News   Jul 12, 2024
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Sonder Hotel (was Templar, 348 Adelaide W, Rhed, 8s, Del Terrelonge) COMPLETE

Yeah, modern lighting standards are a thing of the past. I actually think we're about due for a resurgence of candlelit buildings.
 
Noticed the yellow lights on next to some of the windows.

Pic taken Oct 24, 2012


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It's too bad that most of the yellow LED strip lights on the building doesn't seem to be working.

I came across another Rhed/Del Terrelonge building being quietly built when I was wandering around the Gladstone Hotel not too long ago. The building is located on 3 Peel Avenue which is a couple blocks northwest of the Gladstone.
I have heard about Citizen House from Rhed's website and on Langston Hall's marketing a while ago, but the project has been clouded in mystery and secretcy. So I was surprised to find out that this building wasn't just a piece of fiction.

This was from the Rhed's Facebook page:
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The Citizen House
A Three Story Glass Building designed by RHED began construction earlier this spring. A satelite building of Templar Hotel located on Peel St. Toronto, to be used for bookings of a slightly longer sojourn in the city. To be completely furnished in custom rhed built by Poliform products including a full kitchen where one can order all the amenities including the services of the chef provided by Templar Hotel. The unit comes with a one car garage containing a Fiat Abarth for the use of the guest.


The planning of Citizen House started at least 5 years ago and dispite being started early this year progress of this small house has been painfully slow:
June 18:
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December 16:
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It's a really beautifully designed house if it ever gets finished, maybe in 4 years? Take your bets.
 
People love the hotel, though it always seemed offbeat with its odd construction schedule. (It seemed like the owner was building it in his spare time.)

I got a private tour of it once from the owner. They literally had friends doing the carpentry in off-hours kind-of-thing.

It is gorgeous though.
 
yes it is very beautiful, but I'm sure it would be if you had more than 8 years to build it.

There is also an unique open kitchen restaurant that no one knows about it inside the hotel along with a spa with a glass bottom swimming pool.
I am not surprised this happened as the hotel and restaurant is always empty and they make no marketing or PR effort to get any business. All of Rhed's five other hospitality and condo developments has failed as well.
 
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^^^ Street and club noise were common complaints from the reviews on Tripadvisor.com
The building was never properly maintained despite having such a low occupancy rate, and despite taking so long to build the quality of the building is rather poor.

Last winter I walked by during my lunch break and saw a massive flood of water flowing down the fire stair that exits on to the street.
That chunk of missing EIFS has been like that since construction more than 3 years ago, and the LED lighting up the middle portion of the façade has never been working properly since day one. Sounds like their money problems has been going for some time and there's probably more problems with the poor building which you can't see.
 
The Templar Hotel finally has a new owner, new management and staff and changes are already apparent.
The hotel changed hands last month after being under a power of sale. Since then The Templar finally has a website, www.templarhotel.com which you could now book directly with the hotel!

Building repairs have already been started -- the gym, spa and pool was never completed, but knowing the sketchy construction I wouldn't even trust filling that glass bottom pool hovering above the open stairs to the bar and restaurant. The glass bottom pool has served as a glorified frosted skylight this entire time.
The room rates have been cut in half to a more realistic price with rooms starting at $189. This should definitely help the previously dismal vacancy rate.

Chef Roberto Fracchioni and his sous chef left Monk Kitchen last year for good reason. Cooking in a half empty secret restaurant in the basement of a mostly empty secret hotel wasn’t helping his profession. He is now the chef of Flor de Sal which he is quickly gaining a name for himself. The Monk Kitchen has been closed and being reworked.

The Templar Hotel will finally lose its bizarre pretentious nonchalant and disinterested business model which became the death to Rhed, and hopefully will reborn into a cool and polished place to hang out in the ED. This poor little hotel should get the love it deserves.

Meanwhile, Rhed’s other development, Citizen House which has stood as a rusting skeleton for more than 3 years next door to the huge Carnaby Development has been put on the market: http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?PropertyId=15505406

Templar Hotel taken today:
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