The mystery has been solved as to which hotel provider will operate a property beside Montreal’s merged Ogilvy-Holt Renfrew store. La Presse reports that the Four Seasons hotel chain will return to the city after more than 20 years, bringing with it a collection of luxury residences that will be among the most expensive in Canada. The adjacent department store, itself, is also undergoing a substantial expansion as Selfridges Group-owned Ogilvy merges with nearby Holt Renfrew.

Montreal-based developer Carbonleo is spearheading the project in partnership with the hotel and retailer, which will see hotel rooms priced from $600 per night, and condominium units averaging $1,500 per square foot. Prices for the condominiums are expected to sell for between $4 million and $20 million with an average cost of $5 million, according to La Presse. There will be two $20 million penthouses, in fact, each measuring about 7,000 square feet, featuring 14 foot ceilings and 2,500 square foot terraces.

The project will feature 163 hotel rooms and 18 condominium units, all within an 18 storey building. About a quarter of the condominium units are expected to be purchased by international buyers. The Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences project is expected to be completed by the winter of 2018. La Presse notes that since the year 2000, only two condominium units in Montreal have sold for over $5 million.

*Click image for interactive Google Map.*

*Existing Ogilvy store in August of 2016. Photo: Google Street View screen capture.*

*Rendering of the Four Seasons hotel lobby on the left, and within a Four Seasons Private Residence on the right, via Carbonleo.*

The entire project will cost in excess of $250 million, including the cost of the department store expansion at the corner of Sainte Catherine Street West and Rue de la Montagne. The existing 160,000 square foot Ogilvy building will be expanded to 220,000 square feet in order to house a combined Ogilvy/Holt’s, operating under the formal name "Ogilvy, part of the Holt Renfrew & Co. collection”. The expanded and merged store will result in the nearby Holt Renfrew flagship on Sherbrooke Street West closing, after operating at that location for almost 80 years.

Sources confirm that many of the luxury brands and concessions within the existing Sherbrooke Street Holt Renfrew will relocate into the new combined Sainte Catherine Street store.

The new Ogilvy/Holt’s will have a major competitor when it opens in 2018. Last week, the Hudson’s Bay Company announced that it would open a 200,000 square foot Saks Fifth Avenue store within its existing Bay location on Sainte Catherine Street West, about 800 metres east of the Carbonleo Four Seasons/Ogilvy project. Although it will be technically the largest Saks store in Canada, about 80,000 square feet of space will be dedicated to food and beverage, including a Quebec-themed food hall and a yet-to-be-determined restaurant concept.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: September 26, 2016