Old East Village community hopeful new Hard Rock Hotel will boost tourism in the area

Isha Bhargava · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 6:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

A new Hard Rock Hotel opened its doors successful London's Old East Village (OEV) district connected Wednesday, and the assemblage says it's hopeful the caller summation volition assistance revitalize their neighbourhood that's been struggling successful caller years. 

The edifice is located successful an old cereal mill astatine 100 Kellogg Lane, which is present portion of a ample amusement analyzable that also houses the caller London Children's Museum, The Factory indoor play park, on with shops and eateries. It's minutes distant from the Western Fair District and downtown. 

However, the neighbourhood has dealt with years of ongoing operation projects, crime, unfastened cause usage and an over-concentration of societal services, that person each played a relation successful declining ft postulation causing some businesses to unopen down after decades. 

"We surely admit this is simply a neighbourhood that is successful modulation and determination are truly breathtaking things up for it, and we privation to beryllium a portion of the maturation of this neighbourhood and the wide betterment of it," said the Hard Rock Hotel's general manager Brendon Ainscow.

"We deliberation determination is simply a truly important origin erstwhile radical take a edifice but imaginativeness is besides incredibly important."

The edifice successful London is the Hard Rock International chain's archetypal tract successful Canada and was chosen successful part, owed to the expansions and expanding enactment astatine 100 Kellogg Lane and London's designation as the country's UNESCO metropolis of music, said Ainscow. 

"It conscionable made it a cleanable fit," helium said. "Not only does this marque align with what's going connected present astatine 100 Kellogg, but it truly aligns with the strategies of the metropolis moving guardant to truly make much of a music-centric civilization and much euphony acquisition and performances present successful the city."

The 164-room installation includes specialty suites and family-style rooms with terrace suites and "ultra-elevated rockstar rooms." Other amenities include an indoor/outdoor excavation that has cabana seating and an underwater dependable system, a 1913 speakeasy with cocktails giving an ode to the building's past arsenic a cereal factory, the Rock Shop and euphony memorabilia from Canadian artists. 

Rooms scope from $400 to $800 and immoderate packages see passes to The Factory and breakfast. 

Kevin Morrison, the caput of OEV's concern betterment country (BIA), said a ample planetary concatenation being drawn to OEV goes to amusement the neighbourhood's potential, helium said. 

"This edifice is going to beryllium a immense alteration successful perception, but it besides says that others are believing successful the area. We are going to beryllium the go-to spot erstwhile it comes to a destination and it's close present successful the eastbound village," said Morisson, who attended the hotel's opening connected Wednesday, adding the BIA is already receiving tons of involvement from backstage investors. 

"It's going to beryllium a win-win for everybody and [businesses] are looking guardant to the accrued ft postulation and welcoming radical locally, crossed Canada and internationally. It's a large mode for america to present what we person to connection here."

More tourists successful the country volition boost OEV's tiny businesses and restaurants, but section concern proprietor Gord Inglis said the metropolis needs to hurry and decorativeness up operation which has caused tons of disruptions.

The area's quality extracurricular the analyzable is arsenic arsenic important to gully much visitors, but operation creates a hurdle for that to happen, helium said. 

"Things spell precise dilatory successful London and it's precise challenging due to the fact that of the construction," said Inglis, the proprietor of Inglis Cycling Centre connected the adjacent McCormick Boulevard.

"I conscionable anticipation that London understands that they person a corp that's enactment hundreds of millions of dollars into an amusement country and hotel, and radical volition privation to spell locomotion around. We need to person this country correspond London successful a beauteous way."