Category Archives: Toronto Townhouses & Townhomes
In Toronto’s west end, modern homes of a human scale
Lisa Rochon – From Saturday’s Globe and Mail
Toronto is an architecturally submissive city, happy to take whatever design is laid over it. The British delivered the elegant but often pinched bay-and-gable Victorian row house to our military grid. In the 1960s and ’70s, there was the blitz of rugged concrete or brick-clad apartment towers. And, more recently, curtain-wall towers came at us like an unstoppable army of glass soldiers. At street level, in three- and four-storey housing developments, there’s been little of architectural interest for the home-buying, design-savvy public.
Slowly, thankfully, that’s changing. In Toronto’s west end, there’s a finely tuned, human-scaled condominium arrangement of lofts and townhomes – totalling just 20 units – set to be constructed at 850 Richmond St. W., just south of Trinity Bellwoods Park. The neighbourhood is a wildly uneven cacophony of tiny workman cottages set next to high-end lighting boutiques and bargain-basement rental housing.
The opening of a hot yoga studio at the corner of Wellington and Bathurst and a 10-storey politely-designed condo signalled all-out gentrification. But, because the area falls outside of the downtown’s designated urban-growth area, permits for dense, tall developments are rare. That means a modest lunch bar and grill tucked behind a heavy tree canopy can still happily co-exist next to a ruby-red Buddhist temple.
Not even the deadly dull housing development allowed, inexcusably, to replace the vast Massey complex of factories north of King Street West has poisoned the atmosphere. So far, this west-end enclave has kept its curious spirit intact.
But housing options here – like elsewhere in Toronto – have been limited to Victorian, neo-Victorian and postage stamps. That’s why, with the arrival of Edition Richmond, designed by Berkeley-and-Harvard-trained architect Gianpiero Pugliese of AUDAX (Latin for bold), the neighbourhood is about to receive some contemporary design meat.
Mr. Pugliese, together with urban developers Gary Eisen and Adam Ochshorn of Curated Properties, has devised a residential architecture roomy enough for families. There are thoughtful gestures to help where an abundance of natural light was lacking: A shaft descends the entire length of the three-storey units, so that light infuses even the shower stall.
With operable windows and balconies, the upper units facing onto Richmond are what Mr. Pugliese refers to as sky lofts. “What I find interesting about this project and others happening in this city is that this is a new type of infill housing,” he says. “It doesn’t fit the conventional model of a high-rise condo that’s everywhere in the city.”
Most of the condo units have rooftop gardens, with a protective frame over an outdoor daybed, that hint at the arbours on the terraces of exclusive hotels. The arches create framed views of the city and are constructed of metal panels with wood louvres to act as filtering screens. “They speak to the idea of human architecture and human scale – they provide shelter and they become a larger icon for the building,” says the 35-year-old Mr. Pugliese.
In keeping with what you might expect in the neighbourhood, the multi-unit white-brick building replaces an old transmission repair shop. There is another one still happily humming across the street. A Centre for Addiction and Mental Health research unit sits down the street.
There is also, however, the promise of conversation between two well-crafted, low-scale contemporary developments: Across the narrow street, there’s an elegant and modern interpretation of the Toronto row house, designed by Core Architects, that uses large frames in Ipe wood and charcoal brick to accentuate the contemporary window treatments.
“Everybody wants modern design now. It’s catching up. The challenge is how do you not beat it to death,” says Mr. Pugliese.
For more on design and architecture from around the world, follow Lisa Rochon’s blog, chasinghome.org.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
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The loftification of Lower Ossington
Alexandra Grigorescu – blogTO
The loftification of Lower Ossington has been in the works for some time. The wealth of derelict storefronts and boarded up buildings have been ripe for the plucking, and the shift from the old guard to the tall, glass-and-concrete boxes in the sky has local residents and business owners divided.
I have nothing against the city’s love affair with loft-condo hybrids. In fact, I’d one day like one. But the new Toronto condos are seemingly marketed towards out-of-towners looking to capitalize on the stereotype of a given neighborhood, and it chafes me. 109OZ claims to be “undeniably Ossington,” but Paul Ferguson of the Communist’s Daughter rightly asks what that means. Is it the old Ossington, respectful of the area’s cultural heritage and sense of community, or is the new Ossington, hurriedly heading towards gentrification?
He also acknowledges how difficult it is to turn down a cash fallout of the sort that old businesses courted by lofts can expect. Paul notes the difference between “conscious gentrification and wholesome interest” – many lofts capitulate too readily on a community’s personality as a “cash grab,” but he hopes that the old Ossington won’t be lost in the mix.
Not that there’s anything wrong with capitalism and revenue. Ricky, a long-time area resident, thinks the entreat of high-priced lofts will hike up property prices in the area – good news for property owners, including the area’s elderly Portuguese community, but potentially bad news for renters. Ricky also suggests the stores that have remained boarded up for so long were an eyesore and the lofts promise to be an aesthetic boost. In particular, 2 Ossington had fallen into shambles and marked an unfortunate entry onto a street ripe with galleries and restaurants.
Gentrification is a double-edged sword. It brings in money and clientele while potentially sacrificing the historical elements of a neighborhood. As I ventured along the street trying to get a sense of locals’ reaction, I expected someone to bemoan the blotting of the sun, construction noise, and other related concerns but everyone was fairly positive about the cosmetic element of the lofts. That might change once construction begins in earnest.
Here’s a closer look at the lofts currently under development.
Motif Lofts (41 Ossington Ave)
Motif bought out the former site of Hesco Electric Supply Company, and is starting construction on a mixed-housing development that includes 19 lofts over four stories, a ground floor aimed towards commercial endeavors, and five town homes. The now sold-out lofts are set to offer industrial ceilings and open space, while 6 town homes will stretch down Rebecca St. with glass, steel and wood exteriors and loft-inspired interiors. A collection of four freehold town homes are planned further down Rebecca St. The website capitalizes on the cache of the neighborhood, while pointing to “kitschy” store names. The Ossington Village website cheekily notes that “At least they didn’t call it HipsterVille.”
109OZ Lofts (109 Ossington Ave)
109OZ took over the former home of Mundial Auto Repairs and a private Portuguese club in the heart of Ossington Ave. This 6-story boutique loft structure will contain approximately 90 units, and is slated to be the ultimate in nouveau-loft-chic with a focus on glass, brick, and metal and featuring east-facing terraces and glass balconies. Pre-construction prices are advertised as beginning in the upper $200,000s – a surprisingly modest sum for Toronto. The website isn’t forthcoming with further details, as pre-sale hasn’t yet launched, but their marketing materials point to “Inspired Lofts. Undeniably Ossington.” and features vibrant splashes of color. You won’t find a sales centre until mid to late April, but when I spoke to the sales team, they mentioned that Mundial had happily sold and moved to Keele and Rogers Road.
2 Ossington Lofts (2 Ossington Ave.)
Presented by NDS Properties Limited and SMV Architects, 2 Ossington transforms a space previously inhabited by a half-way house for recovering CAMH patients, into an 18-unit construction, divided into nine 1-story and nine 2-story soft lofts with terraces, and retail space on the ground floor. There’ll be no recreational amenities, but high-ceilings, energy efficient features, open duct work, and stainless steel appliances come standard. The project is completely sold out, but an automated voicemail hints at new projects in the area.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
Incoming search terms
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Housing affordability sensationalism–enough already!
Wendy Waters – AllAboutCities.ca
It has come to this. Every time some bank or other organization releases a new study about housing affordability in various cities I want to scream. Usually, the press release and all media stories have some sensational headline like “Vancouver 2nd most unaffordable city in the world.” As if. Those of you living in San Francisco, New York or London feel free to post in the comments.
What virtually all of these studies do is look at median or average prices of detached bungalows (moderate houses on their own lots) compared to the median or average income. This metric worked okay in the 20th century in most cities when bungalows on modest lots were the first homes of young families. It is becoming increasingly meaningless in the 21st century. Here’s why.
1. Average and median home prices are being driven up by the larger, mature demographic (think those over 50) who have equity and are now trading homes. Some are buying a nicer location, some are downsizing to a penthouse condo. Everyone has their own reason. Regardless, they are not taking out a $1 million mortgage on their $80,000 salary.
Average prices are also being driven up in some cities, like Vancouver, by an increase in “Luxury Market” sales. Over 700 homes priced at over $3 Million sold in Vancouver in 2011, nearly doubling the previous record of 375.
This luxury product is not about homes for younger families. Therefore, we should stop including it in analysis of housing market affordability for young families. Bob Rennie argued this in a talk last year. With help from Urban Futures, he noted that if you removed the top 20% of sales from analysis, pricing and affordability had not changed much in Metro Vancouver in recent years. Suburban developers tell me pricing has been quite flat for some time.
2. With number one said, we can still see that demand today is strong and growing in walkable, mature cities and neighbourhoods; the detached houses are often in highest demand (even when more modest price strata-homes exist). Because you can’t make more detached homes on lots in these mature areas, demand exceeds supply for this type of product. This drives up the average and median price of even fixer-uper, non-luxury product; increasingly only those trading an existing home or coming in with cash can purchase them. Families are buying in these neighbourhoods, but they are typically not first-time buyers; they have above average incomes and often equity from a condo or suburban home.
3. Points one and two above illustrate that detached bungalows are no longer typical first-time buyer product. When individuals, couples or families buy their first home in larger Canadian cities (and many cities around the world), increasingly it is more likely to be a townhouse or a condo. According to Realnet, In the Greater Toronto Area, 62% of homes sold in 2011 were high rise condos. And from watching House Hunters on HGTV this is also happening in many US cities as well.
Therefore a statement like “Vancouver 2nd most unaffordable city” is not that helpful if we are concerned about the “affordability” of buying a decent home for young families. Measuring something that is not first time buyer product against the incomes of first time buyers is comparing apples to Yugos.
If we are truly interested in understanding the ability of individuals with average incomes to buy a home in the higher priced metro areas, then at minimum look at condo homes (rowhouses and condos) instead of detached homes. Ideally you also remove the product coveted by the multi-millionaire club from the analysis. Suddenly the income needed to get into the market looks more familiar to most of us — $50,000 for Metro Vancouver, $38,000 in Greater Toronto according to this study.
Flashy headlines about real estate being unaffordable get the publisher of the reports and newspaper articles attention – this is why they publish them. Also it’s much easier to calculate median price and median income, and harder to do real housing market analysis.
What worries me is that politicians, policy makers and lobby groups are using this mis-information. I fear for the results. So banks and others, please move your thinking into the 21st century!
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
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