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Coming Soon to Regent Park: One Park Place

Coming Soon to Regent Park: One Park Place Condos. This project is the 4th building in the massive Regent Park revitalization project. Contact me now for floor plans and pricing and your opportunity to pick your suite before anyone else!

One Cole was launched in May 2009, One Park West in September 2010, and most recently Paintbox was launched in September 2011. One Park Place is launching this year (likely Spring) and is going to be part of a 2-tower complex, each around 25 storeys or so, and a very large podium section. The podium section is really the most exciting part of the development and possibly will be a game-changer for the entire neighbourhood. Why? The podium will provide an opportunity for a huge amount of retail shops on Dundas, right across from the six-acre park, and it will feature pedestrian friendly mews area. There will be a road that runs north south between One Park Place and Paintbox/The Arts & Cultural Centre, however I’ve been told this road will be frequently shut down for community events, pedestrian-only days etc. I can’t wait to get more details on how the architects and designers are addressing this section of Regent Park as it has such great potential.

As a neighbourhood, the reviews from all my many clients who live in the Regent Park have been positive, and the area is getting better every year. As an investment, the neighbourhood is equally compelling and I have written many articles over the years on this blog illustrating why I think this will be a success over the long term. Everyone who has bought units for investment at One Cole, One Park  West, and Paintbox have done very well.

Below is an infographic which shows the overall plan for the entire Regent Park neighbourhood as it stood when Paintbox was launched about 6 months ago. Click on it for a larger version.

My sales record with this developer has given me “Platinum Status” and that means my clients never have to wait in line and they are able to reserve their unit of choice before anyone else. If you’d like to know more, contact me today for details.

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One Park Place

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Sympatico.ca Picks up the Smallest Condo in Toronto Story

Just 24 hours after TheStar.com wrote their article, Sympatico.ca and Yourmoney.ca picked up the story too. You can read it here.

While the articles were a fun read, what I found most interesting were the comments section of each article.

The article on TheStar.com framed me as a landlord and Realtor. The comments were mostly personal attacks on me, essentially calling me an evil, greedy slumlord and that I should be locked up for even thinking about renting out such a horrible, God-forsaken shoeb0x of a condo at such an exorbitant and oppressive monthly rate. “How dare you!”

The article on Sympatico.ca framed it as my own apartment that I would be living in (even though the author knew that it is an investment unit). The comments section on this article are full of praise for me as a smart and even ecologically sound home owner who is living within my means and not being wasteful. “Good for you for making it work!”

This contrast between the two comments’ sections provides a fascinating glimpse into the human physche, but the point I want to make is that it really underscores my belief that investing in real estate is not for everyone. Many people do not and will never understand real estate, and specifically how it can be a vehicle for wealth creation. Some of us ‘get it’. Some of us don’t. I wrote a couple blog posts last year about the difference between those who get it and those who don’t.

Questions or comments? Please contact me.

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Paintbox Condos: Platinum VIP Sales on NOW

Paintbox Condos is the 3rd condominium to be built in Regent Park which is North America’s largest urban revitalization project. Platinum level VIP sales are on NOW. Contact me if you would like to secure a suite in this fantastic project.

I have written many blog posts about One Cole, One Park West, and now Paintbox condominiums over the past 3 years, and all of my clients who have bought into these first two projects are more than satisfied with their investments. I am a big believer in the future of this neighbourhood and I think the best is yet to come. Those who get in early here will be glad they did in 5-10 years when the entire neighbourhood is finished being rebuilt literally from the ground up.

I need to stress with my clients that the timeline to take advantage of the Platinum VIP sale prices is very short! Demand is expected to equal or surpass that of the first two buildings which were sold out very quickly. Now that the dust has settled and both One Cole and One Park West are both REGISTERED buildings, the public is starting to get a sense of the quality that Daniels is building here and the neighbourhood potential is getting better and better.

For floor plans and pricing for Paintbox, please contact me.

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Jane’s Walk: Great Way to Discover the New Regent Park

Jane’s Walk is happening this weekend and it is a great chance to get to know the new Regent Park neighbourhood. If you are thinking about purchasing a unit at Paintbox Condos when they launch this year, and you are not familiar with the Regent Park revitalization, I highly recommend you check out this great, free event.

Jane’s Walk is named after the noted urban planner/thinker/author Jane Jacobs and celebrates her ideas on urban life and urban development through the simple act of walking through a neighbourhood and getting to know your neighbours. Started in Toronto in 2007, amazingly this event now takes place in over 70 cities worldwide!

Walking tours of the Regent Park neighbourhood will be leaving every 15 minutes starting at 11:00am tomorrow at the Daniels Sales office (on Dundas, just east of Parliament). Tours will last about 1.5 hours. Tour highlights include:

Regarnt Park Presentation Centre, One Cole Condominium, The new ‘Big Park” and Aquatic Centre, The Peace Garden, The new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre, 14 Blevins Place/Nelson Mandela Public School, Children and Youth Hub and Regent Park Focus.

There are dozens of walking tours going on all over the city this weekend. For investors wanting to do due diligence on a neighbourhood before investing, what a goldmine of an opportunity! Looking through the Toronto list, here are some other walks available that sound interesting:

• Making Cityplace a Place, walk led by councillor Adam Vaughan
• A Hipster’s Guide to Ossington
• Discover the Toronto Islands
• East Bay Front Walk

For more details on investment opportunities in the new Regent Park, please contact me.

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East Side of Downtown Set for Transformation

This is just a quick post to link to an excellent article from The Star talking about the transformation and development that is happening on the east side of downtown. Specifically the article makes reference to the Dundas and Sherbourne / Moss Park neighbourhood. Pace condos and the soon to be released Oxygen Maisonettes are two major projects from major developers that are releasing in the area right now. I have already written much on this blog about the revitalization efforts in Regent Park. If you are an investor, seeing what is going to happen in a neighbourhood before it happens is critical.

Happy Easter everyone!

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The Importance of Infrastructure

If you are planning on investing in a condo in 2011, there are many obvious factors to consider: builder track record and reputation, location, price per square foot, building and suite features, layout/floor plan etc. There is one factor that I always consider when buying real estate and that is neighbourhood infrastructure (specifically transportation infrastructure).

This includes roads, transit lines (subways, bus routes, streetcars), access to highways, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes/routes, water access (if near the lake), and any future development plans or potential plans for vacant or underused land. Without solid infrastructure in place, a neighbourhood can stagnate and become segregated from the rest of the city, making it less livable and result in slower appreciation rates compared to other better serviced areas.

Liberty Village is a good case study. Liberty Village is a master-planned community that I believe is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. There is basically only one way in and one way out of Liberty Village, and that is via Liberty Street. Whether you are walking, driving, biking, or taking transit, you are probably on Liberty Street coming and going from this area. The reason for this is simple: the pie-shaped area is bounded on 2 sides by two rail lines and the Gardiner Expressway. Gridlock and traffic congestion is becoming a real issue in Liberty Village (ask anyone who lives there).

There are now plans underway to add a new road to Liberty Village (when was the last time a new road was built in Toronto?!), as well as a pedestrian/cycling tunnel or bridge across the train tracks. This will be something to watch in the years to come and if I was an investor in the neighbourhood, I would be calling the city councillor to push these projects through.

One of the reasons why I am a big proponent of the Regent Park revitalization is that the neighbourhood infrastructure is so strong already. The neighbourhood has been isolated from the rest of downtown for 50 years not by physical barriers, but by social ones. Think about it: streetcar lines on Dundas, Gerrard and Parliament will connect residents to just about anywhere in the city, east or west. Sackville, Sumach, and River streets will all be through streets that will connect the neighbourhood directly to Cabbagetown, Corktown, The West Don Lands, and the Distillery District. Most people don’t realize just how connected Regent Park actually is to a plethora of excellent Toronto ‘hoods, and soon enough will be an excellent ‘hood in itself!

So far the value of real estate in Liberty Village has not been hurt at all by the massive influx of condos (and people, and cars etc), but that is not to say that as thousands more move into this area the ensuing gridlock will not start to affect real estate values in the future.

Questions or comments? Please contact me.

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Regent Park Revitalization Plan

I had the opportunity last week to attend a special luncheon event for the Regent Park Platinum Producers Club (agents who have special insider access to all the upcoming Regent Park condos including Paintbox). They outlined some of the details for the much anticipated project Paintbox Condos, and they also filled us in on the progress of the entire Regent Park Revitalization plan.

I find the above graphic very useful in explaining to first time buyers and investors about what exactly is happening in Regent Park today and over the next several years. [Click on the graphic for the full size image]. Highlights of the new Regent Park will include a massive Aquatic Centre, 6-acre park, pedestrian mews and the Arts and Cultural Centre.

You can quickly get a sense of the scale of the project, as well as in what order things are going to be constructed. Phase 1 is WELL underway with One Cole finished, Sobey’s/Rogers/Tim Horton’s/RBC are all open for business, and One Park West will be completed this summer. Phase 2 is where the real action begins and Paintbox will be right in the heart of it. The two things that will potentially be real ‘game changers’ for Regent Park will be located here:

1. Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre. This building has millions in federal funding behind it and sounds like it will be incredible. This will be a building for TORONTO, not just Regent Park. Key events will happen here. Movers and shakers will spend time here. This could be HUGE for this neighbourhood.
2. Pedestrian Mews. This will be a European-style urban park/walking area that will be landscaped and apparently will have cafes, shops, restaurants attached to it. This will be a car-free zone. Think about the Distillery District feel and how much people love spending time there. On a smaller scale, that is exactly what they are aiming to have in the heart of Regent Park. Very exciting!

If you are interested in investing or living in the new Regent Park, please contact me.

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Coming Soon: Paintbox Condos

February 22 update: Sample Floor Plans Now Available. Contact me for more information.

Coming soon to Regent Park from Daniels: Paintbox Condos. Contact me today to register for this exciting new development.

After selling out One Cole in May 2009, then following that up with a near sell out of One Park West in September 2010, Daniels has already begun work on their next condo tower in the Regent Park neighbourhood. Paintbox will be larger and have more units than One Park West and will be the first development on the south side of Dundas Street. Presumably the name is derived from the fact that it will sit atop the brand new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre. The Centre is yet another example of the millions of dollars (much of it is government money) that is being poured into this neighbourhood over the next decade or so (the others being the aquatic centre and the park).

For those of you who are still doubting the potential of this neighbourhood from an investment perspective, seriously, you need to give your head a shake! Those who bought in the early days of One Cole have already seen as much as a 20% appreciation on their initial purchase price! 2 recent examples:

• 2 bed/2 bath unit that could have been bought for ~$348K (including parking) in May 2009 was sold in November 2010 for $420K.
• 1+den unit that could have been bought for ~$253K (including parking) in May 2009 sold for $305K in September 2010.

One Park West sold out of virtually every suite (except a couple larger units) before it even made it to the general public sales event! All indications are buyers in One Park West will also see excellent ROI.

I have helped several clients buy units in both One Cole and One Park West and they were all very happy with their purchases.  Once again my membership in the Daniels’ “Platinum Producers Club” will grant my clients priority access to this project ahead of all the others. Register with me now for priority access and as always my services are FREE to you as a buyer.

Special note to all my clients: if you choose to register with Daniels and/or join their Inner Circle program via their website, in person, or on the phone, be 100% sure to indicate that you are working with me as your buyer’s agent! Some of my would-be clients were left out in the cold (could not get a unit) when One Park West launched simply because they failed to inform Daniels that they were working with me as their buyer’s agent. For more details, contact me and stay tuned to TrueCondos.com for updates on Paintbox Condominiums over the next few months.

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Paintbox Condos

Platinum VIP sales are on NOW for this project. Contact me for floor plans and pricing.

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