By Gyle Konotopetz Business Edge

It is a Harry Stinson kind of day.

Harry is shoe-horning 100 or so jobs into a 14-hour window. Which is crazy, if you're Donald Trump - or anyone, for that matter. But this is Harry Stinson.

Officially, Harry Stinson is president of Stinson Properties Inc. Unofficially, he is developer, manager, promoter, designer, philosopher, critic, interior decorator, baker, backup bellhop, Rolls Royce polisher and chief bottle washer. And that's just before lunch.

Ken Kerr, Business Edge
With his downtown Toronto development nearing completion, Harry Stinson is already pitching for a new jewel.

At the moment, he is juggling an interview at his office in the lobby of the 1 King West condominium hotel skyscraper with those 100 or so other jobs. Toronto's Condo King is pitching the special of the day, the $20,000-for-one-night-a-year penthouse suite at 1 King West, when he spots some dubious-looking characters in the lobby trying to cop a ride in one of Harry's personal collection of antique limousines.

"Those guys guests of the hotel?" shouts Harry, who isn't particularly fond of freeloaders and impostors on his prized property.

He is told that they are. "OK," says Harry, returning to the interview. "You know, you have to be careful who's taking the limos. Last week, we had a relative of a guest go for a ride around the block in the limousine and a few hours later ... " The impressive 51-storey 1 King West, which is nearing completion, is Harry's warmup act. The main event is supposed to be the nearby Sapphire Tower project, which has been billed as Canada's tallest residential tower, but the plan was unanimously rejected on Nov. 15 by members of Toronto and East York Community Council.

Even without the likely appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board about the Sapphire ruling, Harry had his work cut out for him in this skyscraping business as New York real estate mogul Donald Trump is billing his planned Trump International Hotel & Tower project - a stone's throw from the Sapphire - as Canada's tallest.

Curiously, Harry has been playing down the skyscraper war. But skyscraping is his life and you get the feeling that Harry Stinson won't be trumped by Trump without a fight. Even if it takes working 24 hours a day.

1. You spend most of your waking hours working. Why?

"That's just the way I've always worked. That's just the way I am. I've been that way for 35 years, since I opened my first business. I'm just obsessed with what I do. There's no plan to it. It's just the way I am."

2. What was your first business venture?

"My cousin and I had a rowboat at the cottage. We baked homemade bread. We'd row around the lake (Lake Muskoka) and sell the bread, juices and other things to the cottagers. Our homemade bread was very popular. I was 10 or 11 then. It was not a big business. But we probably made enough for a 10-year-old to think it was a lot of money. I am not from a wealthy background. I'm not going to plead poverty, but there was no inheritance to start. It was a boring middle-class family. My father (Fred Stinson) was a small businessman. He was in the film business, doing film advertising. As a youngster, I was always fascinated by buildings and the creative process of design. I was particularly interested in specially significant buildings as opposed to doing a house or something. I'm not much of a small-scale person. I'm much more of a wide-screen, big-project sort of person."

3. You dropped out of university (as a freshman at York University). What were you studying?

Toronto developer Harry Stinson.

"I have no clue. I mean, in your first year you had to do gen-ed (general arts). I started and thought, this is pointless. I was just falling asleep in class. I was in the restaurant business at the time and I had a choice: Do I stay with the restaurant or do I close the restaurant and focus on university? I figured, to hell with it, I'm getting nothing out of this (university). Since that time, I have employed an awful lot of very well-educated dishwashers, valets and so on. It (education) means nothing to me. I see people coming out of universities with impressive degrees and they're complete idiots. The reality is that the real secret to it is instinct, a lot of which, of course, is based on experience. You have to have the instincts, the courage and the willingness to accept a mistake. Some of the worst businesspeople out there are the people who are terrified of making a mistake. And by the time they've insulated themselves with all the precautions and advisers and consultants and slow steps and lack of decisions, the business falls apart. It's paralysis by analysis."

4. What was your first major business venture?

"I started in the restaurant business with the Groaning Board restaurant in the 1970s in Yorkville (Toronto). It struck me that you put in very long hours and you don't really make that much money with a small restaurant. So I figured that if I was going to be putting in the hours I might as well do something that would make me a lot of money. The real estate agents seemed to drive nice cars. I got my real estate licence and started selling individual properties, initially in commercial real estate. I then discovered that I didn't really like commercial real estate because it was an old boys' club and they didn't like anyone new coming in from left field. So I decided to specialize in condominiums and I became well known for being quite knowledgeable in condos. I aggressively sold them, I got to know all the condos in the city and I took to it like I do everything, obsessively. I became sort of a resource for the industry and I thought, 'This is no good, now I'm just doing a lot of free consulting for everyone.' So I opened up my own brokerage in condominiums (Stinson Real Estate, which was sold in 1998). I built it up to become one-third of the Toronto condo market. Then I got into condominium development, starting with the Candy Factory (Toronto's first major loft-style project)."

5. How did your current project, 1 King West, get started?

"I bought a small piece of land at King and Yonge streets for $3 million. It wasn't in itself an impressive piece of land, but it did have the approvals to build a tower of over 50 storeys with unlimited height. Then, I managed to bring in an investor, David Mirvish (the theatre producer), into the project and because of his presence we were able to acquire the old TD Bank headquarters next door. We incorporated that building into the project. It's now operating as a 572-suite condominium hotel right in the heart of the financial system. We're syndicating the penthouse suite (Penthouse One) so we keep it as part of the hotel. That way, for a small amount of money - $20,000 - people get to vicariously be part of the building. Normally, a small suite here costs a quarter million or higher."

6. Why didn't you finance the project with a bank?

"Most of the things I've done, whether it's restaurants or lofts or a high-rise hotel condo, have tended to be unique products that, without a local precedent, aren't something conventional bankers want to get involved with. Banks don't like surprises. And I don't do that (conventional products).

"What I've been doing, and it's not because I like being ornery, are more, shall we say, creative things. To my mind, there'd be no challenge in doing something that is everywhere else. There'd be no appeal to it. Having said that, at some point you eventually do require credibility to pull this stuff off. So that's why in the next project (Sapphire Tower) I do not have any partners. I'm not a very good partner."

7. How will you finance that project?

"I have set up my own company, Stinson Financial. We issue our own financing instruments. I will put out an offering memorandum or we'll secure a syndicated mortgage."

8. What are the issues that you've had in your partnership with David Mirvish on 1 King West?

"I've had some serious differences of opinion with representatives of Mr. Mirvish. I stick to my guns on the vision that I want to build and oftentimes, in the construction development industry, you work with people who are basically passive investors who see that there are more economic ways of doing things. And I tend to be a person who focuses on the full vision and delivering on the vision because it's something that reflects personally on me. So we have had some spirited differences on issues where I would do it one way and he would do it another. Obviously, there was a cost differential. I don't cut corners, let's put it that way. Most people coming in the door think King 1 looks terrific, but I'm not satisfied. David Mirvish will not be involved in the Sapphire project, but that decision was not the result of having been disappointed with his experience with 1 King. There was never any discussion on him going beyond 1 King."

9. What's your vision for the Sapphire Tower?

"It will be the tallest residential building in the country. It will be a very mixed-use building. It will have residences, it will be a hotel, it will have offices, it will have full conventional facilities and, architecturally, it will be the most spectacular building in Toronto and probably in the country, I suspect. It will be 91 storeys. I would suspect the Sapphire Tower will end up costing in the range of $400 million."

10. So what if Donald Trump's projected tower across the street is taller?

"I welcome the competition. We're both about the same height, really. They're saying 72 floors, but they have taller ceilings. It doesn't matter that much to me (if Trump's is taller). It's just promotion. Who really cares? I mean, if he goes 100 floors, I may try and go for 100 floors but that's just because it's a nice punchy number. I think the smartest thing their organization can do right now is start building. They've been sitting there with the parking lot now for 4 1/2 years and there's a lot of skepticism as to whether it will get built. If we have two stunning buildings on the skyline, that's good. If you've got one rug store on the street, nobody goes there for rugs unless they just sort of fall in the door. But if you've got seven rug stores on the street, then people go there because it's the rug district. Toronto's a pretentious city and we like to talk about our theatre district and our residential district, but Toronto's like Canada in general. We're basically a bunch of wannabes. Canadians don't do spectacles like Americans. We don't do architecture heritage the way Europeans do. We don't do systems the way (Asians) do. Canadians tend not to push and go the extra mile."

11. If Canada's culture, as you've said, has its parking brake on, why are you here?

"I will be building in the U.S. But I happen to have some roots here and I have family here. The one advantage is that if you're a bit flamboyant in a city that is fundamentally dull, you stick out. But if you're flamboyant in Los Angeles, who gives a damn? In Toronto, which is just painfully boring in terms of its personality, I tend to stick out because I'm a little off the wall. I'm not really a flamboyant person. I don't party, I don't drink, I don't have a particularly wild lifestyle, I have a four-year-old daughter and I get a kick out of walking to McDonald's with her on my shoulders."

12. What specifically makes it so difficult to do business in Toronto?

"Toronto is just a city that's jammed full of consultants who tell you why you can't do this or you can't do that. The simplest little thing turns into an enormously complicated process full of experts telling you why this won't work and why that won't work. It's just a mind-numbing culture. It's not a get-things-done culture. It's incredibly frustrating."

13. You've been compared a lot lately to Donald Trump. How do you view his career as an entrepreneur and what can you learn from him?

"I try and learn a lot from what he's done, but Donald Trump started off with a very wealthy developer father. If you have a very powerful and wealthy parent who already has credibility in that field and they bankroll you, it's a very different thing from being a kid with a coffee shop who suddenly was going to be a big deal developer. I mean, I didn't have any credibility or money to do it. Donald, I think, is one of the most brilliant promotional people. I think he's a very savvy businessperson. I have a lot of admiration for him and I've read a lot about him and I've studied a lot about him. I don't deliberately try to contrast myself as being less polished and slick. I mean, I don't wear the elegant suits and silk ties. I don't have the coiffed hair or anything. I'm rather different. I'm much more hands on."

14. Have you met Trump?

"No. Well, I have physically been in his presence but he wouldn't remember. I haven't met him in any formal way. Actually, I'm intrigued that there's been no contact. I did try to contact him a while ago and actually think we could massage this little battle a little more if we tried, although I don't think there is a conscious battle. The two projects have gotten a lot more attention because of all this (publicity). I would do business with him. But I understand that I should watch my back - or so I'm told. It may be sour grapes from people, but I've heard he's very tough to deal with. Frankly, I would think that someone in the development business would have to be tough to deal with. That's the secret of the business. It's not whether you have nicer faucets, it is a day-in, day-out grind. You're banging away constantly so you do have to be tough."

15. Most entrepreneurs go through financial calamities at some point in their career. What's been the toughest stretch for you?

"I would say the toughest part is actually right now. 1 King has just opened. We only have 290 rooms out of 572 opened. The restaurants aren't fully functional yet. The building's not up and running full blast. But the expenses are very high, the building hasn't closed, the suites haven't paid out and the Dominion Club isn't open yet. So I'm absolutely up to my eyeballs to get this thing going. Sapphire is just getting going, which is going to be incredibly expensive to get rolling, and Highpark Lofts (condo complex) is still under construction. So the expenses of three projects that are collectively worth over a billion dollars are ... well, that's like having a giant intravenous stuck in your arm and the blood goes out."

16. What's your vision beyond your current portfolio of projects?

"Well, it wouldn't be in Toronto. We are looking at expansion of the hotel network. Actually, I'd very much like to do some work in New York and overseas. I enjoy this business because it's a combination of the restaurant and real estate business. My ideal would be to literally get an island or a complete neighbourhood or territory somewhere and develop it as a community, similar to what Disney has done with their development in Florida. The part that fascinates me about the hotel business is that you don't just build the building and turn over the keys. If you build the building and operate it, it comes to life as a building, not just a brick."

17. Are you losing sleep over the talk of a real estate bubble?

"No, not in the slightest. In Canada, condo prices have lagged the rest of the world and they still are increasing far slower. The market has stayed relatively stable in terms of value and it's not an inflationary bubble. But if you look at the demographics of the city, now there's a very strong, steady and real migration of people all over the map in the suburbs into downtown. That's because commuting is so horrendous, the transit hasn't been improved for 30 years, traffic is getting appalling and the downtown is safer than the suburbs. Say the market does implode, which I don't think it's going to do, there would be all sorts of great product for me."

18. What's the most valuable lesson you've learned in business?

"Two things. The single most important criteria for getting there is just total driven persistence. You just keep banging away. The second thing is that the adults are a bunch of phoneys. When you're a kid, you think, 'When I grow and I get a suit, I'll be an adult and I'll know so much more and I'll be smart and knowledgeable.' After a while, you realize they're just a bunch of kids in suits. I mean, I am astonished that civilization muddles along as well as it does."

19. How has money changed you?

"It hasn't changed me as a person. I think what I've learned about money is that it's critical to getting unusual things done. It is very powerful because in Canadian society, it's so bloody difficult to get anything done. On the collegial and bureaucratic level, it is absolutely critical to be able to say, 'just do it.'"

20. Do you think one day you might regret that you spent so much of your life working?

"I'll regret that I didn't have 24 hours more in a day."

Harry Stinson

* Title: President, Stinson Properties Inc.

* Born/raised/age: Toronto/52.

* Education: High school.

* Family: Wife Linda Panning, one daughter.

* Career: Stinson is known mainly for his distinctive style as a condominium developer. Although that's his primary focus these days, he started his entrepreneurial career in the restaurant business. He operated the Groaning Board, Toronto's first non-smoking restaurant, and Mad Hatter's Tea Party, a restaurant for children's birthday parties. He founded and operated Stinson Real Estate in the 1980s and 1990s before selling it in 1998. Among the condo projects he has designed or developed are 1 King West, a condominium hotel project; the Candy Factory, Toronto's first major loft project; the Knitting Mill; the Victorian; and Grangetown. He is on the executive of the Greater Toronto Homebuilders Association.

* Pastime: Collecting antique cars (he recently made successful bids on two Rolls Royces on eBay).

* Wheels: Stinson drives a 1962 Cadillac Sedan de Ville.

Stinson Properties Inc

* Brass: Harry Stinson, president; Steve O'Brien, general manager.

* Profile: Stinson Properties is a real estate developer focused on the Toronto condominium/hotel market.

* Key Properties: 1 King West, a 51-storey condominium hotel project that recently opened in downtown Toronto; the Dominion Club, a private club at 1 King West; and Highpark Lofts condominium complex at 73 Richmond St. West.

* Diamond In the Rough: Stinson Properties is developing the proposed 91-storey Sapphire Tower condominium hotel in downtown Toronto. The project has yet to break ground.

* Website: www.stinsonproperties.com

* Address: 73 Richmond St. West, Toronto, M5H 1A1.

* Phone: 416-369-9993/ 1-888-851-3393.

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)