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Lights, camera, construction at Festival Tower
September 12, 2009
Gale Beeby
Real Estate Editor
George Clooney and Clive Owen, Oprah Winfrey and Miranda Richardson. These are just some of the stars who will be gracing various red carpets around town during this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
And, if all things go as planned, next year TIFF will be welcoming the world's glitterati under one roof – the Bell Lightbox, the new home of what has become the world's most influential film festival.
Located in the heart of the city's entertainment precinct at King St. W. and John St., the Lightbox opening will no doubt be spotlighted during next year's festival and, when the cameras are turned off and the stars go home, some won't have far to travel.
That's because sitting atop the leading-edge theatre and movie complex is the Festival Tower, a 46-storey (153.6-metre) condominium where several Canadian celebrities,, including producer/director Ivan Reitman (Kindergarten Cop, Twins, Animal House, Ghostbusters), have purchased units.
Reitman is not only a condo owner, he was also the driving force behind the Lightbox/Festival Tower project. So expect to see him and his equally famous son Jason Reitman – nominated for a best director Oscar in 2008 for Juno – walking around the Festival Tower lobby.
Other celebrity purchasers are hush-hush, of course, but rumours are rampant that Donald Sutherland, who already owns a small waterfront condo in Toronto, Academy Award-winning director Norman Jewison, and funny man Dan Akroyd have, or will soon, buy a Festival Tower condo of their very own.
Talk about a building having star appeal. And the story behind the complex is worthy of a Hollywood script.
Ivan Reitman's parents, Clara and Leslie, postwar immigrants from Czechoslovakia, scrapped together enough money in the 1960s to buy the land at King St. W. and John St., first running a dry-cleaning business and then Farb's car wash at the site. When they retired, the site became a parking lot. After his parents died, Reitman and his sisters – Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – wanted to honour them, so they donated the land to create a permanent home for TIFF.
The Daniels Corp., with John Daniels at the helm, was chosen to produce the project, for good reason. In 1975, Daniels supported the fledgling film festival – he being one of the festival's founding "angels."
Daniels is no stranger to big projects. The builder has created more than 18,000 homes and condos across the GTA, and the Daniels Corp. is the guiding light behind the revitalization of Regent Park.
There's no doubt the Lightbox/Festival Towers project will be the star of the Theatre District once it's completed. And the building is taking shape quite nicely, according to Tom Dutton, a senior vice-president with Daniels.
Being the permanent home of TIFF, the Lightbox will have lots of movie theatres, which will show films during the festival.
"There will be seven theatres in total: five festival theatres, one private theatre, and a theatre exclusively for condo residents," says Dutton.
The largest of the theatres will offer seating for 550 people and will feature old-fashioned balconies and loges. The theatres will have deep stages, so live performances, small orchestras or corporate events can be hosted in them as well.
Condo residents will also be treated to private screenings in their own 55-seat theatre each year during the festival. TIFF will also create a film program for residents that will run throughout the year, and there will be early access and special pricing to more than 100 festival events, and direct access to the festival for Tower residents.
The Tower's amenity space will be fit for Hollywood royalty.
The "Pool House" will be a glass pavilion overlooking a landscaped terrace, where residents can catch a few rays or enjoy lounging in one of the private cabanas. Located on the 11th floor, the pool will feature a cascading waterfall, which will separate it from the whirlpool.
Overlooking the pool, the sports centre will be furnished with the latest fitness equipment and be decked out with flat-screen televisions. As well, it will feature a billiards table and a bar.
The Festival Tower spa will be worthy of any five-star hotel and will offer several state-of-the-art treatment rooms, as well as yoga, Pilates and dance studios, all overlooking a meditation garden, which will feature a sculpture by noted Canadian artist Peter Powning as its centrepiece.
The grand staircase on the outside of the building, that leads from the 10th to the 11th-floor amenity space, was based on a set of stairs located in the famed Casa Malaparte in Capri, Italy. The latter was featured prominently in the 1963 movie Le Mépris (Contempt), directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring the unlikely duo of Jack Palance and Brigitte Bardot.
The aim of the Festival Tower is to treat residents like stars – complete with five-star-inspired hotel service that includes everything from arranging housekeeping, to dog walks, to ordering dinner from two Oliver & Bonacini (they of Jump, Canoe, Auberge du Pommier and Biff's fame) restaurants that will set up shop in the podium.
One of the two culinary attractions will be located on the second floor and will offer an artisanal fine dining experience (a little less than Canoe, but a step up from Jump). On the first floor, a more casual 140-seat market café that will stay open late, is on the menu.
The first-floor facility will also offer takeout food for residents on the go, and will feature a 70-seat terrace.
All this sounds like it might carry a small-budget-movie price tag. But, in fact, a recent release of suites hand-picked by Reitman himself and dubbed "The Director's Edition" start from the $400,000s (for 568 square feet) and top out at $2 million (2,289 square feet).
Most B movie productions cost more than that.
The Director's Edition will be sold on Sept. 19, by appointment only. You can register online at festivaltower.com.
The public has not been forgotten in all this planning. Noah Cowan, TIFF's artistic director, says the complex will feature a film library in the atrium which will be open to movie buffs and students alike.
For more information on the film festival go to tiff.net. For more on the Bell Lightbox and the Essential 100 Film Collection, go to belllightbox.ca. For information on the Festival Tower and to register for the Director's Edition sale, go to festivaltower.com.
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