Big changes are coming to the FAIRMONT ROYAL YORK, 100 Front Street West. The fabled hotel, as close as TORONTO gets to NEW YORK’s Waldorf-Astoria, opened in 1929, and is now undergoing a $100-million dollar renovation.  More than 500 rooms are being fully updated, just in time for the 2015 Pan-American Games, the inauguration of a rail link to Pearson International Airport and the completion of Union Station’s massive overhaul.

In a deal announced this week, a fund managed by real estate company KINGSETT is acquiring a 60% interest in the ROYAL YORK worth an estimated $111.9-million, while INNVEST Real Estate Investment Trust will pay $37,5-million for a 20% share.

Renovations are expected to be completed by January, 2015. The ROYAL YORK’s current operator, FAIRMONT, will continue to run the hotel.