Trump International Hotel and Tower (Toronto)

Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto

Trump among other Toronto towers, looking east on Adelaide Street West.
General information
Status Complete
Type Hotel, Condominium, Retail[1]
Architectural style Modern
Location 325 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates 43°38′59″N 79°22′49″W / 43.64972°N 79.38028°W / 43.64972; -79.38028Coordinates: 43°38′59″N 79°22′49″W / 43.64972°N 79.38028°W / 43.64972; -79.38028
Construction started Oct 2007
Estimated completion Topping out: Sept 2011
Completion: Dec 2011
Opening Soft: Jan 31, 2012
Grand: Apr 16, 2012
Height
Antenna spire 276.9 m (908 ft)
Roof 236.5 m (776 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 57
Design and construction
Architect Zeidler Roberts Partnership
Developer Talon International Development Inc.

Trump International Hotel and Tower, Toronto is a mixed-use skyscraper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built by Markham-based Talon International Development Inc., which is owned by Val Levitan and Canadian businessman Alex Shnaider.

It is named for real estate developer Donald Trump, a minority shareholder in the project. The tower is located in the Financial District, at 311 Bay Street, on the southeast corner of Bay and Adelaide. Construction began with the removal of the sales centre in September 2007, but the official groundbreaking was Friday, October 12, 2007. The planned completion date for the hotel portion of the tower was fall 2011, with the official completion of the tower projected to be in early 2012. The building topped out in early September 2011, and the spire was raised on September 24, 2011. Trump tower is the second tallest skyscraper in Canada (including spire), the tallest mixed-use building in the city and fourth tallest structure in the city. The hotel opened for business on January 31, 2012, and its grand opening occurred on April 16, 2012.[2] Work on the top of the building continued until completion in July 2012 with the activation of two high intensity aircraft warning lights.

Specifications

Main entrance on Adelaide Street
Construction, as of May 2011.

The 65-storey (57 occupiable floors) Trump International Hotel & Tower is 276.9 m (908 ft) tall[3] and is clad with a steel, glass, and stone facade. The building includes 260 luxury hotel rooms and 109 condominiums. The top two floors of the hotel section house a 5,486 m2 (59,050 sq ft) spa. It was built by Zeidler Roberts Partnership and is the tallest mixed-use building in Canada. Floors 2-31 occupies the hotel while 32-57 occupies residential.

Residential suites start at 207 m2 (2,230 sq ft) and have been designed with upscale fixtures and 3.4 to 4 m (11 to 13 ft) ceilings. Condo prices start at C$1.2 million. There are 4-6 suites per floor. Residents have a separate entrance and elevators from hotel guests.

Builders planned to connect the building to Toronto's underground PATH network, however this plan was dropped due to the high costs associated with tunnelling under the city.[4]

On March 23, 2007, Talon International Development Inc. of Toronto announced that it had reached an agreement with international bank Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG (RZB) to arrange C$310 million in construction financing for its five-star Trump International Hotel & Tower development.

Lewis Builds Corporation, a construction and development manager in downtown Toronto was the construction manager for this project.

The building is built from a vacant lot (parking) surrounded by Scotia Plaza and The National Club.

Rivalry with Sapphire Tower

Developer Harry Stinson intended to create a friendly rivalry between himself and Trump for the tallest mixed-use building in Canada with the Sapphire Tower. As a result, the initial heights of both projects were revised several times in an attempt to outdo each other, and Stinson's skyscraper would have been 17 metres taller in its last design. However, the Sapphire Tower failed to gain approval of city council and its development company filed for bankruptcy in 2007.[5] At that time, the Trump Tower's design was also scaled back and the height was reduced because of the real estate market slowdown.

Controversy

The tower has been controversial since its opening because of lower than expected occupancy rates in the "hotel-condo" portion of the building that led to a legal battle between real estate investors and Talon International Development. Investors wanted to opt out of purchase agreements because they believe the sales tactics used by Talon regarding financial projections were misleading. The Ontario Securities Commission investigated the matter in 2012 and decided not to take action.[6] Talon is counter-suing the investors who did not pay the remaining purchase price by December 13, 2012.[7]

In December 2015, Josh Matlow, Toronto City Councillor for Ward 22, created a petition to rename the building, following Donald Trump's remarks during his bid for the Republican Party's 2016 United States presidential nomination, on the possibility of temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States. Matlow stated that renaming the building would allow Talon International Development to disassociate itself, and by extension, Toronto to disassociate itself, from Trump and his remarks.[8]

Unfinished state

As of August 2013 the building was not complete, close to six years after the start of construction: with the "TRUMP" sign on the north side of the tower read "TRUM", and the public art feature Lightline was missing. The tower's spokesman, Dorenda McNeil, told media in May 2013 that "from our perspective, the building is not yet fully complete. We will turn it [the public art feature] on at the right opportunity". Because the light feature is a public art piece promised as part of the approval process for development, the City of Toronto is growing impatient and is considering commencing litigation.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Trump Tower Toronto". UrbanDB.com. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Putting The Finishing Touches on Trump International as Official Launch Date Arrives". UrbanToronto.ca. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  3. ↑ "Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  4. ↑ Mullins, KJ (1 February 2012). "Trump opens his latest hotel in Toronto". Digital Journal. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  5. ↑ Wong, Tony (9 March 2007). "Condo king files for bankruptcy protection". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  6. ↑ Perkins, Tara (4 December 2012). "OSC won't take action against Toronto’s Trump tower". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  7. ↑ Dmitrieva, Katia (26 December 2012). "Trump Tower woes signal Toronto’s condo market ‘on thin ice’". National Post. Bloomberg News.
  8. ↑ Morales, Steve (December 8, 2015). "Toronto councillor calls for Trump Tower to ditch ‘fascist’ namesake". Global News. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  9. ↑ Topping, David (24 May 2013). "Why isn't Trump Tower's Lightline lit yet?". The Grid. Retrieved 2013-08-16.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trump International Hotel and Tower, Toronto.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.