Toronto hotel is being totally transformed after years as a homeless shelter
Over 90 years since it first opened, the former Strathcona Hotel in downtown Toronto is getting a new lease on life.
The 1933-opened hotel at 60 York Street, just across the street from the Royal York Hotel, was a popular lodging spot for travellers for almost nine decades before it closed its doors during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic amid a rapid decline in the hospitality industry.
The 14-storey property was leased out by the City of Toronto in April 2020 and converted into a temporary homeless shelter, with successive extensions of the City's lease (which paid the hotel owners $100 per room per night for the entire property) for over three years until the shelter finally closed its doors in August 2023.
The City's sudden closure of the shelter last year generated outrage among residents who claimed they were ousted with just a day of notice, but the hasty shuttering of the temporary hotel-shelter proceeded as planned despite the blowback.
Owner Silver Hotel Group has since opted to proceed with a thorough makeover for the property, completely reimagining the hotel's interiors while introducing a new look on the outside.
Now, approaching five years since the Strathcona Hotel shut down, the property is in the process of being reborn into what will soon reopen as the Union Hotel. The hotel shared a recent progress update showing the ongoing recladding efforts for its exteriors.
Interior spaces have already been gutted, while the most recent in a succession of facade replacements over the years is now underway with the installation of new black panels that will contrast against a base clad in brick.
Kirsten Kost, vice-president of sales, marketing & brand development for Silver Hotel Group, tells blogTO that the "the property is undergoing a complete transformation of the interior space, the 189 guest rooms and common areas that reflects collaborations with local artists, photographers, and designers, and spotlights the many perspectives of upcoming talent."
Among those talents, the rebranded hotel features a new mural from award-winning artist and illustrator Emily May Rose, adding shots of colour to the hotel's grey metal rear facade with adorable images of raccoons, like a pair kissing on a balcony while another trash panda swings from a laundry line.
Union Hotel's Instagram account shared another preview of the playful art installation, offering a close-up of an illustrated raccoon nabbing a cooling pie from a windowsill.
A cafe/lobby lounge will be key to the hotel's strategy for the future, with Kost explaining that "the property is being curated to be the place in Toronto to bring colleagues for happy hour, host clients for an important meeting, or entertain visiting friends without having to neighbourhood hop."
The Union Hotel and its cafe lobby lounge, to be known as Humble Donkey, are set to open in the coming months.
Kost tells blogTO that "the property will be operational as of January 14, 2025," and is taking reservations now, adding that "the official grand opening is slated for early spring 2025."
Erman Gunes/Shutterstock
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