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Two New Condo Projects Rejected Based on Height

The City’s love/hate affair with tall buildings continues. Toronto is one of most high-rise friendly cities in the world, with more projects proposed, under construction, or recently completed than just about every city in the developed world. Still, developers face an uphill battle when looking to build ‘up’. Last week, two condo project proposals were rejected based primarily on the fact that the proposed towers were too tall.

Giraffe Condos at Bloor and Dundas (27 Storeys, TAS DesignBuild) had their project rejected at the OMB, and Theatre Park at King and University (45 Storeys, Brad Lamb) had their project rejected by City Hall. Both decisions were focused on the height of the buildings making them ‘out of context’ for the area they would occupy.

On the surface, the news for Giraffe is potentially worse than for Theatre Park, as once a project is rejected at the OMB level, there is no higher authority for developers to appeal the decision in front of. Brad Lamb can and likely will take their case directly to the OMB as the city is unlikely to concede what they are seeking (45 storeys).

No word yet on what will happen to purchasers at Giraffe, or whether TAS will appeal the OMB’s decision. The future of what would have been a landmark condo tower and potential neighbourhood changer is definitely in doubt. Giraffe has been selling units for about 2 years. Theatre Park has not opened a sales office or started marketing the project in any way, but word on the street is they have been selling units to insiders since the fall.

While I am by definition in favour of more high-rise development downtown, and especially on the subway lines, I believe there is a case to be made for ensuring our condo towers fit into the context of their surroundings and do not adversely affect the street life at the ground level.

To follow some of the discussions on Giraffe or Theatre Park, check out the UrbanToronto.ca message boards.

Questions or comments on these projects? Leave a comment or email me directly.

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The Address at High Park Broker’s Sales Event

The Address at High Park Broker’s Sales event is happening this Thursday Oct. 15. If you are interested in purchasing a unit prior to the public launch of this project, please contact me.

The project will be a 12-storey boutique condominium with street level retail and located at the intersection of Bloor St West and Indian Road, steps from what is probably Toronto’s best park – High Park. There will be a total of 108 units.The builder is Chestnut Hill Homes.

The renderings for this project look fantastic and for buyers looking to move into the High Park area, this represents a great opportunity.

Special incentives exclusive to buyers at the Broker’s Event include:

• Free Assignment,
• Free Bicycle Storage ($1000 value),
• $2500 in upgrades,
• and $10,000-$20,000 off the public-launch list price.

Suite features include 9′ or 9’10″ ceilings, granite or corian kitchen counters, Stainless steel appliances, large terraces on select suites, laminate flooring in all rooms except bedrooms, and all suites qualify for parking spot purchases.

Prices for most suites are starting at about $420 per square foot for the broker’s event.

Click ‘continue reading’ for more information. For pricing and floor plans, contact me.

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The Address at High Park

A chic boutique residence – 12 stories of luxury situated in one of Toronto’s most desirable neighbourhoods.
Steps from the subway and to High Park.

Only 108 Suites
9 foot ceiling on floors 2-10 higher ceiling on PH-1 and PH-2
Party room, complete with caterer’s kitchen, fitness room, theatre room and a private terrace
Boutique style lobby with elegant furnishings
Two passenger elevators
One designer decorated guest suite
Private storage lockers available on floors for added security

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My Electric City Turning Condo Prices Upside Down

November 24 update: Phase 2 launching this weekend. Contact me now for details and to book your preview appointment.

You have probably heard the ads which are all over town: “UpsideDownCondoPrices.com“. In order to remove the mystery surrounding this development I can tell you the ads are for My Electric City. If you are interested in purchasing a suite in advance of the public opening, contact me now.

My Electric City (Dupont and Lansdowne), like so many other condo projects in Toronto, launched in the summer of 2008, just a couple months before the real estate market temporarily collapsed. Sales were slow (compared to what Toronto developers were used to over the past 5 years), and now that the market has recovered, it’s time for a relaunch!

Milborne Real Estate is the marketing and sales company on this project, and it seems they are taking to the formula they so successfully used for Liberty Market Lofts (aka 17′ Ceiling Lofts): a marketing and advertising blitz with a catching campaign slogan in conjunction with a major sales event.

Details:

• Average Price Per Square foot $300-$330
• Parking $20K, Lockers $3K
• Occupancy December 2011
• 1 bedrooms from ~$160K-$195K, 1+dens from ~$180K – $215K, 2 bedrooms from ~$236K – $290K
• Maintenance fees are $0.26 per square foot+ hydro
• Standard suite features include granite counters, stainless steel appliances, laminate flooring in living, dining, den areas

Buyers looking for incredible value, and investors looking for bang-for-your-buck should consider My Electric City. If you would like more information about My Electric City, including floor plans, pricing and how you can purchase a suite NOW, weeks before the public launch, contact me.

Sept 29th update: Project has been selling very well. Floor plans can be downloaded here. Sample Price sheet can be downloaded here. If you are interested in purchasing a unit please contact me.

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Giraffe Condos: Building Redesigned and Prices Lowered

Giraffe condos launched with significant fanfare and acclaim almost exactly 1 year ago. It was about one month later that the real estate market in Toronto all but collapsed. Sales at Giraffe were less than spectacular and like many Toronto developments, they had to react to what the market was telling them.

I’m pleased to announce that Giraffe has significantly lowered their prices across the board, introduced new suites, and kept nearly all the distinctives of the project in place that made it so appealing in the first place.

Prices are now starting as low as $360 per square foot. Prices have essentially been reduced as much as $50-60K for some units. 565 sq ft 1 bedrooms from $212,000, 612 sq ft 1+dens from $224,000, and 833 sq ft 2 bedrooms from just $302,000.

The major changes to the building are these:

• Eliminated the roof-top garden/patio area resulting in significant construction and maintenance savings
• Ceiling heights on lower half of building reduced to 8′ instead of 9′
• Depth of balconies reduced from 6′ to 5′ (but will still have gas lines on them)

Deposit structure is 15% in 180 days + 5% at occupancy (standard). Parking spots are $28K (very reasonable). Maintenance fees are $0.45/sq ft.

Giraffe is a LEED designed building by Teeple Architects.

All these changes have come about with little to no advertising on the part of the developer. Despite this, suites are selling fast with over 30 units sold in the past few weeks. Don’t wait for the mainstream media marketing hype (radio ads, newspaper ads etc) to tell you this is a great opportunity! This project is a great investment NOW. If you are thinking about buying at Giraffe, contact me today.

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Giraffe Condos Offers Confidence Guarantee

Giraffe Condos is offering a three-part guarantee for buyers. From their website:

EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE:

Worried about the financial crisis and possibly losing your job? Purchase with confidence that in the case of a job loss, we will refund all deposits made towards your new home.*

PRICING GUARANTEE:

Take the fear out of buying at the wrong time and dropping home prices.  Purchase with confidence knowing that if the price of your home is lowered we will pass on the savings to you.*

FLEXIBLE DEPOSIT STRUCTURE:

Talk to our sales representatives about structuring your payments so that it makes financial sense to your personal savings and cash flow needs.*

They all have *asterisks* behind them, so make sure you read the fine print, but nonetheless another sign of the time we  are in and kudos to TAS Design Build especially for including the 2nd point about the pricing guarantee. These types of incentives are now a major trend in the Toronto market. If you are buying into a development and they are not offering you good incentives, demand that they do!

I wasn’t around for the last major real estate correction in 1989, but I highly doubt developers at that time were introducing programs like these to stimulate a slagging real estate market. Expect developers to get more and more aggressive with the incentives for the remainder of 2009.

Questions? Comments? Contact me.

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Twenty Gothic at High Park

Description coming soon.

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My Electric City

Description coming soon.

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