Architecture buffs hate the plans for the condo-fication of the Sutton Place Hotel

Like another storied Toronto hotel, the recently shuttered Sutton Place will soon be a condo tower. This weekend, Lanterra unveiled its redevelopment plans for the historic hotel at Bay and Wellesley, and the renderings have architecture aficionados upset (though probably not as upset as the hotel’s temporarily displaced tenants). First built in 1967 in the concrete-loving brutalist style of the times, the 33-storey structure is set to grow by 10 floors, and its 375 hotel rooms will become 600 condo units. Critics say the design ignores the architectural merits of the building, focusing on tinted glass instead of concrete—but then, brutalism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. We’re still hung up on the name change; we hope when the building becomes the ”The Britt Condos,” the memories of Michael Jackson, Sophia Loren, Liberace and other legendary visitors don’t disappear as well. [Urban Toronto]