THE FUTURE OF THE SUTTON PLACE HOTEL?

Over the past few months, we have talked about the lack of prime land available in Toronto’s downtown core. We see some surface parking lots and older buildings continue to be purchased for redevelopment, but developers are quickly running out of options, and risk losing the battle of supply and demand.One way to get around our land issues is to look for new ways to reuse and retrofit older buildings. A prime example of this is Camrost Felcorp’s efforts at 111 St. Clair Ave. with Imperial Plaza Condos, as well as their work at 21 Avenue Rd., the site of the Yorkville Plaza. The developer is taking both buildings and retrofitting them to modern standards. New features, new finishes, and in essence, a new building without having to demolish anything. It’s also a great way to pay tribute to our heritage buildings.Another developer that seems to be taking this route is Lanterra Developments. We announced late last year that Lanterra made an interesting purchase at the Sutton Place Hotel, and we were interested in what their plans were. Well, it’s a mystery no more, as Lanterra has submitted a plan to the City of Toronto that gives us a nice little peek at the future of The Sutton Place Hotel.

In an application submitted to the City of Toronto, Lanterra is seeking permission to redevelop the hotel into a 41-storey mixed-use condominium which would add an additional nine storeys to the already 32-storey tower. Lanterra is also looking to bring 772 suites to the tower, with 43 of them being rentals. The Sutton Place Hotel, originally completed in 1967, is a luxury condominium in the heart of the city. Although not registered as a heritage building, it has become known as one of the top destination spots for the who’s who of Toronto. With striking interiors and a perfect location, the site has a tremendous amount of potential.

This isn’t Lanterra’s first venture into the Bay and Wellesley area. In the past few years, they have completed Murano, just south of The Sutton Place Hotel, and are quickly completing Burano, also in the general area.

Nothing is approved as of yet, but it will be interesting to see what Lanterra presents at The Sutton Place Hotel.

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Ilan Joseph is a Real Estate Broker with Sutton Group and is co-founder of a 10-person award-winning Toronto real estate team. You can find him on Twitter and Google+. For over 10 years, Ilan has provided more than 1300 buyers and sellers valued advice and service, enabling them to reach their real estate goals. He’s kind of like the Bruce Willis of real estate.