Raise the Hammer

I have to say, I saw it in daylight today (usually it's dark by the time I get home) and the finish is looking much more impressive than the other hotel they built (staybridge?).

yes, the staybridge was his too. But it's not just that. According to his website, this is their first hotel that isn't just a hunk of stucco...which is why there was much trepidation as to how the larger projects - 16 stories here, 12 on the fed building and 25 in between - would look covered in stucco.

http://vrancor.com/development.php

I'm happy to send kudos on a job well-done to Vrancor. We ripped them pretty hard for Staybridges, so it's only fair to praise a great addition to our city like this Hilton.

Did Vrancor pay you too write this avertisement? If you only knew!!!!!!

If you don't mind projects that are built with under paid (if you can get your money) workers.

I should also point out that at the top of the building in this pic you can see the cap that was installed this week. It overhangs the building. Not visible in this pic are holes cut out at regular intervals in that cap that appear to be the location for lights that will shine down on the building....at least that's my hope.

At night it looms like a Borg rectangular prism.

If that was true that would be cool

I think what impresses me most about this building is one small but possibly important detail. I like the way the windows resemble those on the remaining part of the Federal Building, especially the west face and and the flanks of the remaining south face. The windows are square in aspect, rather than rectangular, and form an array of regularly spaced openings.

It also looks as if the stone banding that sets the upper floor of the old structure apart from the rest may have inspired the change in colour of the precast cladding we see on the upper floors of the new building.

Though they may have only grudgingly preserved (or so it seemed at the time) the parts of the Federal Building that now remain, it seems the architect has transferred some of these details to the new structure, thus helping to blend the old with the new. I like this.

Nice addition to our city, but boy do I feel sorry for the well finished brick building next door. It has its nice frontage and glass roof eclipsed by this. I hope George Street is well suited once complete.

I've always liked that building.

Immediately to its west, I believe there's supposed to be a future phase of the Vranich development. And eventually (hopefully) something will get built on the lot at the southwest corner of King and Bay. That will be a good thing too of course, but the building on George will be more or less surrounded.

'(T)he building on George will be more or less surrounded.'

I'm leaning more towards less at this point. It'll take years to fill in that block, let alone all the others downtown.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see something go in at the corner of Bay and George though; it's going to become a nice little extension of Hess, really.

Great stuff! Oh, if anybody has another pic or two of the hotel don't be afraid to post it. I'd like to see some other angles.

Yep. I was using "eventually" pretty loosely.

BTW, anybody hear any more news about the Main-Hess-George-Caroline block? I'd thought something was imminent there years ago but alas...

All this Vrancor action has to only help the potential commercial development of that block.

I seem to recall some reference to it lately, but can't remember where - whether it was mentioned in the Spec, on CBC Hamilton, here, or another Hamilton-related forum.

I'm not sure if Vranich owns it or someone else.

Of the many empty lots downtown, that one is really pathetic (relative to empty lots... that's not saying much, I know). A parking lot without even a parking lot feel.

Sarcasm aside, it's so prominent up on the hill as you enter the core. Not a good "welcome" symbol at all.

It's sad for the city when we have to do business with a person of ill repute such as Darco and his son Dennis,