Condo boom hits three Etobicoke hotels

TORONTO - One is slated for the wrecker’s ball, one is considering it and one right beside the Humber River is looking at adding residential units on its property. That’s the state of hotels in and around the former City of Etobicoke, as this west-end Toronto community makes way for condo developments.

Toronto’s first Holiday Inn, erected about 50 years ago, is the property that will be demolished to accommodate four 19-24 storey condominium towers at Holiday Drive and Hwy. 427. The proposal approved by the Etobicoke York Community Council in mid-February calls for 887 units, split between one-and two-bedroom suites.

The hotel has flown other flags, most recently Ramada’s, but has sat empty and boarded up for at least a year.

"Originally it was a Holiday Inn in the ‘50s - the first in Toronto - but now it’s hard for hotels to compete against airport-area hotels," Doug Holyday, councillor for Ward 3 Etobicoke Centre, told the Etobicoke Guardian. "It’s a fair development, and it’s probably as good a development as we’re going to get."

On the other side of Hwy. 427, the 240-room-Valhalla Inn may be knocked down to accommodate a similar proposal, which would consist of three 20-plus-storey condominiums. A second community consultation meeting is expected in late spring. Residents of the area have argued that the proposed condos are too tall and will cause traffic problems.

And by the Humber River in Etobicoke, the owner of the Old Mill Inn & Spa, Michael Kalmar, (who also manages the Valhalla) has received a go-ahead from the council to build an 84-unit condo with a four-storey, 218-space parking garage on the property.