213 King St W | 95 m | 30 fl | Under Construction - Page 14

TheRitsman · #1 Posted **Jul 13, 2023, 2:21 PM**

Crane is being installed here. Will take some photos at lunch.

TheRitsman · #2 Posted **Jul 13, 2023, 4:53 PM**

Innsertnamehere · #3 Posted **Aug 3, 2023, 3:34 PM**

What's going on here? A "ZAD" application was filed here which seems to include hotel uses again... Honestly I hope we get a hotel here, hotels downtown are badly needed, but man, make up your mind Vranich!

Quote:

ZAD-23-030

213 KING ST W

To develop a 30-storey mixed-use tower, with residential units, and retail frontage along King St W. A 110-room hotel is proposed with 241 dwelling units and 227 parking spaces, which consists of a total 343 units with 492 bedrooms.

craftbeerdad · #4 Posted **Aug 3, 2023, 4:30 PM**

We do not need another Vranich hotel special. We need a legit 4/5 star hotel in downtown if we ever want to shed our image of a mediocre city. We will never attract top end talent, conventions, etc., with the Sheraton as our best option. Even during larger recent events like the Leafs outdoor game there was a lot of negative feedback on the Sheraton, which I understand, it's a shitty hotel.

Innsertnamehere · #5 Posted **Aug 3, 2023, 4:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

We do not need another Vranich hotel special. We need a legit 4/5 star hotel in downtown if we ever want to shed our image of a mediocre city. We will never attract top end talent, conventions, etc., with the Sheraton as our best option. Even during larger recent events like the Leafs outdoor game there was a lot of negative feedback on the Sheraton, which I understand, it's a shitty hotel.

I mean let's just get some regular old 3-star hotels first. Hampton Inn is a great start.. 4-star, while I agree is ideal, just isn't in the cards yet I don't think. The entire metro area only just got it's first one in Burlington last year.

Ideally we build up a good stock of 3-star places downtown, which is really where the events-related customer looks generally, then focus on 4-star destinations which are more business-oriented.

Chronamut · #6 Posted **Aug 4, 2023, 5:10 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

We do not need another Vranich hotel special. We need a legit 4/5 star hotel in downtown if we ever want to shed our image of a mediocre city. We will never attract top end talent, conventions, etc., with the Sheraton as our best option. Even during larger recent events like the Leafs outdoor game there was a lot of negative feedback on the Sheraton, which I understand, it's a shitty hotel.

Shoulda kept the connaught as a hotel.

ScreamingViking · #7 Posted **Aug 4, 2023, 7:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Shoulda kept the connaught as a hotel.

Shoulda kept UP the Connaught as a hotel. Because before things came to an end, it wasn't a pretty place to stay.

matt602 · #8 Posted **Aug 4, 2023, 7:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Shoulda kept UP the Connaught as a hotel. Because before things came to an end, it wasn't a pretty place to stay.

This. I remember when it closed, the place had already been a dump for awhile at that point. It went through a string of terrible owners starting in the 80s.

shoelessjoe · #9 Posted **Aug 5, 2023, 12:26 AM**

I was there toward the end of it's run. I believe it was Christmas 1999 or 2000. We had a small family gathering in a suite for some out-of-town relatives, etc. It certainly wasn't seedy -- it was just dated and a bit tired. The hotel had a major reno in the mid 80s to compete with the then-new Sheraton -- I would say this particular suite (which was high up in the John Street tower) was still wearing the 1980s reno. I remember floral wallpaper, dusty pink coloured carpeting, smoked mirrors and brass-finish fixtures. Great view out onto John Street towards the Court House. Catering was good, public areas were tidy, etc. Unfortunately the hotel was neglected for so long the cost of bringing up to the standards of the major chains became cost-prohibitive, particularly in light of the economic conditions of the early 2000s.

Chronamut · #10 Posted **Aug 5, 2023, 12:34 AM**

I never had a reason to go in so I unfortunately never got to experience it - although it would have been well beyond my time before it had actually been in its glory days for sure..

shoelessjoe · #11 Posted **Aug 5, 2023, 12:40 AM**

A couple of years prior I had my High School Grad/Prom there -- in the main ballroom which was on the mezzanine level above the lobby. Public areas were great at the time. Nice bar/lounge in the lobby as well as an outpost of Fran's (of Toronto) -- which operated 24/7 along the Catherine St side of the building in a space that had been, in the 1980s, a higher end steakhouse called Vinton's.