Redroom Studios
Senior Member
I say we check his birth certificate... my intuition is telling me that he is hiding a Chinese connection. 
Toronto St Regis Toronto Hotel and Residences | 281.93m | 58s | JFC Capital | Zeidler
HotStuff
New Member
Has the letter P installed yet
rpeters
Active Member
I really don't care about the unfinished signage or the missing glass, all I want is for the stupid light feature to be turned on. The clock is ticking, no offense but at this rate Michael Snow will be dead before the lights are turned on. Can someone please inform us of the plan for turning on the lights? TrumpToronto do you know?
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
They were calibrating/testing them in late July/early August for a September introduction which I thought might happen for Nuit Blanche when they failed to illuminate during TIFF.
balenciaga
Banned
if there is the case, then aren't we all are: on one hand complaining China taking jobs from Canada, on the other, our houses are stacked with toys, kitchen utensils, lamps, stationary, parts of electronic products, furniture and clothes etc made in China.
The whole idea of "buy Canada" is not patriotic. It is downright silly. Business seeks profits and there is absolutely nothing wrong about it. Every country has its own competitive advantage. Did Canada like the "buy American" movement, if not, why trying to impose it on another country? China also buys the Bombardier subway cars, should it stop doing so?
Let's not let the small minded patriotism get into our head too much. Canada can't make everything for itself. It needs imports from China and other low cost countries which still make socks and disposable plates, just like that it needs to export to these countries.
Export accounts for about 30% of Canadian GDP, about exactly the same percentage as it is in China. The only difference is Canada exports mostly resources while China exports consumer goods. What's the difference? Sorry for digressing.
rpeters
Active Member
Your argument is a bit skewed. Canada gets it's competetive advantage from valuable technology, resources, and human capital, whereas China gets it's advantage from illegal subsidies, zero environmental regulation, minimal safety standards, currency manipulation, widespread corporate and industrial espionage, and laws that keep foreign companies out.
yonderbean
Active Member
From yesterday evening:
balenciaga
Banned
You are imposing the standards of developed countries on a poor country with 30% per capita GDP. It is like telling a minimum wage earner "stop eating McDonald's since organic food is more healthy".
If you look at safety and environmental standards of US, UK, Japan etc when their GDP per capita was similar as China's today, you probably will find little difference. poor countries can afford lower safety/environmental standards, and this is a fact we have to accept. If China does dramatically raise standards, thousands of factories and companies will go bankrupt and millions will be jobless, then you will criticize the country's failure in providing the basic survival opportunities.
Speaking of currency manipulation, if you really look at China's books, its net export has declined to less than 4% of GDP (from over 10% a few years ago), lower than Germany, S Korea,Taiwan etc. So to be fair whatever evidence one uses to say China manipulated its currency to gain advantage in export is no longer working. Let's not forget 40 years ago, facing high unemployment and stagnant economy, the US president ordered Japan, UK, France etc to appreciate their currency by 10-30% otherwise he will impose a tariff on all imports. We don't see to talk about that much, do we?
We are all adults, let's think independently and try to be impartial. China did and is doing a lot of wrong things but how the western media depicts year after year holding the moral high ground is completely biased. Let's not be brainwashed by the media and lose our own judgement.
Back to Trump tower, it is easy to criticize Trump for buying Chinese products. Well, how often do we buy Chinese products? Why are we so harsh to Trump yet so lenient on ourselves, just because he is super rich therefore hating him is the right thing to do?
junctionist
Senior Member
Trump looks exquisite from that angle. The mechanical box slightly detracts from its elegance, though.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
It's becoming increasingly impossible to find so many products that are not made in China. Curtain wall and window wall can be made to spec in Canada, and in the USA.
UrbanAffair
Senior Member
I have to say, that birds-nest and the utilities box on the top really don't help for me at all. Any reason why they couldn't have put the utilities to a lower level to hide it and yet keep the onion dome thingy still at that same height? The top residential level could therefore still have its massive quarter onion turret dome thing, and yet the top would be cleaner/sleeker? Also I assume now that birds-nest is definitely staying there right? Too bad really.
anyway, it looks good from far, but messy up close. And by far Im more referring to the view of it I have seen from midtown with just the shape of the dome part.
anyway, it looks good from far, but messy up close. And by far Im more referring to the view of it I have seen from midtown with just the shape of the dome part.
fedplanner
Active Member
Anyone care to guesstimate what the vacancy rate is at the hotel? The rooms go for about 400 to 500 a night.
HotStuff
New Member
Is the spire gonna stay like that. looks weird and a bit unfinished. I thought it would be sharp and glassy.
canmark
Active Member
Was curious about the rates at the Trump vs. other hotels.
Checked the Trump hotel website for the rate for a room on Wednesday December 19th (one night, two adults). The lowest rate offered was $495. By comparison, for the same reservation, the Four Seasons was $495, the Shangri-La was $460 and the Ritz-Carlton was $425.
Meanwhile, the Marriott Eaton Centre was $209, Toronto Hilton was $199, Hyatt Regency (on King) was $199, Intercontinental (Yorkville/Downtown) was $184.50/$179, Royal York was $179, Sheraton Centre was $169.
So there's quite a difference in price between the 5-star luxury and 4-star business class hotels.
fedplanner
Active Member
You can have a five star luxury hotel but the price points are ultimately determined by economics, supply and demand. Trump Tower has received mixed reviews and this article below implies that occupancy rates are well below what is planned.
http://www.thestar.com/business/art...ek-750-000-in-damages-from-disgruntled-buyers
Ouch!