123 Queen West, new windows & exterior repairs)

Seems like the lobby will be redone.

A good opportunity to also fix the Queen Street ground level and make the hotel less bunker-like.
 
jje1000 said:
Seems like the lobby will be redone.

A good opportunity to also fix the Queen Street ground level and make the hotel less bunker-like.
Click to expand...
The whole building is ghastly at street level. Queen, York and Richmond. Almost anything would be better. Maybe they will either fix or remove the bridge too? I do not think it has been open for ages and now the Bay/Eaton Centre one has been replaced it really looks bad.
 
It deadens its Queen, York, and Richmond frontages with blank concrete walls and anonymous windows. It makes the streetscape across from our main civic square cold, sterile, and forgettable. The south facade of the tower is puzzling in its awkward design. Why are there those vertical bands of blank walls where you'd expect windows to be? Elevators? They disrupt the rhythm of the facade and should have been better integrated into the architecture. Ideally, we'd demolish the building and start over again.
 
I stayed here last spring.

Perfectly serviceable hotel. Staff were great and parking at nearby City hall was cheap and conveniently connected in the basement. If you’ve stayed in major US cities you will know how outrageously cheap parking overnight for $16 is.

The underground connection to Path was strangely weird and convoluted. The in Hotel restaurant and breakfast at said restaurant was so sadly substandard it made me embarrassed for the city. Maybe the bar is fun at night? Last random comment: I could swear on that the subway was loudly audible in our room via the HVAC system but struggled to understand how that could be the case.
 
Walked by the Sheraton and noticed a major major redevelopment going on throughout the ground floor, primarily in the porte-cochère:

5807C8FE-B70C-4474-9F9A-11136CB425BC.jpeg
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The Queen street frontage is also undergoing redevelopment:
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Nothing of the old roundabout was left in place and inside, the offices that previously occupied the Queen Street side are in the process of demolition.

I’ve always found the Sheraton’s Queen street side such a terrible waste for a hotel facing arguably one of Toronto’s top tourist destinations. The lobby turns its back on Queen Street and the main arrival area is assumed to be by car. For a walkable neighbourhood, it’s a terrible experience for guests to have to walk in amongst cars. The hotel should welcome Queen Street with open arms with its main entrance looking out to Nathan Phillips Square with restaurants and patios flanking the entrance.

Now, with that out of the way, am I completely nuts and/or experiencing Groundhog Day or was this entire Queen facade and interior driveway loop not renovated like a year or two ago?
 
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It's a large stretch of queen and Richmond streets and such a prime location. Frank Gehry's & Mirvish original 3 tower proposal should have been built here after tearing down Sheraton.
 
Khaloody said:
It's a large stretch of queen and Richmond streets and such a prime location. Frank Gehry's & Mirvish original 3 tower proposal should have been built here after tearing down Sheraton.
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I was able to get a better peek inside today — no pics as I just ducked my head in. The entire lobby is a pile of rubble. They're going for a full scale redesign of the hotel. I'm still a little puzzled because I recall that the City Room on the second floor had recently been renovated and it retained the original style matching the lobby.
 
The only permits that show being pulled for the Sheraton Centre are from last year; and principally seem to be about the pool area:

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There's also a directly related plumbing permit.

While I don't imagine a permit is required for redoing the carport ceilings.........

Hard to imagine there isn't something going on that requires a permit here.
 
Northern Light said:
The only permits that show being pulled for the Sheraton Centre are from last year; and principally seem to be about the pool area:

View attachment 312181

There's also a directly related plumbing permit.

While I don't imagine a permit is required for redoing the carport ceilings.........

Hard to imagine there isn't something going on that requires a permit here.
Click to expand...

There's far more going on here than just the carport ceilings. The entire thing has been demolished to its bones. Ceilings, floors, pillar wrappings, everything is gone. Inside, the lobby is a pile of rubble. It'd be strange to not have permits to build, but perhaps they only applied for a demolition and the plans to rebuild are in processing.
 
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