Construction of the modern hotel began in the 1920s but stopped during the Great Depression. It finally opened as the Park Plaza in 1936 with a mixture of apartments and hotel guest suites.
Timpano believes the current restoration is the first highrise adaptive reuse project where the entire heritage structure is retained.
The all-Canadian design team includes KPMB Architects, known for its work on the Royal Conservatory of Music and Massey Hall. The Park Hyatt’s Group of Seven-inspired interiors are being designed by Studio Munge, which is also behind Toronto’s One Bedford and Nobu residences, and the Park Hyatt Los Angeles.
The Park Hyatt brand features a heavy art component and the Toronto hotel is expected to feature predominantly Canadian art, he said.
“The most prominent material in the whole development is a limestone from Wiarton, Ont., called Eramosa,” Timpano said.
He stressed that the entire development will continue to be owned by Oxford.
“These are rental units, they’re not condos. We want to deliver a unified experience and we want to add to our fairly substantial rental portfolio,” Timpano said. “This isn’t a situation where we’re going to sell off the southern units as condos.”
Oxford bought the 346-room Park Hyatt for $90 million in 2014. The doors closed for the renovation in 2017.
Written by Tess Kalinowski in The Star