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Downtown Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites / Completed

As we all know, after buying the hotel in Place de Ville's Skyline Building, Delta decided to not to renew their lease with Morguard in the Delta Complex on Queen. After operating as an independent "National" Hotel, Morguard has decided to close the hotel to make a significant investment in the building.

The building, built by Bill Teron, originally opened in 1974 as the Inn of the Provinces (overlooking the Garden of the Provinces). It is the eighth largest hotel in Ottawa with 328 rooms. The complex was purchased by Morguard in 2008.

http://www.choicehotels.com/media/eB...16/CNA16A1.JPG http://r-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel...8/11836709.jpg http://q-ec.bstatic.com/images/hotel...8/11836926.jpg

Here are a few related OBJ articles that brought us to this point;

Quote:

Morguard buys property including Delta Ottawa hotel for $75.3M

Published on January 03, 2008

Morguard Corp. and Morguard Real Estate Investment Trust have bought the three-tower complex in downtown Ottawa which includes the Delta Hotel.

The Mississauga-based real estate and property management company said it had bought the Delta Ottawa hotel property on 316 Queen St., as well as a 12-storey, 171,311-square-foot office building at 350 Sparks St.

Morguard paid a total of $75.3 million for the complex.

The hotel property contains 328 guest rooms and includes an underground parking garage containing 273 parking spaces. It is currently under long-term lease to a major Canadian hotel real estate investment trust, the companies said in a statement.

Morguard Corp. and Morguard Real Estate Investment Trust will each own half of the complex, which will be operated through a joint venture arrangement between the two companies.

http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2008-01-03/article-2309036/Morguard-buys-property-including-Delta-Ottawa-hotel-for-$75.3M/1

Quote:

Delta drops Queen Street hotel

Elizabeth HowellPublished on February 06, 2012

Independents thriving in major markets, experts say

A 35-year business relationship between a national hospitality chain and one of Ottawa's largest hotels is coming to an end.

The 328-room Queen Street facility formerly known as the Delta Ottawa Hotel and Suites is now operating independently as the National Hotel & Suites Ottawa.

Delta spokesperson Sandy Indig declined to give a reason for the parting of ways, beyond noting that the most recent agreement between the chain and hotel's owners expired on Jan. 31.

The change comes a year after Delta purchased the former Crowne Plaza building across the street from its existing facility and rebranded it as the Delta Ottawa City Centre, pouring $25 million into renovating the Lyon Street hotel.

At the time, Delta president and CEO Hank Stackhouse said that having two hotels in close proximity would allow the company to target groups of 500 to 700 guests.

"When the larger groups come in, we have an opportunity to host them at both hotels and offer them a mixed range of products," he told OBJ in December 2010.

However, Victor Ferreira, who headed the old Delta and will continue to serve as general manager of the National, said that the acquisition contributed to the end of the decades-old agreement with the Queen Street hotel.

"It was a brand decision not to renew the agreement because they have another Delta in the city and they own the building there," Mr. Ferreira said.

The National - as well as the attached office building - is owned by asset management giant Morguard Corp. and its real estate investment trust.

Meanwhile, the parent company for the Delta Ottawa City Centre is bcIMC Realty Corp., which also includes SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts - the former Crowne Plaza manager - under its umbrella.

One industry expert suggested that Delta is focusing on buildings where it owns the property.

"Hotels change brands from time to time, and I think with Delta actually acquiring the real estate, it was part of their long-term strategy. Delta did not own the real estate on the ... (Queen Street) property," said Bill Stone, the Toronto-based executive vice-president of CBRE Hotels.

He adds that despite the loss of the national brand name, the National will benefit from Ottawa's tight hotel market and service reputation.

"With relatively little supply growth in downtown Ottawa, I think that the name is important, but it's not critical," Mr. Stone said.

"(What's more important is) what's the quality of the guest room, how much am I paying, am I being treated nicely. That is something the current operator will do."

Ottawa's traditionally stable government business has created a thriving market for independents, according to analysts. Customers for the feds tend to stay longer and prefer larger, suite-style hotel rooms, which many of the independents offer - including the National.

But it will be more the National's location close to downtown businesses and Parliament Hill, as well as its established customer base, that will serve the hotel well, said Alam Pirani, the executive managing director of Colliers International Hotels.

"Major markets like Toronto and Ottawa and Montreal, there are some independents that are very successful. If you've got a good location, operating as an independent isn't a major challenge."

The newly independent hotel will not save any money from the change, Mr. Ferreira said. Although the hotel will no longer pay a franchising fee - the exact amount was not disclosed - it will need to step up its marketing efforts and change its reservation system and website, he noted.

Management will remain in its current form, Mr. Ferreira said. As with before, InnVest REIT - which has a partnership with hotel operator Westmount Hospitality Group - will manage the facility. Also, all former Delta employees and managers at the hotel will stay on, he said.

The National was originally built as the Inn of the Provinces in 1974.

It is the eighth-largest hotel in Ottawa by number of guest rooms, with 328 rooms and about 250 employees, according to OBJ's Book of Lists. Prices range from $119 to $169 in the low season, to $169 to $229 in the high.

By comparison, the capital's largest hotel - the Westin Ottawa - has 500 rooms and prices of up to nearly $600 in the high season. The Delta Ottawa City Centre is Ottawa's fifth-largest hotel with 411 rooms, and prices of up to $280 in the high season.

Renovations of the National are in the works, but few details have been decided on yet, officials added.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2012...Street-hotel/1

Quote:

Morguard's National Hotel to close at the end of December

Mark BrownleePublished on November 20, 2013

One of Ottawa’s downtown hotels will be closing at the end of 2013 as its owner prepares for a “renovation and repositioning” of the building over the next year.

Morguard Corp. announced, in a note to tenants in the attached office building last week, that the National Hotel & Suites will close before the end of December so it could make a “substantial investment” in the property.

The note to tenants did not include any more details about how the property would be repositioned.

An advisory posted on the hotel’s website said the National Hotel & Suites would “permanently close its doors” on Dec. 22.

Morguard officials were not immediately available to provide more details but an industry source with knowledge of Morguard’s plans told OBJ that the building would reopen as a hotel after closing for a year.

The tenants in the attached office building at 350 Sparks St. will not be affected by the renovations, the note to tenants added.

The hotel, located at 361 Queen St., dropped its Delta branding last year and began operating independently.

The National has 328 guest rooms and employs around 250 people, according to OBJ’s most recent Book of Lists. That makes it the ninth-largest hotel in Ottawa when ranked by number of rooms.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2013...-of-December/1

Quote:

Morguard evaluating options for National Hotel building

Mark BrownleePublished on December 19, 2013

The owner of a soon-to-be-shuttered downtown hotel is planning to pour millions of dollars into renovating the building but isn’t willing to commit to re-opening the space as a lodging facility.

Morguard Properties announced last month plans to permanently close the National Hotel & Suites at the end of December so it could renovate and reposition the property.

Bernie Myers, the vice-president of Morguard for the region, declined to specify exactly how much the company planned to spend but said it would be somewhere between $10 million and $20 million.

However, the building won’t necessarily re-open as a hotel. Morguard is leaning towards continuing to use the space for that purpose but is evaluating what other purposes it could serve, said Mr. Myers.

“We’re looking at all options, all scenarios at this stage,” he said. “Clearly the building certainly was built and has served well as a hotel.”

But, he added, “we would not be doing the right thing to our investors who own the building to (not) say, ‘Well, wait a second, what now is the highest and best use and if we are going to make a large capital investment in the project – which we are going to do – how should we do that for optimum results?’”

The hotel, located at 361 Queen St., dropped its Delta branding last year and has since been operating independently.

Mr. Myers said the company does not have any leads on a new affiliation for the building should it be re-opened as a hotel.

He declined to go into detail about the exact changes the company would be able to make for the money it is planning to invest.

All he would say was that “you get a lot more than carpet and drapes for $10- to $20 million” and that the facility will have the “latest and greatest” in amenities when it re-opens.

He said the company decided to close the hotel because it was built in the mid-’70s. He felt the substantial renovation it needed could not be completed while the hotel continued to operate.

Morguard plans to have the renovations completed in nine to 12 months, he said. He anticipated the building will re-open sometime in 2015.

The National is the ninth-largest hotel in Ottawa by number of guest rooms, according to OBJ research. It has 328 rooms and employs about 250 people.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/2013-12-19/a...tel-building/1

Morguard has expressed interest in connecting some of it's buildings on Queen street to the Confederation Line. It seems the Inn of the Provinces Complex would be a good start.

So...what form will the investment make?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEWLine (Post 6382854)

So...what form will the investment make?

No clue. They don't even know what they'll do with the building. It seems foolish to close down a perfectly fine hotel when you don't have any concrete plans for the building.

Considering the slow down of the condo market and the ever increasing office vacancy rate, would assume that they would either keep it as a hotel (if they can find an operator as Morguard is not usually in the hotel business) or maybe convert it to apartment rentals.

As for where the money will go, I don't expect many exterior alterations. I would think mostly interior modernization (although from what I have seen, it looks fine), mechanical upgrades as well as technology upgrades.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTSkyline (Post 6436014)

Heard from some sources that "The National", the large hotel complex that just closed down in DT should be renovating and changing.

It will apparently become a Hilton or Starwood-brand Hotel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by citydwlr (Post 6436207)

That'd be good! We could use one of those chains in Ottawa (not including the Garden Inn or four-points). Even though I haven't heard anything regarding exterior changes, I hope there will be some in an effort to modernize the exterior a bit, so it has some "curb appeal".

Quote:

Originally Posted by McC (Post 6436246)

There already are two hotels from the Starwood chain in Ottawa, a Westin and Sheraton. Not that that excludes another one from the chain, but it would be "another one", not "one".

(you defined out the Four Points and Hilton in Hull by saying "Ottawa", but I think that the should region still get partial credit for them)

Quote:

Originally Posted by citydwlr (Post 6436302)

Good call! That's very true. Actually, I completely forgot about the Sheraton on Albert :S Not sure how the Westin didn't come to mind either as being a Starwood hotel...Figured they wouldn't open another (or a W for that matter) in the Ottawa region, I guess; unless they open one of their "element" hotels. Aloft is another solid choice, I think. I've mentioned them in the "Architecture for Ottawa" thread before, and I generally like their current offerings.

I don't venture over to Hull as often as I should, though I do know of the Hilton Lac Leamy. I can't remember there being a Hilton (apart from a Garden Inn) located on the Ontario side of the Ottawa region in recent years. So, it would be nice to get one.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing what moves in.

OTSkyline, any chance you could reveal your source? If not how reliable is it?

^ Heard it from someone who worked in the hotel until it recently closed down so, pretty reliable.

Here is a 'Before' picture...before they do something, not sure what exactly...
http://i.imgur.com/zChOHTd.jpg

What's happening with this? Is it going to be demolished or reclad or something?

All the information so far has been really ambiguous. I suspect it's being reclad.

If it's a reclad, wonder if it will be just the hotel or the office building as well.

Small financial update:

Quote:

November 12, 2014

Morguard entered into a binding agreement to purchase from Morguard REIT the remaining 50% interest it does not already own in a mixed-use office and hotel property located at 350 Sparks Street and 361 Queen Street, Ottawa, Ontario for a purchase price of $37,692. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/press...cGx3d2X7hrX.99

No development updates though...

350 Sparks St / 37 Bay St | 78m & 85m | 23fl & 27fl | Proposed

Morguard Corporation is proposing a redevelopment of its site at 350 Sparks Street and 137 Bay Street, which currently houses two conjoined hotel towers on the west side of the site (the former National Hotel), an office tower on the east side of the site, and a small residential apartment building on the southwest corner of the site. The current proposal includes the demolition of the two hotel towers and residential apartment building, which will be replaced with separate residential and hotel towers. The existing office tower will remain, with minor interior and exterior improvements proposed at grade level. The two proposed towers, designed by WZMH Architects, will share a common podium, entry plaza and parking access. The podium is comprised of grade level retail, hotel amenities and private residential amenities.

At 250 units, the residential tower occupies the northwest portion of the site and sits on a six (6)-storey podium base with an overall height of 77.55 metres (23 floors plus mechanical) and a total Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 14,744m2. The proposed 303 suite hotel tower is located on the southwest corner, at Queen Street and Bay Street, with an overall height of 84.55 metres (27 floors plus mechanical) including a three (3)-storey podium with a total GFA of 18,618m2.

Development application:
http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__0R1SY4
http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__0R1RYS

Renderings:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3704/...374be0fc_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/547/1...387a7e7f_b.jpg

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3697/...ae1ec30b_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/395/1...cedf9f6c_b.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/482/1...eecb86e5_b.jpg

Siteplan:
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/525/1...df323d2e_o.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/349/1...3f207bc4_o.jpg

Wow would this ever block out Place de Ville C or what coming in from the west. Game changer.

Glad to see the increased density, but realistically, 23 and 27 floors is thinking too small-scale for such a prime location. It's less than one block away from both a Confederation Line station and the national archives and it's an all around ultra-prime location.

If ever there was a location that demanded some big thinking and had a legitimate justification for breaking through the current 27 floor monotony in Ottawa, I think that this block and the two blocks immediately south would be those locations.

A while back I had a little bit fun with a spacial analysis looking at a hypothetical challenge if we wanted to maximize both downtown TOD while also maximizing views of Parliament.

The exercise was just an intellectual curiosity while I was bored at work for a couple of days, but I think it does illustrate quite nicely which downtown/centretown plot(s) of land should be prioritized for significantly increased heights. Based on those criteria, the 350 Sparks St. block ended up being basically the #1 best location downtown for intensification beyond just 27 storeys.

Aw, I like that hotel, it's all angular.

Quote:

Originally Posted by defishel (Post 7099001)

Suggestions:
- Smaller building should be hotel, larger residential.
- Sparks- and Bay-facing sides should have continuous retail along the street.
- Garage entrance facing in towards the inner blocl drop-off zone.
- Make the corner of Bay and Sparks more interesting to take advantage of the potential vista from the Garden of the Provinces

This would allow for better flow of people along Sparks and Bay without having to dodge cars exiting the buildings, as well as providing more opportunities for retail in the area (continuation of Sparks Street Mall). Switching the residences to the taller building provides more residences while gives hotel visitors view of Gatineau and the River.

They are using the existing parking garage which currently has two entrances. Sparks and Queen. They will be closing the Queen street entrance and putting in a pedestrian entry to the existing office tower there. So they won't be able to make it inside their drop-off courtyard unfortunately.

The Holmewoods Suites and Garden Inn brand in one hotel? Kinda hoping for an official upscale 'Hilton' in such a prime location. But that's Ottawa for you.

Yeah, not particularly impressed... Although a nice surprise;

1) Not really "added" density as they are tearing down two towers to build two new ones
2) Long live the 27 story downtown ceiling!
3) Very bland and uninspiring designs

I would've rather seen something different, better design, taller or would've preferred to see the parking lot across the street being redevelopped instead.. Oh well... typical Ottawa dissapointment :shrug:

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTSkyline (Post 7099152)

Aren't the two existing towers a lot shorter than 27 fl & 23 fl?

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTSkyline (Post 7099152)

I would've rather seen something different, better design, taller or would've preferred to see the parking lot across the street being redevelopped instead.. Oh well... typical Ottawa dissapointment :shrug:

Claridge has plans for that lot.

Will miss the former Inn of the Provinces, had that nice futuristic design. This proposal is underwhelming.

waterloowarrior, could you merge the "National Hotel (Former Delta Complex)" thread with this one?

http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=208908

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior (Post 7099358)

merged

Thanks!

As many have expressed, I also liked the old hotel design. I was different. Stood out despite the fact it was vertically challenged (12 and 18 floors). Although it opened as the "Inn of the Provinces", it somehow matched many other Deltas in the country, such as the one in Montreal, now student residences and Québec City.

Seems to be a trend in Ottawa nowadays; tearing down fairly large/tall buildings (Lorne, Union Canada, John Carling...) We will soon have a new tallest demolished.

That said, the new towers will bring a much needed refresh to the western part of the skyline. Significantly more height (as opposed to the current buildings). Better match to Place de Ville.

Speaking of Place de Ville, I hope they either connect to the existing underground concourse or directly to Lyon Station. Not much of a stretch considering Morguard played ball with an entrance at Parliament Station.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cr872190 (Post 7099074)

The Holmewoods Suites and Garden Inn brand in one hotel? Kinda hoping for an official upscale 'Hilton' in such a prime location. But that's Ottawa for you.

Strange. With 303 rooms, it's already fairly small. Stick with one brand... and that brand should be a full out Hilton.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/525/1...df323d2e_o.jpg

and page 15:

http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Im...gn%20Brief.PDF

Anyone notice a few labels out of whack? "National Library of Canada Complex", "St-Patrick's Basilica", "St-Andrew's Church".

Page 74 of the same document, they propose a new office tower sometime in the future.

:sleep::sleep::sleep:*yawn*

Not bad,but we have to remember it's early days yet. With new renderings and details it will most likely look very different when finished.

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13 (Post 7099501)

That's like one of those joke maps they give out to frosh to confuse them on the first day of class.

Sort of gives some clues about why we have such crappy projects some, the analysis gets passed along to someone that doesn't even have a basic working knowledge of google maps. Or the wikipedia.

I'm just glad this development involves a 27 story tower. There is something so nice...so OTTAWA about 27 stories. 27 story towers are safe. It's like 'hey, let's build a new building! let's make it kinda tall, but not too tall...in fact, let's build it exactly as tall as every other building!'. If we keep building 27 story towers we will have the safest skyline in the world, no crazy tall mega-tall skyscrapers sticking out for planes to hit as they fly by.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613 (Post 7102088)

It's not an Ottawa thing, it's an NCC thing, and that's government. In fact, the NCC is directly responsible for Ottawa's stunted growth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikegypsy (Post 7102275)

It's not an Ottawa thing, it's an NCC thing, and that's government. In fact, the NCC is directly responsible for Ottawa's stunted growth.

The NCC protects views which sometimes involves a height restriction in certain places (although it varies from site to site) but does not explain the prevalence of 27 floor buildings. I wonder if it isn't some building code thing (need for more elevators, better concrete, etc) so if the building goes higher and builders don't see the marginal benefit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikegypsy (Post 7102275)

It's not an Ottawa thing, it's an NCC thing, and that's government. In fact, the NCC is directly responsible for Ottawa's stunted growth.

Mic Drop.

Also, If it werent for the sightlines to the Hill there would obviously be much larger creations in the core.

Quote:

Originally Posted by acottawa (Post 7102332)

The tallest building in the CDB is Place de Ville Tower C. Built by Robert Campeau, the building was originally approved by the city to be 42 stories. This is when the NCC stepped in and dictated 29 stories. Once built, the NCC viewed it as too tall and declared 27 stories as the new limit (i forget the limit in meters), the reason being that the Peace Tower should dominate the skyline. So yeah, it's part of the city building code but it's a rule which originates from the NCC. We therefore shouldn't be pointing the finger at the city or developers for this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikegypsy (Post 7102365)

Developers can build anything city zoning will allow outside of the protected area (downtown proper and the market) and only two buildings of any height have been built (the Minto Metropole and the Claridge Icon under construction). Ottawa is a city of 800k people where land prices aren't particularly high and there are few geographic constraints to growth, it isn't exactly conducive to encouraging tall buildings (not the NCC's fault). It doesn't help that neighborhood associations fight height like rabid ferrets (not the NCC's fault) and that the OMB discourages exceptions by putting way to much emphasis on precedent (not the NCC's fault) and that Ottawa developers have a penchant for designing butt-ugly buildings (also not the NCC's fault)

Quote:

Originally Posted by acottawa (Post 7102543)

There have been many instances where buildings were proposed and the NCC imposed their law outside the core, like across the river (so, yeah, their fault). Whether or not taller buildings are justified or required is an irrelevant argument to dismiss the NCC's excessive domination over height limits in the core. Neighborhoods?... We're talking about the core, where residents have no reason to contest another tower. Irrelevant again. Butt ugly buildings? Yes, it is their fault... This is what they should be looking at, but they're not. Ottawa is a city of 900,000 at the center of a metropolitan area of 1.3 million where less strict height limits would have permitted architecture with better interaction at street level (taller and thiner buildings allowing more space around the podiums). Instead, we have a downtown core which is packed like a can of sardines. By enforcing ridiculous height limits, the NCC has encouraged the abundance of fat utilitarian structures. But we're really diverging from my original point: the NCC is responsible for the downtown 27 story limit, not the city. The reason the core looks like a table top is that all buildings are at their limit, and would be taller if permitted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikegypsy (Post 7102365)

The tallest building in the CDB is Place de Ville Tower C. Built by Robert Campeau, the building was originally approved by the city to be 42 stories.

Part of City folklore is that on one of Campeau's buildings (maybe this one?) he made it taller that the original plan. He achieved this on a long weekend by paying his workers extra and getting three more floors added. It was of course noticed, but with City Hall not reopening until the following Tuesday not much could be done. And once built they were not (at least in those days) going to order him to remove those extra floors.

Pretty funny / outrageous if true.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkR (Post 7102946)

Would have been much easier with its steel structure. Still far fetched.

In terms of height restrictions, we can count ourselves lucky we are not as bad as Washington DC, however we need another Campeau figure to step up and fight the height limits to allow something at least 50-100 feet taller. Just to say we have a new tallest downtown.

Morguard proposes new hotel, condo at 350 Sparks

OBJ StaffPublished on July 21, 2015

After 18 months of speculation about what will happen to one of Ottawa’s prime downtown real estate properties, developer Morguard says it is proposing to build a new 27-storey hotel and 23-storey condominium tower on the site of the former National Hotel & Suites.

In a proposal recently filed with the city, Morguard said it plans to demolish the two conjoined hotel towers that now sit empty on the west side of the 1.85-acre site as well as an existing three-storey apartment building and replace them with two new buildings.

The existing 12-storey office tower on the east side of the site will remain but will be upgraded.

The proposed new towers at 350 Sparks St., which are being designed by WZMH Architects, would share a common podium, entry plaza and access to 348 underground parking spaces. The podium would also include a retail component.

The proposed hotel, which would be located on the southwest corner of the site at Queen and Bay streets, would include 303 units. The condo tower, which is planned for the northwest portion of the site, would have 250 units.

Morguard said the proposal, which must be approved by city council, has been designed to fit the overall tone of the neighbourhood.

“Views from the Museum of Civilization, Portage Bridge and Confederation Boulevard have not been compromised,” the report, prepared by FOTENN Consultants, said.

“The solid architectural language with the elegantly proportioned window openings of the West Memorial Building and Library Archives Canada inspired the exterior façade articulation of the proposed towers. The towers include a solid lattice layer which wraps the exterior glass skin to create a visual continuity in a contemporary fashion.”

The proposal also includes an open public space on the northwest corner of Sparks and Bay streets. The existing parking garage entry on Queen Street would be demolished and replaced with a pedestrian entry to the existing office tower lobby.

The developer said the project would add “a subtle playfulness to Ottawa’s skyline” while injecting new life into the surrounding area.

“Overall, the proposed development will extend qualities of the Sparks Street liveliness and will promote an enhanced mixed-use environment that is appropriate to the location and its established community,” the report said.

Buildings are currently limited to a height of 64 metres on the western portion of the site. Morguard is seeking a zoning amendment to permit a maximum height of 85 metres for the hotel and 78 metres for the condo tower.

Morguard shut down the National Hotel & Suites in December 2013, saying it wanted to redevelop the property. At the time, Morguard vice-president Bernie Myers said he didn’t know if the site would remain a hotel or be rebuilt for another purpose.

“We’re looking at all options, all scenarios at this stage,” he told OBJ. “Clearly the building certainly was built and has served well as a hotel.”

The 328-room National had been a Delta before being rebranded as an independent hotel in 2012. Morguard’s recent filing with the city does not indicate any affiliation for the proposed new hotel.

Morguard officials were not available for comment on Tuesday morning.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/2015-07-21/a...t-350-Sparks/1

Near the end, the article says "Morguard’s recent filing with the city does not indicate any affiliation for the proposed new hotel." Yes, yes it does. Do you research.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkR (Post 7102946)

Out of curiosity, what would the penalties be (in today's times) for a developer doing such a thing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1overcosc (Post 7103126)

Out of curiosity, what would the penalties be (in today's times) for a developer doing such a thing?

They would for sure force them to remove the floors. There would be a huge uproar if they didn't, especially considering how hard the City has been pressing building height regulations.

Well folks, on the bright side, it looks like Diane Holmes can enjoy her retirement for a little bit longer. The sanctity of our uniform and flat Centretown skyline that she laboured for so tenaciously is being preserved, one proposal after another.

Hahaha! Reading this discussion makes me think of a close friend who recently flew into Ottawa from Vancouver for the first time in about 20 years. Her only comment upon seeing the city skyline from the plane was " My God! Looks like Ottawa got a buzz cut!" :haha:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkR (Post 7102946)

Yes, this is the one, and it is just folklore. My mother was employed as his assistant during the 70s and 80s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by movebyleap (Post 7103346)

Lol!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613 (Post 7103331)

Good thing that she's out. But Centretown has no real skyline as it only has a few tall buildings... it ends at Gloucester in the north. I'm one to believe that her constant barking was to satisfy her base, and it became less and less effective with time.

I was urious who the designers were, and found that have designed the new CSEC campus, the CN tower, and a very long list of other landmark developments.

See some of their work.

I think something more like WaterPark Place- which is 30 floors- is needed in such a significant place for a landmark, anchoring development in the core.

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default...2998-13063.jpg

http://urbantoronto.ca/sites/default...0316-36945.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5591/1...833d371d_h.jpg

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d2313d4.jpg

It's contemporary take on Internationalism I think would really compliment Place de Ville. Though that is easily debatable. 30 floors would match the current tallest in the region- Chaudière.

McKenney is a lot more level headed about development than Holmes was. It's refreshing.