This condo is launching in early 2012. Contact me for floor plans and pricing and your chance to buy before the public launch!

Context Developments is adding to the flurry of pre-construction activity happening in the Fort York neighbourhood with their upcoming Library District Condominiums. The name may seem strange for a condo but their seems to be a connection with a future location of Toronto’s newest and 100th library location to this budding area. (Why one library makes it a ‘district’ I have no idea.) Contact me for more info on this project including floor plans and pricing.

Buyers and investors will no doubt want to compare Context’s offerings with that of Garrison at The Yards by Onni Group. Both projects will be competing for buyers when they officially launch next month. One significant difference between the two projects is that units on floors 2-7 will have 8′ ceilings at the Library District, whereas all the units at Garrison are supposed to be have 9′ ceilings. Also, Garrison is offering laminate floors throughout while Library District has carpet as standard in the bedrooms.

I will be offering my clients a more in depth analysis on these two projects once I have a more complete set of information from both developers to compare them against each other. If you would like to discuss hiring me as your exclusive buyer’s agent for either project, please contact me.

Library District Neighborhood:

The newest condominium – Library District Condominium at Bathurst and Fort York by Context. It features striking contemporary architecture by KPMB. Adjacent to Historic Fort York with 29 storey tower will share a privileged position on the future Mouth of the Creek park with the City of Toronto’s 100th Public Library.
Minutes on foot to King Street Entertainment District, downtown core, Lake Ontario and the martin Goodman trail, library District Condos is in the heart of it all.

Library District Features & Amenities:

Building features include a party room, outdoor amenity terraces, soaring double height fitness room with the latest cardio and strength training equipment, locker rooms with steam saunas, a yoga room, board room, two TV lounges, and two guest suites.

Library District Suites & Fixtures:

Suites on floor 2-7 feature floor to ceiling glass with 8’ tall smooth plaster ceilings; floors on 8-29 are 9’ height ceiling; kitchen feature modern European style cabinetry with horizontal flip-up upper cabinets with a fronted glass cabinet feature and granite countertops, under mount sink, and stainless steel appliances.

Bathrooms also have a horizontal flip up cabinet feature, stone counter top, under mount sink, custom framed mirror and choice of single or dual flush toilets. Flooring features include porcelain tiled foyers, kitchens and bathrooms, with choice of porcelain or pre-engineered hardwood flooring in living and dining areas and carpet in bedrooms.

I attended a very informative and interesting seminar last night at the Market Wharf sales office. The event was put on by Context (the developer behind Market Wharf, Spire, Radio City) and was billed as a ‘Buying a Condo Seminar’. It was open to anyone who is on Context’s marketing email list. Normally I avoid events like these like the plague because they are blatant bait-and-switch sales events designed to lure uneducated consumers into buying a condo at a development they know nothing about. However, this one offered something different and I’m glad I attended.

The questions that the speakers attempted to answer were the questions that I am asked every day by my clients and people I meet through this website:

• What is happening in the condo market?
• Where is the best location to buy?
• Is a condo a good investment?
• Will the condo market crash?

The speakers at the event included the president of Context, a mortgage manager from Scotia Bank, the president of Baker Real Estate (a well-known brokerage for new condo sales in Toronto), a representative from CMHC, and Jane Renwick- Executive VP of Urbanation.

The room was totally packed out and all eyes and ears were on Jane Renwick who spoke last.  Why? Sure, Jan is a good looking gal, but the main reason was because Jane has something that every condo investor, real estate agent, and developer in the city would just about kill to get their hands on – sales data for new condos. You see, there is no MLS-type system for new homes and condos.  No one really knows how many condos are selling, where they are selling, and for how much they are selling…except Urbanation.

Urbanation tracks this data exclusively and sells reports to the devlopment and real estate industry. People pay big bucks to get their hands on this data and rightfully so.

Jane revealed a few slides of this precious data to the crowd and it was illuminating, however, probably not what everyone wanted to see because the data only included the first 2 quarters of 2008. Everyone wanted to know what is happening now, as we are in the middle of a global financial crisis (for the media tells us so).

The basic conclusion was this: after a stunning, record-breaking year in 2007, we are returning to ‘normality’. New condo sales in 2007 were about 22,000. The forecast for this year is that we will probably do more like 16,000 in the GTA – more in line with 2005-2006 numbers. Prices increased at 6.8% in 2008 so far over the same time period in 2007.  According to Jane – a sustainable growth rate moving forward and good news for condo buyers.  Average price per square foot for a new condo in Toronto is about $461. The West-downtown still dominates in terms of number of sales and price per square foot, but the downtown east corridor is gaining speed and represents good long-term investment potential.

If you want to chat about the condo market in Toronto, I’m always up for it. Leave me a comment or drop me an email.

November 2008 update: Plenty of great units still available. For the latest pricing and floor plans, please contact me.

Market Wharf Condominiums by Context Developments. Located at Jarvis and The Esplanade, just south of Front street and the bustling St Lawrence Market. Contact me now for floor plans and pricing for the upcoming VIP sales event.

Market Wharf is another design by Architects Alliance, and specifically Peter Clewes who is probably Toronto’s closest thing to a “Starchitect“. You’ve probably seen Clewes’ designs all over the city but you just didn’t realize it. John Bentley Mays of the Globe and Mail had some good things to say about the tower, see his comments here.

From the developer’s marketing materials: “Playful and robust modern architecture, Market Wharf consists of a sleek 25-storey tower sitting atop an eight storey podium clad in brick. The two storey ground floor includes residential lobbies and fabulous retail shops. ”

Suite features include 9′ ceilings, engineered hardwood in living areas, quartz countertops, porcelain tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances.

Building amenities highlighted by “The Market Club”= an organically shaped two storey pavilion that opens onto a rooftop garden adn houses the building amenities such as state-of-the-art fitness centre, yoga studio, his and her steam and change rooms, a multi purpose room, conference room and media room.

Suites in the project will be divided into 3 categories: Market Flats (suites on the lowest floors of the podium), Market Towns (terraced suites, all on the 6th floor), and Water Suites (tower suites). Prices begin at around $180K for a 390 sq. ft studio in the podium and go right on up to over $600K for a large terraced suite and tower suites on the high floors. Price per square foot are averaging between $450-$580 for most suites. Contact me now for detailed pricing and floor plans and for more information on how you can be among the first to purchase a suite at the upcoming invitation only VIP sales event.

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Deposit structure:

$3000 with offer

balance of 5% in 30 days

5% in 60 days

5% in 270 days

5% in 540 days

Occupancy: Summer/Fall 2011 (varies depending on what type of suite is purchased)

Parking spots: $29,500 (suites of less than 670 sq ft will be wait listed for parking if desired)

Lockers: $3500

Maintenance fees: estimated at 47 cents per square foot with additional parking ($45.16/month) and locker ($10.84/month) maintenance fees.

Taxes estimated at 0.85% of purchase price

Context is the developer behind such award winning projects as Radio City at Jarvis and Carlton, Spire at Church and King, and Mozo at Sherbourne and King.

The project is to be located just south of the St Lawrence market on a parcel of land that is currently a parking lot. Prices will start in the $200s.

Please contact me now for more information and to register for the upcoming VIP sales event.