Canadian City Proposals II

[Chocolite]

Looks great, any timelines for build out?

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

Hotels proposals are in vogue in Calgary lately.

This time it's a Fairmont in Calgary's Beltline, 52 storeys, 180m. 225 hotel room, 100 residential.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The hotel industry as a whole is doing great across the country. But I guess my concern is that only one developer seems to be swooping in with all these massive hotel builds when nobody else is building that big. Doesn't mean it can't happen of course, but makes me at least a little skeptical..

The hotel industry is up everywhere, but for overseas visitors it's up at a higher rate for Calgary than other cities, increasing 50% since before Covid in 2019. From 30,000 overseas visitors a month to 45,000. Many of those are the tourists who are looking for the downtown hotels, and thus why there is such a demand.

Will these Truman hotels get built? It's unlikely they will all get built, but there will be more downtown hotels coming either way. The one that's most likely to get built is the tallest of the two Stampede station towers. Word is, they have the funding in place.
As for the second tower, or this new Fairmont, it's anyone's guess, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Fairmont get built, they've been looking at Calgary lately.

For what it's worth there's also a Waldorf Astoria proposal in the works from a different developer.

[SteelTown]

Looks like Emblem is focusing on it's next Hamilton project, they are currently wrapping up the Design District project in Hamilton.

Design District is on the left side, new proposal is on the right side

Source: Paclo @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...1s-emblem-developments-studio-jci.35294/


Source: Paclo @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...1s-emblem-developments-studio-jci.35294/

Construction of a 31-storey building with 359 residential rental units, 451 square meters of new commercial space and 146 parking units.

Source: https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2023/06/31-storey-tower-proposed-downtown-hamilton.52871


Design District so far

Source: DarkSideDenizen @ https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/to...mblem-developments-arcadis.32779/page-47

[nclsteba]

A new render for Galléon Grande Allée in Quebec City:



https://www.legalleon.ca/?fbclid=IwY2xja...lL6ltgdk-fD6V_aem_8_Z0NO3IgCljm9UhC88VQg

It is a little less overweight compared to the old design:

https://www.quebecurbain.qc.ca/2025/12/11/projet-le-galleon-debut-de-la-construction-ce-printemps/

[nclsteba]

It is there: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5Z4AgaE47xmZPCry5

[J.OT13]

New design is much better. Not a standout, but certainly a nice, clean, modern addition. Happy it's just an empty lot.

[TorontoDrew]

That QC proposal looks really nice now.

2347 Eglinton Ave 138.M

Look at the ugly — design, (on the right), I made an A.I version of how I wish it would actually look. If you are going to use an architectural style, show it some respect.

[LeftCoaster]

Easy there Robert Stern

[Nouvellecosse]

For me the design on the right could be perfectly presentable if they just refined the roof line. Even if they only removed the spire and pedestal that would be a big improvement. It just looks too cheap and tacked on, like it's a decoration rather than a real architectural element.

Also, the corner balconies aren't helping things because of how that affects the silhouette, and not having them on the other corner messes up the symmetry which is important for deco. Oddly enough, the balconies actually help the AI version which is fairly rare for a residential tower where usually the balconies make things worse. They give the exterior some additional texture and complexity which is also important for deco. But as it stands, the original version looks more like deco-inspired pomo.

It would be interesting to see how the original one would look with the windows set back inside the building envelope as a window creating a wrap around balcony around the building with the beige exterior parts acting as the building's outer shell, basically simulating pillars. That could give the structure a greater sense of depth. ANd there should also be a larger set back rather than just the barely noticeable one at the top.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

New design is much better. Not a standout, but certainly a nice, clean, modern addition. Happy it's just an empty lot.

Now it is. But it used to be a really beautiful and unique church. A big loss.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Now it is. But it used to be a really beautiful and unique church. A big loss.

Now that you mention it, it's coming back to me.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Qu%C3%..._ep=EgoyMDI2MDUyNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[TorontoDrew]

Oh ya, what a terrible loss. I can't think of any other church in the country that looked like this one. maybe on the east coast somewhere?
source: laPresse.ca

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Oh ya, what a terrible loss. I can't think of any other church in the country that looked like this one. maybe on the east coast somewhere?
source: laPresse.ca

Byzantine architecture if I remember it well.

Long story short: A long time ago, this church was closed to the cult due to low attendance. Later, a real estate developer / entrepreneur bought this church and it appears now that for years and years he neglected the church maintenance. We even learned that he has left many windows wide open in the middle of winter. His goal was obvious: getting a demolition permit from the city by claiming that the building was dangerous for the public, and he eventually got it. The church was demolished around 2020. Later, the real estate developper proposed many versions to the city for a skyscraper proposal of around 20 floors which was, on many versions, integrating many features of the former church, such as the stones and even parts of the bell tower. All versions were rejected by the city. It appears that former mayor Régis Labeaume did not really like this real estate developper. The most surprising part of the story comes after: several years later, the real estate developper died in an airplane crash. Eventually, another real estate developper bought this piece of land and proposed the project you can see above and a year later a second improved version…

It breaks my heart when such beautiful buildings are lost, especially in Quebec City, because this is especially what distinguishes ourselves from other cities.

[Spocket]

That was an absolutely gorgeous building. Every Canadian city would be envious of it were it still standing. Or, have I misunderstood and it is still standing?

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by Spocket

That was an absolutely gorgeous building. Every Canadian city would be envious of it were it still standing. Or, have I misunderstood and it is still standing?

It was demolished in 2020.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Byzantine architecture if I remember it well.

Long story short: A long time ago, this church was closed to the cult due to low attendance. Later, a real estate developer / entrepreneur bought this church and it appears now that for years and years he neglected the church maintenance. We even learned that he has left many windows wide open in the middle of winter. His goal was obvious: getting a demolition permit from the city by claiming that the building was dangerous for the public, and he eventually got it. The church was demolished around 2020. Later, the real estate developper proposed many versions to the city for a skyscraper proposal of around 20 floors which was, on many versions, integrating many features of the former church, such as the stones and even parts of the bell tower. All versions were rejected by the city. It appears that former mayor Régis Labeaume did not really like this real estate developper. The most surprising part of the story comes after: several years later, the real estate developper died in an airplane crash. Eventually, another real estate developper bought this piece of land and proposed the project you can see above and a year later a second improved version…

It breaks my heart when such beautiful buildings are lost, especially in Quebec City, because this is especially what distinguishes ourselves from other cities.

We need more penalties for these developers who buy heritage properties just to let them rot. Major fines and expropriation.

I don't understand why such people insist on buying heritage properties just to sit on them for 5, 10, 20 years waiting for them to become bad enough to demolish when there are plenty of parking lots and strip malls available.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

We need more penalties for these developers who buy heritage properties just to let them rot. Major fines and expropriation.

I don't understand why such people insist on buying heritage properties just to sit on them for 5, 10, 20 years waiting for them to become bad enough to demolish when there are plenty of parking lots and strip malls available.

Absolutely! The Quebec City mayor/administration learned from that. I know they passed many bills since then, ensuring that there are severe penalties for owners (not just developers) who neglect their heritage building. Let’s hope it will prevent another one like this.

Not so far from this, another church was in a really bad condition too. So much that they had to put fences around it. Thankfully, the church got a “protection” status from the government and eventually got money (many millions $) for its restoration. It’s right here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nqyGRHav8fKkdvem9

It’s not an excuse, but Quebec City, with its huge historic heritage is facing many challenges that makes it hard to keep all those buildings in good shape. It’s clear for me that we won’t be able to save all of them unfortunately but we can do our best to prevent it with stronger laws/bills.

[TorontoDrew]

If that church was in Toronto it would be getting a 50 storey addition to it.

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

If that church was in Toronto it would be getting a 50 storey addition to it.

Oui lol. That will not happen here lol
There have been a real estate development on the church’s land already but in the back and it’s only about 8 storeys.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

If that church was in Toronto it would be getting a 50 storey addition to it.

To be fair we have quite a few church conversions that don't add a tower on top. But they are usually in neighbourhood interiors - if it's a church on a main street close to the core that's another story...

I've mentioned it in other threads but this is my favourite by a significant margin, mostly because it kept the exterior almost entirely intact. And looks to have an amazing living space in the tower: https://maps.app.goo.gl/f6UFT9pn8uD6GPs88