With the current financial climate, there is a lot of talk lately that some of the condo developments in Toronto that are in the pre-construction stage will not be able to get financing to build and therefore these projects will be canceled. So far this has not happened, but it is a definite possibility, as credit is drying up around the globe, and banks are suddenly gun-shy.
There may be bad news in the months to come, but this post is about some positive news from Canderel Stoneridge – the developer behind College Park 3: Aura. There is an application in with the City of Toronto for a lane closure on Gerrard Street at Yonge Street commencing in January and lasting for 57 months (nearly 5 years).
This is a good sign and presumably it means that construction will commence around January/February of ‘09. If it did, that would be less than 1 year since sales started on the project which is actually quite fast for a new development of this size and magnitude.
My own opinion is that the financial crisis will delay far more projects than it actually cancels. Developers who have sold 50+% of their projects will be loathe to simply abandon them due to a temporary downturn in the availability of credit. I do expect occupancy dates for many pre-sold condos not yet under construction to shift forward significantly as the developers will all have to ‘wait in line’ to get money from the bank before they can start building.
Special thanks to the good folks at UrbanToronto.ca for the tip on this news about Aura.
For more information on College Park Aura, including current availability and pricing, please contact me.
Downloads:
PDF of the Staff Report for the lane closure
PDF map showing the lane closure
November 26th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
It seems that though real estate is on a downturn Toronto may be one of the only canadian cities that will still go strong. With jobs still waiting to be filled hopefully it won’t affect real estate too much.