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Ritz-Carlton One Day Sale

The Ritz Carlton is having a One Day Sale to celebrate their grand opening and imminent completion of the building. On Saturday April 30, buyers are invited to purchase one of the last remaining suites at specially discounted prices. Contact me for more details.

The Residences of The Ritz-Carlton is almost complete. The hotel opened up a few weeks ago and already it is becoming a major hot spot. The multiple restaurants and bars at the hotel are receiving rave reviews and you’ll have to book a week or two in advance if you want to dine at TOCA by Tom Brodie.

On a tour of the building recently, I encountered a resident who had only just moved into his suite about 3 days before. His description of what it is like living at The Ritz Carlton I think was perfect. He said, “It’s like living in a fantasy land”. And that’s exactly what life is like when you are living in not just one of the top condos in Toronto, in one of the best locations in Toronto, but also living atop a global icon of a five-star hotel.

There are 19 suites still available, all with occupancies slated for this year. Sizes range from just under 1400 sq ft up to the sub-penthouse, half-floor Valencia model at just over 6000 sq ft. Prices start at $1.5M-$9.65M. Cash discounts for this one day only sale amount to $155K-$300K off the list prices and prices will be increased starting May 2.

For more details including floor plans and pricing, please contact me.

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ICE 2 Launching This Month

The second tower of ICE Condominiums by Lanterra Developments and Cadillac Fairview is about to be launched. Sales at tower 1 started back in July 2008, and that tower is well over 80% sold out.

The development is part of the York Centre community which is located at York and Bremner. Lanterra and Cadillac Fairview are the developers behind the highly successful Residences of Maple Leaf Square which will be right across the street from ICE. Other Lanterra projects include: WaterParkCity, 22 Wellesley, One Bedford, Murano and Burano, and 18 Yonge street.

Wondering what all the buzz is about for this project? To begin, it is going to be big. Really BIG! The second tower is to be a 65-storey super-tower which would put it in the ultra-exclusive height category that currently only Aura, Trump Tower, Shangri-La, and the Ritz Carlton occupy after the recent death of 1 Bloor.

Also, it is to have a direct underground connection to the PATH system via Maple Leaf Square, the ACC and Union Station. Perks will include being able to leave your coat in your condo as you walk indoors to the 40,000 square foot Longo’s grocery store in the base of Maple Leaf Square, or catch a game or concert at the ACC.

Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance (One of Canada’s resident Starchitects) designed the building and judging by the renderings it will certainly stand out and has real potential to be that landmark building that investors and condo buyers are always looking to be a part of.

It goes without saying that suites will feature stone counters, hardwood floors, stainless steel European appliances, cutting edge design and finishes, and 9′ ceilings. These are not entry level, low-end condos. Prices are going to most likely be in the $600-$650 per square foot range at the launch phase.

Prices and floor plans for the upcoming VIP broker’s sales event should be released soon. If you are interested in buying a suite at ICE 2 prior to the public launch, please contact me.

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Developers Getting Aggressive With Buyer Incentives

Resale prices have dropped, sales figures are a fraction of what they were a year ago, and buyers are out there but reluctant to pull the trigger. What’s a Toronto condo developer to do?

In a slow market, developers are loathe to actually lower their prices as it devalues the entire project, pisses off previous purchasers and investors, and is generally considered to be a major sign of weakness. So how does one sell condos en masse in this market? More and more developers are getting creative with buyer incentive programs.

The Ritz-Carlton just started a promotion where, for the next 10 units sold, buyers will receive $250,000 in travel vouchers, redeemable in $25,000 increments every year for the next 10 years at for visits to any Ritz-Carlton hotel in the world. Wow. Even I am impressed by that. There are 29 units still available, ranging from $1.3-million to $9-million for 1,400 to 6,000 square feet. One of two lower penthouses is still available.

Bloor Street Neighbourhood and Casa – both projects by Cresford near Yonge and Bloor under construction and occupying in about 12 months – are offering purchasers of 2 bedroom units to ‘live free for a year’. How this works out is a credit upon closing that is equivalent to 1 years worth of mortgage payments on your condo. Doing the math on the purchase of a $660,000 unit, this promotion amounts to roughly $31,000 or 4.7% of the purchase price. Not too shabby and certainly much better than anything that was available to purchasers in the fall of ’08.

Expect to see more and more of these incentives popping up at new developments as developers and marketers attempt to lure would-be buyers off the fence and into a new condo.

Photo from Urban Toronto member Solaris

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The Best Penthouse in Toronto: Ritz-Carlton

Welcome to your online guide to “The Best Penthouse Suites in Toronto“. In this installment I will be profiling the penthouse suite at The Residences At The Ritz-Carlton.

Author’s note: This blog post was originally published in 2008. Hence, some of this information may be out of date. For the most up-to-date information regarding the best penthouse suites in Toronto, please contact me.

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ICE Condos by Lanterra Developments

**OCTOBER 2009 UPDATE: ICE TOWER 2 TO BE LAUNCHED THIS MONTH. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.**

ICE condos VIP sales event is coming soon. Register with Andrew now for VIP access to this incredible project! Get in BEFORE the public.

FLOOR PLANS AND PRICING ARE AVAILABLE NOW.

Lanterra is the developer behind the Maple Leaf Square development, right across the street from where ICE will be and a favourite condo for fans of Toronto’s favourite sports team. Lanterra is actually building a total neighbourhood in this previously derelict tract of land that is now in the centre of all the downtown action. Steps from the ACC, Union Station and the TTC, the lakeshore, Roger’s Centre, Entertainment and financial districts.

ICE will be part of a larger community called YORK CENTRE and Lanterra is partnering with the well-known commercial/retail developer Cadillac Fairview. York Centre will consist of a 31 storey 800,000 sq. ft of office tower along with the two ICE residential towers and a 1 acre landscaped public space surrounded with retail outlets.

Units will range in size from 400 sq ft. bachelors to 1100 sq. ft 3 bedrooms. Prices will start from the low $200s.

Three reasons why this project is particulary interesting to investors and first time buyers:

1) Size of the project. Two towers, 55 and 65 storeys high will make ICE one of the largest condos in the downtown core.

2) No assignment fee. This means that if you purchase a unit at ICE and you decide to sell your unit prior to final registration of the building, you can do so for free. No assignment fee to pay to the builder. Normally assignments on pre-construction condos in Toronto are possible but they usually cost the seller around $2500-$5000 depending on the builder and depending on the project. This will be especially important to investors.

3) Building features. Stunningly unique architecture, Leed certification, the largest green roof ever built in Toronto, direct PATH and subway access.

This project is going to be HUGE and is already drawing plenty of attention both here in Toronto and around the world. Please contact me now for floor plans and pricing on this project or if you would like to purchase a suite before the public launch at VIP prices.

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