Starting at $2.4 M, these suites not for ‘tire-kickers’
Kerry Moore
Province
New high-end hotel and residence includes 123 super-deluxe units that start at $2.4 million
The Ritz-Carlton at 1151 Georgia St., Vancouver, will be 61 stories high, comprising 130 hotel rooms and 123 private residences
High-end furnishings and appliances in kitchen and living areas, above, and deluxe finishing and materials in bathrooms, below, are standard for buyers of suites such as these, says the development’s marketer, Bob Rennie.
“Luxury living like this only works in major cities where there are the busy, luxury-oriented travellers. And in Canada, that would be Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary.
“And, yes, the executive and the business traveller now sees Vancouver as a world-class city,” says Bob Rennie, CEO for Rennie Marketing Systems.
He is talking about the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Vancouver, where the target buyer isn’t a tire-kicker but someone who has enjoyed staying in luxury hotels and who, when sitting on the bed packing up, says: “I could live like this forever.”
“This” is bred by familiarity with and preference for very high-end furnishings and services.
“The buyers want availability.”
Residents will have access to all the five-star hotel’s amenities, including having their car brought to the door. “They may never see the parking garage,” Rennie says. Buyers can use the concierge, the valet parking, spa, housekeeping, and have meals brought up from the hotel’s restaurant. “They can phone home and the lights will be on for them when they walk in.”
According to Rennie, 70 per cent of buyers will have homes elsewhere — “Say, in Hawaii, Palm Springs or on Bowen Island.”
“This is the ultimate city holding. It’s world class and that’s why Arthur Erickson was brought on board.”
Erickson is a Vancouver-based, internationally known architect. But even he had to pass muster.
“We flew to Washington D.C. to meet The Ritz-Carlton design team. They let us have more leeway than seen in previous Ritz-Carlton buildings,” Rennie says.
That leeway is 61 stories with a twist. The building, which will seem to be rotating on its axis, according toErickson, “gives the tower a dynamic vitality. Most buildings in the city are perpendicular . . . so it is quite true that this will be my signature on Vancouver‘s skyline,” Erickson says.
One of the challenges when selling to people who have known the very best is to find the right stuff and to ensure that in three years, the appliances and finishings are still state-of-the art. So the interior design team flew to New York for its research and among the results are Balthaup kitchens with Miele and SubZero appliances.
Buyers will have their choice of three complete kitchen layouts: “Purist” which mixes white with aluminum for the ultimate in Euro-chic; “West Coast” with warm, flared, wood-plank floors and elm cabinets; and “Classic,” a mix of dark aluminum and walnut for serious sophistication. The kitchens are on show in the expansive preview centre, as are two bathrooms and closets “with gorgeous mill work.”
Despite the prices and quality assurance, buying here isn’t like an art auction, Rennie says. “These people will want to see what they are getting. They won’t phone in bids.”
The building will sit at 1151 W. Georgia and is due for completion in 2011. At 61 storeys, it will rival another hotel/residence project, the Shangri-la at 60 storeys.
Tallest of all? No, save that for an 81-storey building under consideration in Surrey. It will be Canada‘s tallest skyscraper upon completion.
THE FACTS
Ritz-Carlton, Vancouver
What: 61-storey tower, 130-room hotel with 123 private residences, including penthouses.
Where: 1151 West Georgia St.
Developer: Holburn Developments (West Georgia) Ltd.
Sizes: 1,200 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft.
Prices: $2.4 to $15 million. Penthouse prices on request.
Open: Presentation centre, 1090 West Georgia, has viewing by appointment only. Information can be found at Vancouversturn.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007