Grand Hotel to be subsumed by 45 storey condo

The Grand Hotel and Suites at Dundas and Jarvis could be about to get a major overhaul. According to plans filed with the city late last month, developers are planning to work the existing 13-storey tower into a new 45 storey, 451-unit condominium complex.

The hotel would remain in a slightly expanded form, but its chunky concrete exterior will be completely stripped back to match the contemporary look of the rest of the development. In the rendering above, it appears as the rectangular structure behind the new tower.

The new podium and residential tower will contain a total of 541 units, slightly more than half of them 1-bedroom. Developers are planning 112 studio, 40 2-bed, and 54 3-bed layouts, some of which will take the form of town homes facing George St.

A Heritage Impact Statement prepared by E.R.A. Architects suggests the current plans will have little negative impact on the surrounding properties, although some new shadows will be cast on a heritage property at 14 Pembroke Street. The Grand Hotel is not a listed or protected historic building.

Built in 1972 to designs by architecture firm Mathers and Haldenby, the precast concrete tower was originally the Toronto headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's "0" Division. The detachment moved to London, Ont. in 1992, leaving the building vacant. It was converted into the Grand Hotel and Suites in 1999.

The Grand made headlines earlier this month when one of its exterior signs caught fire and melted. Despite the incident, E.R.A. believes the tower is in good overall condition.

What do you think of the plans?

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Core Architects