New Condos Tap Hotel's Rich History

by NewinHomes.com staff

It's admittedly an unfair question destined to put him on the spot.

But ask Dundee Realty chief operating officer Jason Lester to name the single most exciting aspect of the King Edward Private Residences, soon to be built over three floors of downtown Toronto's 107-year-old Le Méridien King Edward Hotel, and Lester doesn't miss a beat.

"Definitely the heritage," he says brightly (Dundee is one of the site's new owners). "It's the fact that you have 100 years of culture. And not just that it's 100 years old but rather it's the significance and prominence that this hotel has had in the social lives of Torontonians over the decades."

Indeed, though the hotel has been something of a celebrity magnet through the years - playing host to such famous and infamous guests as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, John Lennon and Yoko Ono and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones to name but a few - Lester stresses the condominium component offers purchasers uncommon access to incomparable local history.

"The uniqueness of being able to live in an historical hotel - and not just any hotel but one that is so prominent in Toronto history - is very rare and there are very few examples of that anywhere around the world, quite frankly," Lester says. "And I think the exciting thing is that it's being offered to Torontonians first, a chance to own a piece of history which you don't often get."

The King Eddy, as it is known colloquially, was built by George Gooderham of Gooderham and Worts Distillery fame, and opened on May 11, 1903. Combined with the residences and businesses of the nearby Distillery District a few blocks to the east, the area surrounding the St. Lawrence Market stands as one of the city's most historic, best preserved and most beautiful.

"With the Distillery," adds Lester, "that's where the Gooderham family did their commercial business. But the King Eddy is where they entertained."

With construction on the proposed 145 units set to begin in January 2011 (occupancy is projected for June 2012) and suites priced at $700/square foot, the King Edward Private Residences are accessible to everyday purchasers.

According to the official literature, "Residents will be surrounded by exquisite appointments, with transitional design evoking elegance without pretentiousness. The limited collection of residences will range in size from 500 to 2,000 sq. ft. and will begin in price from the low-$400,000s."

While there will be a private entrance for residents, there's little doubt the larger hotel setting will play a pivotal role as backdrop to the condo owners' day-to-day activities with the grand lobby, fitness centre, spa and other "sumptuous amenities" complementing the site's downtown central location.

In addition to the construction of the condominiums, the hotel itself is also slated to undergo significant updates and upgrades, including a potential overhaul and repurposing of the famed and gloriously beautiful (though currently closed) Crystal Ballroom.

"We're contemplating opening it on an as-is, where-is basis in its raw form," Lester explains. "We'd hope to have a number of events there (capacity is 300), possibly as early as fall as long as we get the appropriate municipal approvals.

"From there we will see the type of response we get, develop a business plan and then consider the long-term permanent future of it. But for now we've really been focusing on transition of the ownership and development of the condominiums."

When asked to profile potential owners at the Private Residences, Lester says: "This hotel and the condominium offering will see a higher percentage of people where this will be their second home and it could be either their primary residence or secondary residence versus a lot of condominium projects in the downtown core where it's only the primary residence.

"It's appealing to a different type of purchase - a little bit older, has multiple residences etc. I wouldn't be surprised if, at the end of the day, the split is 50-50 between users that live in Toronto most of the time versus another 50 percent that will spend a week or month in Toronto."