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ON ON2 SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015 SECTION H

Bryan BaeumlerHow to renew a wooden deck, resurface a concrete porch, H2

tridel.com

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Zark Fatah has been part of a decades-longevolution in the Entertainment Districtthat began, for him, working as a nightclubbartender in the mid-’90s.

Back then, recalls Fatah — now a partnerin Capture Group, the firm behind high-profile downtown spots such as nightclubMaison Mercer, Hammam Spa and Blow-fish Restaurant — Toronto had just a hand-ful of clubs.

Fast forward through years of intenseeffort by Fatah and fellow promoters toinject energy into Toronto’s nightlifescene. They brought in DJs, threw themeparties and did all sorts of other cool andcreative things to “give people a reason togo out.”

By the dawn of the new millennium, thecity’s nightlife scene “really blew up,” hesays. “I think at one point there were 84entertainment liquor licences for night-clubs.”

The evolution continued and shifted, andrecent years have seen a decline in Toron-to’s clubs with a corresponding rise in therestaurant scene — particularly in the En-tertainment District, a change in whichFatah has again been a catalyst.

“We have a world-class entertainmentscene now, and I’m proud to talk aboutthat any time.”

And talk about it is what Fatah does in anew video campaign by Lifetime Devel-opments called The Connected Collectionthat spotlights the dynamic, diverse com-munity the Entertainment District has be-come.

And dense, with tall condo towers bring-ing thousands of new residents into theneighbourhood.

Fatah is one of eight people who haveplayed a key role in shaping the area’scoming of age and who discuss their con-nection — or bond — to the neighbour-hood in one-minute video spots.

They include Charles Khabouth, CEOINK Entertainment; Khao San Road res-

taurant owner Monte Wan; and comedi-an/improviser Hayley Kellett.

“Entertainment is now not just night-life,” Fatah says in his minute-long video.

“There’s theatres, there’s lounges, pri-vate clubs, hotel lobby bars, so this area ofToronto really is, I would say, the mostdynamic district in Canada.”

The campaign is in support of Lifetime’sThe Bond, a 42-storey condo that’s cur-rently under construction at 290 Ade-

laide St. W., just west of John St. Launched in 2011, the project, designed

by Core Architects, is nearly sold out. Butthe developer received permission fromthe city to add two extra residential floorsto the tower, so additional units are nowavailable (suite design is by Tomas PearceInterior Design Consulting; prices startat $391,900).

Also being released for sale is the Bond’s$3.99-million penthouse, a 3,568-square-

foot, full-floor unit with a 1,913-square-foot terrace. And there’s a new collectionof terrace suites.

“The Entertainment District is a hugesuccess for the city, and it’s where peoplewant to live these days,” says LifetimeDevelopments vice-president BrianBrown, whose firm has done several pro-jects in the area. “

They’re talking about an evolution

Zark Fatah, left, and Lifetime Developments vice-president Brian Brown at Maison Mercer during a break in taping for a video series featuring Fatah.KEVIN VAN PAASSEN FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Local luminaries discuss Toronto’s dynamic Entertainment District in video series for The Bond condos

“This area ofToronto reallyis, I would say,the mostdynamic districtin Canada.”ZARK FATAH

LIFETIME continued on H16

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>>HOMES & CONDOS

It’s really evolved and changed overthe last decade into something spe-cial.

Hints of the evolution were givenby Jane Jacobs, the outspoken andworld-renowned Toronto urbanolo-gist.

“When you combine things that areused in the evening, like theatre, withthings that are used in the day, likeoffices — if you combine the daytimeand the evening uses, you get twoshifts of people who then patronizethe area,” Jacobs noted to a Star re-porter in 1992 about the neighbour-hood’s active mixed use.

By last year, the EntertainmentDistrict accounted for over 10 percent of new condo constructionacross the city. On top of its socialand cultural draw, the area’s publictransit access and proximity to theFinancial District give it strong resi-dential appeal.

The seven short Connected Collec-tion videos, plus a short documenta-ry-style piece putting them all to-gether, will be released once a week.The first came out yesterday onFacebook and YouTube.

The campaign also features a walk-ing-tour video that takes the viewerto visit popular spots in the Enter-tainment District, including a coffeeshop, the TIFF Bell Lightbox andMontecito restaurant — all neigh-bourhood amenities for residents ofthe Bond.

“You’re watching somebody gothrough the district, and seeing themthrough the day into the night andlate evening,” Brown explains. “Soyou really get a full appreciation forhow diverse it is, how many differentpersonalities the district itself hasand how people can experience somuch by living in the neighbour-hood.”

The third part of The Bond cam-paign builds on a successful Insta-gram promotion last year by Life-time; the builder invited people tosubmit photos of their favourite En-tertainment District spots using thehashtag #BondTO. New print ads forThe Bond will include submittedphotos in a mosaic that fills up the

outline of the condo building.It’s understandable that Lifetime

would craft what is in effect a loveletter to the Entertainment District.Brown points out the firm has playeda role in the growth of the area. Be-fore The Bond, there was M5V atKing St. W. and Blue Jays Way; andLifetime has started construction on

the highly anticipated Bisha Hoteland Residences, in partnership withKhabouth’s INK Entertainment. Inall, the firm has been involved withmore than 14 downtown projects andsold more than 6,000 condo suitesover the past eight years.

“From the beginning, we’ve had acommitment to the Entertainment

District and its evolution,” saysBrown, who sat on the area’s BIA andtook part in the John Street CulturalCorridor, a stretch of widened side-walks and expanded pedestrianspace running from Grange Park be-hind the AGO south to the foot of theCN Tower.

“But back then, we were selling a

vision; telling people this is what’sgoing to happen in the Entertain-ment District. Today, they can comedown and actually experience what’sit’s like to be there. It’s matured, andit’s got great momentum and diversi-ty.

“And that’s what we wanted to cele-brate with this campaign.”

A love letter to the Entertainment DistrictLIFETIME from H1

An artist’s rendering shows The Bond penthouse, a full-floor, 3,568-square-foot suite with a 1,913-square-foot terrace priced at $3.99 million.

Location: 290 Adelaide St. W.Developer: Lifetime DevelopmentsArchitect: Core Architects; interiordesign by Tomas Pearce InteriorDesign ConsultingSize: 42 storeysUnits: 393; 327 sq. ft. to 3,568 sq.ft.Price: $391,900 to $3.99 millionInfo: thebond.ca | info@thebond.ca

> THE BOND

Poolside at The Bond, which is designed by Core Architects.

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Like us on Facebook to learn more*Renderings are Artists concept. Prices & infosubject to change without notice. Bonusapplicable on select suites. E.&O.E.