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X2 Podium Units

If you have been waiting on the sidelines recently for a good opportunity to invest, consider this it. X2 is releasing their podium units. 1 bedrooms starting from just $285,900. Only about 50 units being released. Average prices about $540 per square foot (compare that to ~$640 PSF at Nicholas Residences 3 blocks away!)

Sorry for the brevity of this post, more details to come, contact me immediately if you are interested as these suites will be snapped up fast. Units are being booked now for VIPs.

MYC Relaunches in Davisville

MYC launched in late 2008 at the exact moment the bottom began to fall out of the Toronto condo market. It was a strange event to see hundreds of agents show up at the information session for the project and only a small handful actually bring their buyer clients to the sales centre a few days later.

After dismal sales over the first few months of release, Cresford did the unthinkable and actually lowered their prices – significantly. This boosted sales to some degree but it ultimately a legal dispute between Cresford and their business partner on this project meant that the entire project was put on ice. And after many months of being told that the project would eventually relaunch, it finally has! This time Cresford is the sole developer on the project.

The building will be the same building as before – at least the tower suites will all be the same. There may be some changes to to podium suites from what it sounds like. Prices are starting at about $520 per square foot for most suites. Prime south facing suites on higher floors will run you more like $600 PSF. 35% of the building is already sold so there are only about 120 units available for purchase.

I still like the location of this building – right at Yonge and Merton, and the design by architectsAlliance is beautiful and practical. The floor plans are pretty much all excellent. The building is meant to appeal primarily to end-users rather than investors.

Suites are being reserved starting today until Tuesday for the VIP sales period. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a unit at MYC.

Coming Soon: The Berczy

Coming soon to the St Lawrence Market neighbourhood by Concert Properties: The Berczy. Yet another boutique building  designed to be both modern yet keeping in line with it’s surrounding buildings, The Berczy will no doubt be a very welcome addition to the St Lawrence area.  I am predicting prices around $575-$600 PSF for this project. London on the Esplanade is currently selling in the $550 PSF range. Concert Properties is a very active developer outside Ontario, but this is their first solo project I am aware of in Toronto.

When I meet with a buyer for the first time and ask them what neighbourhoods are highest on their wish list, inevitably the St Lawrence Market area is in the top-3. Don’t look now but the St Lawrence market area is one of the hottest and most desirable areas downtown. In some ways the area is now starting to realize the potential it has had for the last 200 years to be one of Toronto’s truly great neighbourhoods. For the better part of the last 25 years the area has been mostly perceived to be a tourist destination and as a home to several low-income and co-operative housing buildings. This perception has changed dramatically and buyers are now lining up for a chance to call this area home. With the addition of London on the Esplanade, L-Tower, Market Wharf and now the Berczy, things are certainly looking up for the St Lawrence Market.

The somewhat odd name is presumably from the name of the park which will be directly across the street from the building and directly west of the famous Flat Iron building.

For more information on The Berczy and to find out how you can buy before the public at any upcoming VIP sales events, please contact me.

Coming Soon: Sync Lofts

Feb 9 Update: Floor plans and Pricing Available now for the VIP sales event. Contact me for more information.

Another boutique condo/loft building by Streetcar Developments is coming to Queen Street East: Sync Lofts. Contact me for info on the upcoming VIP sales event. The Riverside neighbourhood (Queen and Broadview) will be one to watch over the next 5 years. This small pocket has the real potential to become the next King and Bathurst – one of the hottest areas downtown right now. It has all the ingredients of a neighbourhood that is about to ‘pop’: furniture shops, restaurants, coffee houses, historical buildings, excellent transit, and plenty of hipsters. Riverside is good, but not great right now – there is still time to ‘get in’ before this area is fully gentrified.

The building will be 8 storeys and house 97 units. Unique selling features will include built-in iPod docking station with pre-wired speakers, and built-in wifi connectivity – hence the name ‘Sync’.

Units at Streetcar’s recently completed EDGE Lofts across the street from where Sync will be are currently selling in the resale market for approximately $500 Per Square Foot.

There will be a VIP sales opportunity for this project – contact me for more info.

Coming Soon: Bisha Hotel and Residences

King and Spadina is absolutely exploding. Not 10 years ago any self-respecting Torontonian would carefully avoid this once sketchy area.  Now this ultra hip zip code made famous by “M5V” is setting records for prices per square foot with buildings like The Hudson (438 King St) and Glas (25 Oxley) making resale buyers salivate.

Enter Bisha Hotel and Residences by Lifetime Developments (Liberty Market Lofts, X2, Victory Condos) and INK Entertainment. The combination hotel and condo will be situated at 56 Blue Jays way on the former site of the Diesel Playhouse and what was once Leoni’s restaurant for those who were around long enough to remember Leoni’s.

Charles Khabouth is the man behind INK Entertainment and is Toronto’s night club king, owning and running several venues including Guvernment and Ultra Supper Club. His vision for night life, combined with the design of Munge Leung (ICE, Murano, Ritz Carlton, FLY, etc.) and the condo building savvy of Lifetime has me very excited about the possibilities of this project.

It’s hard to describe what Bisha will be like, because there has never been anything quite like it in Toronto, but the concept for the Hotel/Residences was launched at Interior Design Show last month. The style is modern yet classic, elegance without being fussy.  Another first for the city of Toronto: Bisha will incorporate 1 floor of affordable housing in the building which will be rented out to the the hotel employees. I expect this to be a trend-setting move that will be seen more often as the city seeks to incorporate more affordable housing units and developers seek to build more units on every tract of land they own.

Sales will be launching late spring/early summer, however, once again my clients will have priority access to this project because of my excellent track record and relationship with Lifetime Developments. If you are interested in Bisha, please contact me.

Coming Soon: Nicholas Residences

Coming soon from Urban Capital and ALIT Developments: Nicholas Residences.  Register with TrueCondos.com now for your opportunity to buy before the public launch. Floor plans and pricing available now. Worksheets for units being accepted NOW. Don’t delay, contact me today to buy a unit at Nicholas Residences.

Nicholas Residences will be located approximately at the corner of St Nicholas and St Mary Streets in the Bloor Yorkville neighbourhood. Steps to Yonge Street, Bay Street, The Manulife Centre and the heart of Yorkville, The building will incorporate two historic buildings on St Nicholas Street.

Urban Capital is the developer behind Boutique Condos in the entertainment district as well as River City in the West Don Lands.

Coming Soon: ART Condos

Feb 9 update: Pricing and Floor Plans Now Available for the VIP Sales Event. Contact me for more information.

The boutique condo concept seems to be growing in popularity of late with the recent and highly successful launches of The Address at High Park and 2 Gladstone. Buyers it seems, are quite enamored by the idea of living in a smaller low-rise building with minimal amenities in exchange for being in the heart of some of Toronto’s oldest and most established neighbourhoods. Enter: ART Condos by Triangle West Developments.

ART Condos will be located on Dovercourt, just south of Queen street West in the heart of the West Queen West neighbourhood. Dovercourt might be considered off the beaten path by anyone living near the subway lines downtown, but this area is well-known by some of Toronto’s hippest and trendiest people. The area was put on the map a few years back when The Drake opened it’s doors. A Starbucks followed, and Queen Street West has never been the same. Although it is still a gritty haven for artists and creative-types, West Queen West is also now a hotbed of hip and brimming with new condo projects including 2 Gladstone, Westside Gallery Lofts, and Bohemian Embassy.

Very much like The Address at High Park and 2 Gladstone, I expect all studios, 1 bedrooms, and 1+dens to sell out very quickly in this project.  Prices are going to start in the low $200s. For more information about ART Condos including details on any upcoming VIP sales event opportunities, please contact me and bookmark this page for updates.

Coming Soon: DNA3

Canderel Stoneridge, the developer behind College Park Residences 1&2, AURA, and DNA 1&2. DNA3 will be located at 1030 King Street West,on the north side of the street where the former Chrysler dealership buildings still stand. (Google Streetview link).

Units at DNA 1 and 2 are currently selling in the $500+ per square foot range. A fully upgraded terraced unit with parking just sold for over $600 PSF. No official word yet, but I am expecting prices for DNA3 to be starting around $500 PSF.

Canderel Stoneridge has been increasingly taking to the social media airwaves to promote and market their projects and already have a very active Facebook page as well as a Twitter account for DNA3. They recently sponsored a major event in conjunction with Fashion Week. They have definitely started the marketing push early as they are not launching this project until around March 2010.

For more information on DNA3 including details on any upcoming VIP sales event opportunities, please contact me and bookmark this page for updates.

Just for fun, check out this info sheet from waaay back in 2002 when the first phase of DNA was launched. Check out the prices and see how the condo market has boomed over the last 8 years!

Coming Soon: Number One Bloor

The anticipation is growing for Number One Bloor.  Great Gulf Homes acquired the site a few months ago from Bazis International – the former developer of “1 Bloor” who ran into financial troubles and was unable to proceed with the development. Great Gulf Homes is definitely one of the good guys when it comes to condos in Toronto having already completed successfully several Tier-1 buildings in addition to several more in the pipeline.

So what should buyers expect for this time round for this historic address? Expect lineups. Expect a great deal of coverage from the mainstream media. Expect a launch sometime around March 2010. Expect price per square foot to be in the $800-$1000 range. Did I mention lineups? Finally, expect Great Gulf Homes to get this project built!

If you are wondering how there could be lineups to buy condos at $800 PSF, consider the build up and anticipation surrounding this condo (in March it will have been 3 years since they first announced the original 1 Bloor), the intensity of the overall pre-sale market, and the fact that no matter what anyone says, Yonge and Bloor is a very important intersection and always will be. They aren’t making any more land on Yonge Street!

Interesting that the old Bazis website for “1 Bloor” has been removed and now both 1bloor.com and 1bloor.ca redirect to NumberOneBloor.com which is the developer’s official site.

If you would like to be updated when more information becomes available for Number One Bloor, including details on any upcoming VIP sales events, please contact me.

5/5/5: 5 Units Under $500K Available for Purchase with only 5% Deposit

December 7th update: After posting this last first last Thursday, nearly every single unit has been sold. One great unit still remains, contact me for details.

Recently I have been encouraging my clients to see past the hype of the latest flavour-of-the-month condo projects and consider buying at existing new developments that may be as much as 80-90% sold out. Some of these are offering excellent value compared to their newly launched competitors.

Common wisdom says that the best time to buy a new condo is always at the VIP stage – the earliest possible point where prices will always be lowest.  This is usually true, but when a developer sees a lineup outside his sales centre that is 2 blocks long before he opens his doors, rest assured he is going to tell his sales department to raise the prices because they are obviously not charging enough! The end result is many buyers who buy at these VIP events are shocked when they compare the price they paid with the price they thought they were going to pay based on pre-VIP sale advertised price points.

Here are 5 units that are currently available for purchase with only 5% total deposit at two great developments at King and Spadina – M5V and Victory, and one in Liberty Village – Liberty Market Lofts. This is a true 5% down, with nothing further due at occupancy.*

1. M5V Condominiums – “M17″ unit, 721 Sq Ft, 1+den, 29th floor, $442K
2. M5V Condominiums – “M30″ unit, 852 Sq Ft, 2 bed, 26th floor, $502K
3. M5V Condominiums – “M23A” unit, 763 Sq Ft, 2 bed, 30th floor, $471K
4. Victory Condominiums – “Darling A” unit, 765 Sq Ft, 2 bed, 11th floor, $405K
5. Liberty Market Lofts – 885 Sq Ft, 1+den, 5th floor, $385K

*Disclaimer: Limited time offer. Prices and conditions subject to change at any time. Information is deemed to be accurate but TrueCondos.com and Andrew la Fleur do not guarantee accuracy. Some conditions apply. Contact me for details.