The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Toronto is a complex consisting of a 204-metre, 55-story residential condominium tower and a 125-meter, 30-storey hotel tower located in the Yorkville district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which opened on October 5, 2012. Located at 60 Yorkville Avenue, at its intersection with Bay Street, the complex is one block east of the previous Four Seasons Hotel Toronto at 21 Avenue Road.
The complex was designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, and developed by Menkes Development Inc. The taller tower is the 10th tallest building in Toronto, but by 2015 its position fell to 15th as other taller buildings were completed. The location had previously been the Bay Ford Lincoln dealership and next door to Toronto Fire Services Station 312.
The penthouse, which claims the entire 55th-floor of the West Residence, sold for C$28 million, and is the most expensive condominium sold in Canada.
The 55-floor complex contains 259 hotel rooms and 210 private condo suites. It offers a two-storey spa, Café Boulud and bar by international restaurateur and Chef Daniel Boulud, and glass-enclosed event spaces. It was designed by architectsAlliance, with Page and Steele as Architect of Record. The project was developed by Bay-Yorkville Developments Ltd., a joint venture of Alcion Ventures, LP, Menkes Developments and Lifetime Homes, and uses the "Four Seasons" trademark under licence.[2]
Before the ribbon cutting ceremony, Four Seasons chairman and founder Isadore Sharp proclaimed the new location as being "...in a category by itself, a true Four Seasons in our hometown, our flagship hotel. It is a landmark development for the city of Toronto". [3]
History
There have been several previous Four Seasons properties at other locations in Toronto.
415 Jarvis Street
The first Four Seasons-operated hotel in Toronto was the Four Seasons Motor Hotel, opened in 1961 at 415 Jarvis Street near Carlton. Built by architect Peter Dickinson, it operated as a motor inn before it was demolished and replaced by townhouses.
Inn on the Park
The next hotel operated by Four Seasons was the Inn on the Park, which has been demolished and replaced by the Lexus on the Park car dealership.
Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel
The Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel, opened in 1972, was a joint venture between Four Seasons founder Issy Sharp and Sheraton until 1976, when the connection was severed and the hotel was renamed the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.
21 Avenue Road
The longest-operating Four Seasons property in the city was located on 21 Avenue Road at the intersection with Yorkville Avenue, consisting of a 31-storey Brutalist-style tower, and a podium that stretched south to Cumberland Avenue.[4] It was built in 1972 as the Hyatt Regency Toronto, then it changed ownership and was renamed Four Seasons Hotel Toronto in 1978. It was closed on March 28, 2012.
The structure was sold to developer Camrost-Felcorp and converted to The New Residences of Yorkville Plaza.[5][6] The hotel's facade was renovated with glass corner balconies, while the existing podium containing the driveway and below-grade retail was demolished and replaced by a new retail complex.
The 21 Avenue Road location was popular with celebrities when the Toronto International Film Festival was centred on the Yorkville area.[7] However Four Seasons chairman and founder Isadore Sharp said that 21 Avenue Road location “felt like driving into a garage.â€[8]
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Canada
- List of tallest buildings in Toronto
- Peter Clewes
- architectsAlliance
- Trump International Hotel and Tower (Toronto)
- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
- Hotels in Toronto
References
External links
- official website
- architectsAlliance website
- City of Toronto: Four Seasons Development Project
