The news has just come in over the wire that the Homburg, err, Holman Grand Hotel has gone bust and will close on Monday.
For those wishing a refresher course on how we started down this road, I invite you to read How did Charlottetown end up with a new hotel covered in beige aluminum siding? for the blow-by-blow from the initial announcment of the hotel in 2007 up to its completion and opening last year.
Surely the implosion of this “did anyone every actually think this was a good idea?” colossus should allow us to move on to a post-Homburg era here in Charlottetown.
Let’s finish the job: close the crazy tunnel under Grafton Street, reinstate the name “Main Stage” on the Confederation Centre of the Arts theatre (what is “Homburg Theatre” now other than a reminder of our propensity to fall in thrall to the grand delusions of impresarios), and make a point of thinking twice before doing anything like this again.
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I am Peter Rukavina and this is my blog. I am a writer, letterpress printer, and a curious person.
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Comments
I’m surprised and not at all
I’m surprised and not at all surprised.
How do you have enough money to build a building like that, and not enough money to last more than a year?
I’d be able to laugh at the fools who put money into this if it weren’t for government involvement (our money) and the contractors and staff that lose out.
I feel like a disgruntled commenter on theguardian.pe.ca.
“How do you have enough money
“How do you have enough money to build a building like that, and not enough money to last more than a year?”
You borrow it from the Government.
I covered the initial news
I covered the initial news conference when RH announced he was going to build the hotel. I remember struggling with the first line of the script.. i’d first written “With the characteristic arrogance of the successful entrepreneur, RH announced today that he was going to….. ” my boss made me change arrogance to confidence… i now wish I’d left it the way it was….
people like that can play all they want with their own money… but that’s not what happens is it…
The design of the hotel was
The design of the hotel was such that you could not host large events. The largest meeting room would not fit many weddings. Too small for our group’s annual meeting and we are not very big. I had been hoping for a new large meeting space, but due to the atrium the whole interior design is very cut up. Maybe the second floor could be modelled into a large meeting space, I still have no idea what is on the second floor.
The penthouse does have some fantastic views of Charlottetown. I was looking forward to hosting a cocktail party there in December. I feel for the staff, they were always very professional and worked hard dispute the impeding doom of the hotel.
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