EGLINTON AND WYNFORD
Owners can access hotel amenities
February 20, 2010
Paula Kulig
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
When you live at Accolade, a vacation is never far away – and no packing is required.
Through a unique arrangement, residents of this new 35-storey condominium tower can go next door to use the amenities and services of the Toronto Don Valley Crowne Plaza Hotel. An indoor walkway between the two buildings leads to a domed indoor swimming pool and an outdoor pool, fitness centre, sauna and steam rooms. Accolade residents can also use the hotel's room and housekeeping services, spa, meeting and banquet facilities, and restaurant and bar.
Monthly or yearly memberships are available for the fitness facilities, while other services are paid à la carte.
"If you don't want to clean your suite, somebody else can do it. And if you want a pizza at 11 o'clock at night, they'll bring one over," says Jim Ritchie, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Tridel, Accolade's builder, calling the arrangement "pretty unusual."
It's also unusual for a hotel in Toronto to be surrounded by so much land that there's room for another major development. But that's what happened in this case, Ritchie says. The Crowne Plaza on Eglinton Ave. E., owned by Allied Hotel Properties Inc., "had more parking and more land than they needed, and we saw this as a development opportunity." So the land was severed from the hotel property and zoning approval was given for a condo.
Providing hotel services to condo residents "seemed a natural," he says, because Tridel and Allied are joint-venture partners in the development.
Accolade, with 327 suites, including four penthouses, is unusual in two other ways: It's a point tower, and it's blue. Most other highrise buildings in the area are brown or beige brick and are best described as slab buildings, Ritchie notes. Accolade, predominantly glass, is tall and thin, so it throws less of a shadow, and its colour stands out amid the green spaces of the Don Valley.
"We really wanted to find something that would be a bit different from what existed in the neighbourhood," he says.
The building's location provides a chance to escape – either to downtown Toronto or out of town, via the nearby Don Valley Parkway, or to the Don River conservation lands, with hiking and biking trails.
A green community can also be found indoors. Accolade is being built to a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard. Environmentally friendly features include low-flow, high-pressure showerheads and faucets; Energy Star high-efficiency appliances; thermally insulated low-E windows; high-performance dual-flush toilets; low-VOC paints. The building also has an energy recovery ventilation system, which provides continuous fresh air and recovers energy from exhaust air, reducing heating and cooling costs.
The development's first floor features a health and fitness studio, complete with change rooms, and the Entertainment District, which includes a large digital lounge and a party area that's equipped with a bar, kitchen, comfortable couches with a fireplace, a billiards lounge and a dining room/boardroom.
There's also a guest suite and 24-hour concierge service.
Floors two to 31 each have 10 one- to three-bedroom units, some with dens, that range from 679 to 1,016 square feet. Standard features include nine-foot ceilings, stacked washer and dryer, plank laminate flooring in the kitchen, living areas and foyer, and porcelain floor tiles in the bathrooms. Bathrooms have soaker tubs and separate showers.
The 32nd to 34th floors each have six units, while the 35th floor has four penthouse units. Sizes range from 1,251 to 2,050 square feet and features upgrades such as 10-foot ceilings, as well as excellent views. About 40 units are still available, with prices ranging from $270,000 to $1,035,000.
The sales office is at 181 Wynford Dr., north of Eglinton Ave. E., east of the Don Valley Parkway. Hours are Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weekends and holidays noon to 6 p.m. and closed Friday. For up-to-date information, call 416-385-0305 or visit www.tridel.com/accolade.
Toronto Star