The Slater | 66.6 m | 22 fl | Completed

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by McC

Get a room.

[S-Man]

Get a room.

Now I have LOL'd

[Urbanarchit]

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[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by defishel

Can anyone confirm if a crane went up already? I was looking towards downtown from work and noticed what looked like a crane rising behind the Laurier Esplanade offices (I was facing Northeast). I couldn't think of any other places in that area that would need a crane.

There's a new crane up at the southern edge of the West Block of Parliament. Maybe that's what you saw?

[Urbanarchit]

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[MountainView]

Laurier was closed for most of today and into this evening at O'Connor. They were putting up some sort of crane. Not sure if it would be for this site though since they were doing it from Laurier as oppose to Slater. Unless the crane can be erected from the back of the site?

[Sean1337]

Originally Posted by MountainView

Laurier was closed for most of today and into this evening at O'Connor. They were putting up some sort of crane. Not sure if it would be for this site though since they were doing it from Laurier as oppose to Slater. Unless the crane can be erected from the back of the site?

Crane has nothing to do with this development.

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is doing work on the roof of one of their buildings (L'Esplanade Laurier) - the two white towers on Laurier.

[trhgr]

Not criticizing your photo, but this skyline looks right out of a postcard from the 90ies.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by trhgr

Not criticizing your photo, but this skyline looks right out of a postcard from the 90ies.

That might be because Ottawa continues to build 90s looking buildings.

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That might be because Ottawa continues to build 90s looking buildings.

I suspect Defishel also took the photo from behind a tinted window, which would explain the vintage instagram-like effect. Still it's a good example of how desperately we need to vary our skyline a bit. That cylindrical ventilation shaft in the middle of the photo is the tallest building in the city from this vantage point

[Urbanarchit]

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[J.OT13]

Top four views of Ottawa IMO;

4. From the Queensway when directly behind the CBD;
3. Elgin Skyline;
2. From the Portage Bridge;
1. From Highway 50.

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by defishel

What citydwlr said, too. If I could somehow get onto the roof of the hospital, I'm sure the quality of my photos would improve a lot, as well as I wouldn't have many obstructions (I don't know if you can see the giant mechanical roof in front of me? ). I also want to get a better camera, as for now I'm using a smaller, non-professional digital camera.

No offense intended on your shot - sorry if it came across that way. I actually like the quality of the shot myself. As I mentioned it illustrates so well why our skyline should vary in height. From this perspective it looks like our downtown just received a buzz cut!

As for the camera, I've been hearing some good things about the Sony Alpha 7 (and/or 7R). It's a full-frame mirrorless, but it's much more compact and manageable for on-the-go stuff than a bulky DSLR...

[Urbanarchit]

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[gjhall]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Top four views of Ottawa IMO;

4. From the Queensway when directly behind the CBD;
3. Elgin Skyline;
2. From the Portage Bridge;
1. From Highway 50.

Agreed, Highway 50 is definitely the best skyline view. I noticed it for the first time last summer. It's stunning and SO different than from the Ottawa side.

[Boxster]

That is because Ottawa has no hills what so ever....just flat fields.

Originally Posted by gjhall

Agreed, Highway 50 is definitely the best skyline view. I noticed it for the first time last summer. It's stunning and SO different than from the Ottawa side.

[kevinbottawa]

Jim Watson tweeted this pic of the groundbreaking ceremony.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Jim Watson tweeted this pic of the groundbreaking ceremony.

Is that imported dirt? What... the local wet clay wasn't good enough for the photo op?

[J.OT13]

Group Germain breaks ground on new Slater Street hotel
Mark BrownleePublished on February 19, 2014

The operator of a boutique hotel chain officially kicked off construction of a new downtown build on Wednesday, the day after a would-be competitor announced it was exiting the industry.

Montreal-based Group Germain Hospitalité is set to open a 148-room, 17-storey hotel under its ALT brand as part of a mixed-use building that developer Broccolini will construct at 199 Slater St., between Bank and O’Connor streets.

The two companies held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project – which will also include condominium units – on Wednesday.

It came one day after Minto Properties said Tuesday that it is planning to convert its Minto Suite Hotel on Lyon Street to residential suites and focus on its core real estate business.

But Hugo Germain, Group Germain’s director of development, said he’s unfazed by the business decisions of other firms.

“For us it doesn’t change much because obviously we think we’ve come up with something new and refreshing,” said Mr. Germain, wearing a white hard hat as he stood on the site where the building is going to be located.

He said Group Germain’s situation is different because its three-star ALT brand is designed to appeal to a different market than many of the other hotels in the city.

ALT hotels are built around Germain’s “no frills chic” concept, which means offering smaller rooms that don’t have amenities such as baggage handlers or free newspapers. This allows the company to offer rooms at lower rates, said Mr. Germain.

He said the building’s downtown location means the company is marketing the hotel primarily towards business visitors during the week. However it’s also anticipating the proximity to the city’s tourist destinations will make it popular with pleasure visitors on the weekend.

He also anticipates the hotel will have the same rental rates year-round, rather than raising them during high-demand peak periods.

“We’re going to be working with a pricing strategy that is flat all the year so that we are able to have a guest that knows exactly what he expects when he gets into a room,” he said.

Minto’s closure of its hotel on Lyon Street makes it the latest longtime player to get out of the downtown market.

The National Hotel & Suites at 361 Queen St. permanently closed late last year. The building’s manager, Morguard Corp., said it planned to look at repositioning the asset but that it would more than likely reopen as a hotel.

Mr. Germain said it’s normal for hotels to have to undergo renovations every once in a while.

“It’s not a sign that the industry is not vigorous,” he said. “It’s a cycle with hotels that need to be renovated.”

The ALT hotel in Ottawa is set to open in winter of 2015, according to Group Germain’s website. In 2014 the city’s tourism officials are anticipating it will be “challenging” for area hotels.

Meanwhile 75 per cent of the units in the 23-storey condominium project are sold, according to a press release for Wednesday’s ceremonial groundbreaking.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2014-02-...eaks-ground-on-new-Slater-Street-hotel/1

[J.OT13]

Went by sometime this week. They're about 2 levels down.