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Tout ce qui a été posté par internationalx

  1. internationalx
    Great perspectives. Build, Baby, Build!
  2. internationalx
    The 2 tower plan was AMAZING. Too bad it wasn't completed. It could have been. TD Center in Toronto was completed in the 1980's to the original conception. I would have built tower 2 as a mixed use building: office, residences, and a hotel. I think what I dislike most about the Delta Hotel is the land-use. It is very suburban. Like it belongs on the side of the Trans-Canada highway.
  3. internationalx
    The politics of Quebec and Canada is also to blame; that there is a Quebec-centric consensus among the establishment in Montreal is hardly a news-flash. If we wanted to be the fashion capital for all of Canada, we certainly never expressed it, or showed it, or did anything to make sure we claimed it. Taking it for granted, like you said, absolutely.
  4. internationalx
    Talk about a shovel ready project! These guys were so ahead of everyone else and frankly, they had their chance to build this on a few occasions over the past 15 years. 15 years of a pretty robust economy. This phase of the project is a joke and not going to happen. They built what they wanted to make their money: the parking structure. If they do decide to go ahead with a building here it will be at least another 5 years. What company is going to want to be in a new building of such a dated design?
  5. internationalx
    I gotta say, I really like the look of this building. It has this clean-lined industrial look to it but in a contemporary interpretation. I think the architects took their cue from the surrounding context, that being the old garment district, now the fur district. This is the kind of 'fit' that works and that we should be striving for; it's not some cheap knock-off made to look exactly the same (ie: Hotel St Martin, or Le Roc Fleuri or Tours Lepine).
  6. internationalx
    Well, Montreal in the past could absolutely call itself the fashion capital of Canada largely because the garment industry was heavily concentrated in Montreal. In fact, very little of the rag trade was in Toronto, if any. As we all know, the garment industry in Montreal, like other cities in N-A has been disappearing to China and other nations since the 1980's. That said, Montreal is the no. 3 city in North America after NY and LA for the schmatte business - still. On another level, Montreal was known as the fashion capital of Canada and still could be simply because of the fact that Montrealers spend more per capita on clothing and accessories than any other city in the country. Almost double, I believe. I don't have the stats to cite but I have read them in times past. It didn't help when Canada's one national luxury retailer moved its HQ and flagship to Toronto in 1980. (ie: Holt Renfrew) Finally, Montreal's reputation for style was tied to its glorious past as the metropolis from nightlife to business...we all know the story. Toronto seems to have claimed fashion capital title largely as entitlement; it comes with being the metropolis of Canada. Montreal screwed up when they couldn't get their act together in the late 1990's and create a formidable fashion industry event. There is a lot of navel-gazing that goes on in this city and province.
  7. internationalx
    I have to agree: talk about manipulating and spinning stats. Stats/forecasting that more often than not are wrong. Why are people now looking at langue maternelle as a barometer?? Of course, mother tongue is not likely going to be French in Montreal as we move into the future. Hello? We are an immigrant society in North America. The same goes for language spoken in the home. BUT as long as everyone CAN speak French. How about we focus on helping immigrants get jobs and integrating them into the workforce. Talk about irresponsible media. To say nothing about the perpetual fear card being played.
  8. internationalx
    I have to agree with the Board of Trade: this project needs to have at least one private partner to develop a signature building. No question about it. LA's Grand Avenue scheme has The Related Companies tied to it. They are supposed to build a Frank Gehry-designed tower as the signature. That said, in the meantime, I think completing the lots as parks and gardens is a spectacular interim solution.
  9. internationalx
    Nothing surprises me anymore - especially in the real estate world. And don't kid yourself, Montreal has caught up with places like Manhattan - sort of. I have seen apartments in both the Acadia and Westmount Square in the 4mm range. Marketing the Ritz Residences to foreigners is standard. The most expensive units in New York's last UBER LUXURY properties - The Plaza and 15 CPW - were sold to Russians and Israelis with a sprinkling of Saudis, Indians, and New Yorkers. London and New York are filled with foreigners living in second or third homes. Welcome the new paradigm. If they can do it, good for them and for Montreal. I want to see this fabled property back in business.
  10. internationalx
    Of course, this project could still fall apart, but make no doubt about it, the big hotel companies are moving ahead with expansion plans - Starwood, Marriott, and Radisson are among those who are not being deterred by the economy; they have deep pockets and are the ones who can take advantage of the current state of the hotel industry. That W-A is heavily marketing its expansion (ie: T magazine/NYT) is noted: they are looking to be a player and go head-to-head with specifically, Starwood's the St. Regis brand.
  11. internationalx
    ... just because a festival is in a public park or square doesn't mean that the State's secularism is threatened. They are basically saying that people/groups can't use public spaces to assemble? LUNACY.
  12. internationalx
    This whole debate is getting out of control. WHO CARES? Jews have been in Quebec for 300 years. Does it really bother someone that they are on public land to celebrate something? Totally ridiculous. The rhetoric of this discourse is starting to take hold and creating an issue where it doesn't exist. Let's be real here: the reasonable accommodation debate is really rooted in Islamophobia. This new secular extremism is bizarre.
  13. internationalx
    LOL... Tremblay is earmarking 750mm for the tourist/novelty tram through Old Montreal. Yet, there is no money to be found (500mm needed) for the YUL-Dowtown link. From a long-term economic development perspective, the airport link is a HUGE deal. HUGE. It should be priority. If there is one thing people in Quebec -leaders, population- have never understood, it is this: the importance of an airport to the a city's economic development and international perception.
  14. internationalx
    Regardless of whether it cracks the top 500 in Canada, the silver lining of more Head offices is more executives with executive salaries to dispose of in Montreal on, among other things: real estate, clothing, cars, dining/entertainment, business travel....this all stimulates the economy, to say nothing of higher taxable income.
  15. internationalx
    I don't know, but I'd like to see a major hotel go up on the site. At least 35 floors a la Hilton Garden Inn.
  16. internationalx
    An indirect comment about Calgary v. Toronto and the shifting economy: The danger is this: should Canada be putting all its eggs in the commodities basket? Business and political elites in this country continue to steer us in the direction of a commodity-driven economy, selling off our "sophisticated" economy to foreign interests. That this puts the Canadian economy in a precarious position is clear: commodity-driven economies can and will always be volatile. Worse, they are a metaphor for colonialism: the hinterland providing raw materials to the empires - pick your empire, but in the case of Alberta, they are slaves to the US market and gear all their policies towards appeasing them. Canadian business only seems interested in being managers more often than not. Molson - gone, Alcan, gone, Bell, almost gone....a subsidiary is NEVER the same as a real head office no matter how you slice it. On another note: kudos to the Mayor of Calgary for beating down the doors of top tier corporations in order to lure them to the city. Allo, Maire Tremblay???? ANYONE?
  17. internationalx
    This is definitely the right spot for a W-A. It is, like you said, the Golden Square Mile. Either a Waldorf or a Four Seasons... That said, with ballrooms, they are clearly looking to target the market long-held by the Ritz-Carlton: as the premier venue for Montrealer's weddings and Bar-Mitvah's, and other special occasions. There has no doubt been a hole in that market since the closing of the Ritz. This project means that there will be great competition between the Ritz (if it ever gets going)resulting in better quality product for the market. Looking forward to seeing some renderings. Hope the design is not the 90's post-modern (ugh) that has been public for years. Fingers crossed we get something contemporary-looking (not necessarily glass curtain).
  18. internationalx
    21 storeys on Ste Catherine street....I'll take it!!!! The more buildings we have along Ste. Catherine that are in the 20-range (new Concordia buildings), we are creating a new height standard/urban fabric for the future.
  19. internationalx
    Are you kidding? I love that building. The facade and it's size/height are classic Montreal. Yes, C class exists.
  20. internationalx
    From that article in the Gazette, sounds like the building (with the grey aluminum siding) used to be an apartment building. Should be converted back to residential... God knows Montreal doesn't need so much C class office space; but we do need more residents living downtown.
  21. internationalx
    They ARE the one's who define the immobilisme that is plaguing Montreal. I mean, can you imagine, after 40 years a developer is interested in the wasteland that is Guy and Rene-Levesque and he gets run out of the room?? The area needs to be RE-INVENTED. This was just the right project to start it off. The OCPM doesn't even have binding power - they only make recommendations... where is/was the Mayor on this?
  22. internationalx
    Stunning! (Looks like a 50 year old whorehouse that is being dismantled to make way for something worthwhile.)
  23. internationalx
    Looking at the pics... this has got to be one of the best infill projects. Really done right. Bravo. If this is how the movers and shakers in Chinatown do things, I say we should let them expand the limits of Chinatown.
  24. internationalx
    Just let Claridge build their project. Might I add that the Forum presents the bigger challenge to the renaissance of this sector. It is nothing but a warehouse. I can't believe the city allowed this aesthetic. It looks incredibly uninviting from every angle and is, really, an eyesore of epic proportions. (Note: the original conception was flashier but NIMBY's forced the promoters to be water it down. It was too "Times Square" for Montreal ). Shaughnessy Village is really very similar (similar bones) to the Village in NYC, especially with Concordia anchoring the east side. We need more housing, both market rate, condos, and affordable. This will rejuvenate the retail stretch of St.Cath and other tributary streets organically. I do believe the Forum should be re-developed as mixed use project: housing, hotel* and theatres, with retail at street level, without the creating of an indoor mall. (I mean, how many indoor malls do we need downtown??) *a mid-range hotel would do well in this area as it is close to museums and the neighborhood has a really great historic urban fabric that is very appealing.
  25. internationalx
    There wasn't enough French in the ceremonies. I did appreciate Montrealer Niki Yanofsky singing at the beginning and was very proud of Michaelle Jean. But I was offended, not just as a Quebecer, but I was thinking about the broader context of French communities across the country. For VANOC not to have been aware that this would have caused an uproar... That said, I called this uproar months ago.
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