Harry Stinson

Harry Stinson (June 3, 19?? - ), born in Toronto, is a high-profile real estate developer from Hamilton, Ontario, is president of Stinson Properties, Inc. He has been called Toronto's "condo king".ref|NP Stinson's highest profile project to date has been "1 King West", a condo/hotel point tower that he claims is the "narrowest building in the world" on the basis of its height-to-footprint ratio. It incorporates the former headquarters of The Dominion Bank.

He was promoting the Sapphire Tower, a new residential tower for Toronto's financial district that would have been the tallest residential tower in Toronto at 342 metres (90 stories). He was competing with Donald Trump who is developing the "Trump Tower Toronto", a condo/hotel of similar height. [See [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/02/08/050.html "Moscow Times" 8 February 2005] ]

His Dominion Club was closed on September 20 2006, and the vast hall was reopened as a special event space.

In March 2007, the "condo king" filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of an $11.8 million dispute with David Mirvish, the financier of 1 King West.ref|NP

On April 20 2007 Stinson & Mirvish headed to Ontario Superior Court where on April 23 Mr. Justice Colin Campbell issued an order granting Mr. Stinson permission to continue running One King, but puts him on a short leash and appointed [http://www.irasmithinc.com Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc.] as monitor, with full access to all records of Mr. Stinson’s businesses. [Kuitenbrower, Peter. "Letter from King Street: Stinson, Mirvish finally call a truce." National Post. 3 May 2007: A13.]

On August 24 2007 Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. was appointed Receiver and Manager over the assets, properties and undertakings of several of Mr. Stinson's companies, pursuant to the [http://www.irasmithinc.com/1kw/docs/co/co_28aug2k7_Receivership_Appointment_Order.pdf Order] of the Honourable Madam Justice Pepall.

On February 29 2008 Stinson inked a $9.5-million contract to purchase the Royal Connaught Hotel at Hamilton, Ontario. The agreement was secured with a $100,000 deposit and provides a 30 day conditional period for Stinson to secure financing. The concept includes restoration and a substantial addition to the existing Connaught building to include a 100-room boutique luxury hotel and approximately 200 compact one and two bedroom multi-use condominiums. Stinson has confirmed a 100 storey condominium tower with a commercial gallery designed to be an architectural signature piece for downtown Hamilton. Harry Stinson now resides in the city of Hamilton. [De Lazzer , Rachel. "Condo king buys Royal Connaught for $9.5m." Hamilton Spectator. 29 February 2008: A1.] ["Every city needs an icon."- Harry Stinson, Hamilton Spectator. 24 May 2008: WR7.]

On June 2nd 2008, Harry Stinson makes a public presentation of his proposed 100-storey Connaught Towers at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce building. It would have made it the tallest building in Canada. [De Lazzer , Rachel. "Condo king buys Royal Connaught for $9.5m." Hamilton Spectator. 29 February 2008: A1.] ["Every city needs an icon."- Harry Stinson, Hamilton Spectator. 24 May 2008: WR7.] cite web| title = The Connaught Towers (Official Web Site)| url=http://www.theconnaught.ca| accessdate = 2008-06-03] Three months later, on Thursday September 4th, Harry Stinson closes up the Connaught Towers sales office in downtown Hamilton and the project is officially cancelled.

Projects:
* 1 King West (Completed)
* High Park Lofts (Under Construction)
* Sapphire Tower (Cancelled, site for sale)
* The Connaught Towers (Cancelled 100-storey tower for downtown Hamilton, Ontario)

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References

* William Hanley, "The condo king's crowning moment: Persistence pays off for Harry Stinson with Toronto tower", "National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing", September 25 2004.
* Tony Wong, "Condo king files for bankruptcy protection", "Toronto Star", March 9 2007.

External links

* [http://www.theconnaught.ca The Connaught Towers, Official web site]
* [http://www.stinsonproperties.com Stinson Properties]
* [http://www.onekingwest.com One King West's official site]

Video

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=sahO1C1uT30 Harry Stinson talks about the 81-storey Sapphire Tower] - Youtube
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=ECH_qcwx9M0 Harry Stinson talks about 1 King West, Toronto] - Youtube
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=cq8crDpwu5E Harry Stinson talks about High Park Lofts, Toronto] - Youtube