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20-664: The hotel was built by the Campeau Corporation , after Canadian real estate tycoon Robert Campeau was given permission by the city of Toronto in 1972 to turn industrial land on the city's waterfront into a 30-acre residential and commercial development. The 38-story twin-towered 963-room hotel opened in April 1975 as the Harbour Castle Hotel . Cut off from the city by the Gardiner Expressway ,

40-533: A deep recession and a glut of Ottawa office space ended these plans. The buildings also began to suffer a variety of problems including asbestos , mould , a fire and allegations of Sick Building Syndrome . In the late 1980s Towers A and B were gutted and completely renovated. Campeau's business empire was also struggling and after failed expansion attempts in the United States his company collapsed. In 1996 its remnants, including Place de Ville, were bought by

60-475: A renovation in 2007. The hotel features three restaurants, including The Mizzen, Toula and The Chartroom. The hotel also features the Harbour coffee bar, and Savoury, a private chef's table. Toula, a rooftop restaurant located on the southeast tower, once revolved, but this ceased in 2001. The restaurant offers a view of the lake; and, on a clear day, one can see Rochester, New York . A convention centre building

80-688: Is adjacent to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal . The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel has been used for several ceremonies, including the presenting of the 32nd Genie Awards. Campeau Corporation Campeau Corporation was a Canadian real estate development and investment company founded by entrepreneur Robert Campeau . It was infamous from its ultimately unsuccessful acquisitions of American department store holding companies Allied Stores in 1986 and Federated Department Stores in 1988. The whole organization soon

100-472: Is attached to the hotel on the north side of Queens Quay and is accessible via an elevated glass walkway. The convention centre offers 31 rooms, including the 24,990 square feet (2,322 m) Metropolitan Ballroom. The hotel is also connected to Harbour Square condos with a glass walkway. The hotel is located along the Yonge Street slip and shares space with the semi-retired island ferry Trillium and

120-576: The Harbour Castle Hotel (now part of the Westin Hotels chain) - which helped revitalize the city's waterfront area. In the 1980s, Campeau embarked on a series of leveraged buyouts , first bidding unsuccessfully on the Royal Trustco (now owned by Royal Bank of Canada ). Its founder's brash, confrontational manner made him an outsider to much of the conservative Canadian business establishment. As his empire expanded, Campeau ventured into

140-502: The United States , looking for acquisitions that would add shopping mall real estate to his portfolio of assets. In 1986, Campeau acquired Allied Stores . In 1988, the company followed with the purchase of Federated Department Stores , owner of Bloomingdale's . Campeau retained banker Bruce Wasserstein to assist with the transactions. The purchases were criticized by The New York Times , which noted "recent LBO's benefited

160-647: The Delta Ottawa City Centre (410 rooms) and Ottawa Marriott Hotel (487 rooms). The buildings are linked by an underground shopping complex. Place de Ville C is the tallest office building in Ottawa. It was once advertised as "Ottawa's glittering answer to the Toronto Dominion Centre and Place Ville Marie ". The complex is located in downtown Ottawa on Albert Street between Kent Street and Lyon. Towers A and B are located on

180-637: The Reichmann's Olympia and York (O&Y). In 2000 O&Y announced that work would begin on a third phase of the Place de Ville complex. This would consist of two new towers one 18 storeys and the other 12. They would be built on the large parking lot across from Tower B. Several other downtown building projects and another economic downturn put these plans on hold, however. In February 2005 O&Y announced it would be selling most of its Canadian holdings, including Place de Ville. Since September 14, 2019,

200-531: The complex is directly linked to Lyon Station of the Confederation Line which is situated underground between the two phases of Place de Ville. One entrance is integrated into the south façade of the Podium building, while a second entrance can be found within the underground shopping concourse. The complex boasts the city's largest underground parking garage with space for 974 cars. Place de Ville

220-599: The five hotels to Starwood Capital Group in 2013 for CA$ 765 Million , at which point the Harbour Castle was valued in land registry documents at CA$ 146 million . Starwood Capital put the Harbour Castle up for sale in January 2016. When they sold their remaining Canadian Westin properties in 2018, it was reported that the Harbour Castle had sold for nearly CA$ 400 million . The twin-towered 34-storey building sits along Toronto Harbour and now offers 977 rooms after

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240-489: The hotel was at first unsuccessful, with an occupancy rate of only 46.2% in its first year and an even lower rate in its second. Hilton International assumed management in 1977, and the hotel was renamed the Toronto Hilton Harbour Castle . Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing purchased the hotel from Campeau in 1981. In a complicated management swap in 1987, Hilton Hotels traded operation of

260-605: The latter owned by the family of future Ottawa mayor Lorry Greenberg . For many years, it was city policy in Ottawa that buildings in the downtown core not be taller than the Peace Tower of the parliament buildings . Campeau found this rule to be unnecessary and was drawn into conflict with city council over large high-rise developments such as Place de Ville . Campeau's real estate development success soon spread outside Ottawa. In Toronto, its notable developments included Scotia Tower (the city's second-tallest skyscraper) and

280-504: The much taller Tower C. Originally hoping to build a 145-metre (475 foot) tower (which would have made it about 42 storeys), although approved by the city, the National Capital Commission allowed it to only be 112 metres (367 feet) (29 storeys), but it was the tallest building in the city at the time the construction was completed. In the early 1980s Campeau proposed building a fourth even taller tower but

300-810: The property for the Westin Hotel on University Avenue . The Harbour Castle became the Harbour Castle Westin , while the former Westin became the Hilton Toronto . Li sold the property to Westin Hotels in 1990. Westin sold the hotel to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board in 2005, as part of a portfolio of five Canadian Westin hotels in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. PSP resold

320-530: The site. The scheme faced several barriers, the most important of which was that for many years buildings in downtown Ottawa faced a 45.7 metre (150 foot) height restriction so the Peace Tower would dominate the skyline. Despite strong opposition from Ottawa mayor Charlotte Whitton , the rule was changed to allow the only somewhat taller Towers A and B to be constructed. These two towers were completed in 1968. That same year Campeau began lobbying to build

340-583: The south side of Queen Street while tower C is on the north of Queen. The buildings are mostly home to various federal government workers, with the Department of Transport , headquartered in Tower C, being the largest tenant. For almost a century the area had been home to the city's streetcar garages. The streetcar system was closed in 1959. The land was purchased later by developer Robert Campeau . He conceived an ambitious plan to recentre Ottawa's downtown on

360-478: The target companies' shareholders who received high takeover prices. But most of the gains seemed to have come at the expense of bondholders, creditors and employees." In the late 1980s, the debt obligations that needed to be covered following the merger were too large, and exacerbated by a market downturn that hurt retail sales. Campeau Corporation was unable to meet its debt obligations. Federated and Allied eventually filed for bankruptcy reorganization. The company

380-439: Was eventually acquired by Olympia and York who went bankrupt, and Campeau Corporation ceased to exist. Place de Ville Place de Ville is a complex of office towers in downtown Ottawa , Ontario , Canada. It consists of four office buildings: Place de Ville A, B, and C; and the 'Podium' building, which houses a shuttered "piggy-back" cinema enveloped with functional office space. The complex also has two large hotels,

400-399: Was mired in bankruptcy and spurred the decline of the regional department store. Synonymous with its founder, Ottawa -based Campeau was able to construct both office complexes and residential subdivisions to accommodate Canada's rapidly expanding civil service . Campeau Corporation had two main rivals in the residential housing market: Assaly Construction Limited and Minto Developments Inc.,

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