Broadview Hotel nears completion as a boutique hostelry

Work continues toward the summer opening of the renovated Broadview Hotel at the corner of Broadview and Queen East where it has stood since 1893. A virtual tour (that would be pictures of the place to you and me) are here. Very nice. The owners, Streetcar Developments, expect the hotel to re-open with a rooftop terrace that is said to have a stunning view of the Toronto skyline with a 360-degree glass pyramid skylight. The Broadview Hotel will have 58 guest rooms each outfitted with luxurious appointments, a vinyl record player and a bar. Joanna Lavoie of the Beach Mirror was there yesterday.

Published May 14, 2014: The Broadview Hotel on Queen Street East at Broadview Ave has been bought for restoration by Streetcar Developments, a Toronto company dedicated to this type of work. The imposing 1893 Romanesque-style building has been notable in recent decades only for its rundown condition and as the home of Jilly’s Strip Club. In a news release Tuesday (May 13, 2014) Streetcar says it will not be turning the Riverdale landmark into condominiums but will rather be “focusing all our efforts on making the building safe and restoring it to reflect its place in Toronto’s history.” The company’s CEO, Les Mallins “We will first be focusing all our efforts on making the building safe and restoring it to reflect its place in Toronto’s history,” he added. Since at least 2004, rumours have circulated that the building will be bought and renovated to become a version of the Drake or the Gladstone, boutique hotel/bar/performance art venues on Queen St. W. So far, however, there are no signs of this actually happening. Still operating as a hotel, the lower floor is Jilly’s, “a rough and tumble strip club.” (Wikipedia). The operation was the scene of a barmaid stabbing in the early 1990s.