Tag Archives: construction cranes
Where Are All The Places To Grow?
Development regulations a hindrance to housing affordability and choice
Toronto Star
It’s hard not to notice all the condominiums cropping up across the GTA these days.
Condos accounted for 62% of new-home sales in the GTA last year, according to RealNet Canada, a Toronto-based national provider of real estate information services. And it seems that everywhere you look, there are construction cranes and new residential towers dotting the urban horizon. What isn’t as visible, however, is the lack of subdivisions being built and the dwindling availability of new low-rise houses.
A decade ago, 75% of all new homes sold in the region were single-family houses. Last year, low-rise housing comprised just 38% of new-home sales, largely the result of provincial policies aimed at protecting greenbelt lands and promoting intensification.
The GTA housing market has been reshaped fundamentally by provincial policies introduced in 2006 as part of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a region in Southern Ontario whose boundaries extend south to Lake Erie and north to Georgian Bay. With the Greenbelt Plan, the province has aimed to protect 1.8 million acres of green space, and its Places to Grow plan has designated areas best suited for intensification.
Commenting on the dearth of low-rise houses, Paul Golini, chairman of BILD (Building Industry and Land Development Association), says,”People can’t see what doesn’t exist anymore.” BILD represents more than 1,375 member companies in the land development, home-building and professional renovation industries in the GTA. “The homes under construction today were sold to the homeowner a few years ago. The industry is worried about the balance in housing options and the affordability of new homes in the future,” says Golini.
The shift from low-density to high-density housing has been directed by provincial intensification policies encouraging a more sustainable approach to urban development. Homebuyers want to choose the type of home that suits their lifestyle through the various stages of life — and choice in the low-rise market is diminishing.
“There just hasn’t been the availability of land when it comes to low-rise product,” Golini explains. “Not only is the low-rise price index the highest it’s ever been — $609,369 [this past] August — it’s also driven the market toward high-rise. And if you’re a first-time buyer, that seems to be your only option.”
There has also been plenty of resistance to the intensification policy in the GTA at the municipal level, delaying approvals of condo projects and pitting developers against community groups opposed to the introduction of denser forms of housing in their neighbourhoods.
“Local interests are not always aligned with the province’s goals when it comes to growth and intensification,” Golini notes. “Not everyone is ready to accept this new form of living.”
The development industry has been operating in accordance with the provincial growth plan, says Golini. But six years in, it has become clear that the policies have had an adverse impact on homebuyers, he says, creating severe constraints on land availability and resulting in limited housing options and ever-increasing prices.
“Places to Grow was designed to put tension in the system to promote higher-density development, and that tension is there,” says BILD president and CEO Bryan Tuckey. “But you wonder if the balance has been shifted too far.”
With an estimated 100,000 people moving to the GTA each year, Tuckey notes that the industry recognizes that the lack of affordable housing options for new and first-time homebuyers is a serious issue in the GTA, and wants to be part of the solution. “Our industry plans and builds about 40,000 homes every year to meet the demand from first-time homebuyers, the aging demographic, immigration and the changing family formation.”
The challenge is getting political and community support to build them.
Many municipalities have outdated zoning bylaws that don’t conform to Places to Grow and don’t include intensification targets, says Tuckey, resulting in further delays, as rezoning is required before construction can begin on higher-density projects.
“I interact with many of the best developers in the city and they all feel that the approval process gets bogged down at the city level,”says Barbara Lawlor, president of Baker Real Estate, a leading brokerage firm in the GTA.
“We need to see more streamlining when it comes to the red tape and the layers of regulation,” Golini agrees, noting too that excessive development charges and parkland requirements create hindrances that contribute to higher home prices.
BILD is determined to ensure the 68,000 hectares of whitebelt lands — the area between the GTA and the greenbelt — are preserved for growth past 2031.
Though the whitebelt was intended to function as an urban reserve that would accommodate future growth in the region — whose population is projected to spike from 6.3 million to 8 million by 2031 — many municipalities have been restricting development of these lands.
“If the province was able to give a clear statement regarding the whitebelt and its long-term future,” says Tuckey, “it would go a long way to helping the implementation of Places to Grow in the GTA.”
Suburban Option – What did you buy and why?
Elaine Viterbo — 40, manager, North 44° restaurant
Where did you buy? Upper Unionville, a 1,700-home community at Kennedy Rd. and 16th Ave.
Tell us about your place. It’s a 2,300-sq.-ft. detached home on a 34-foot lot.
What appealed to you? For six years my husband and I have been living in a townhouse in Richmond Hill, but the pricing there for a detached home is ridiculous. We paid $720,000 for the home at Upper Unionville, so the price was appealing. So is the location — it’s easier to commute to work. Plus, it’s near my aunt’s house and she can take care of my two-year-old. And Unionville is a nice community that’s still growing.
Why a low-rise home, not a condo? My husband really likes having a backyard, even though you have to mow it, and there’s the maintenance of the home itself. But it’s also just the freedom; you don’t have to use an elevator. And we look at condos as a whole bunch of people living in one space.
Why did you buy new, not resale? I like the thought of being the first person using the bedroom and bathroom; being able to create something we want, not having to say, “We like the house except for this, but maybe we can renovate it to be that way”; being able to pick our own finishes — the builder had its own décor centre, so we chose the decor ourselves, and it suited our tastes; also, the smell of a new home (it’s like buying a new car).
When do you move in? August 2013. We visit the site weekly to see what stage it’s at. But it’s still just dirt at the moment.
City Centre Option – What did you buy and why?
David Porter — 39, condo-garden designer, Toronto Condo Garden
Where did you buy? River City, Phase One, King St. E. and River St. (the first residential project in the new West Don Lands precinct)
Tell us about your place. It’s a one-bedroom, 762-sq.-ft. corner unit on the 12th floor, with north- and west-facing views.
What appealed to you? The amazing and unobstructed view of downtown. The second reason was value — it was $437,000, including one parking spot and a locker. This worked out to $525 per square foot, compared to the downtown core, which is five minutes away by streetcar, where condos are going for about $700 per square foot. I thought it was a cool little pocket of the city.
Why a condo, not a low-rise home? I travel quite a bit and I like walking out the door and not worrying about it, so it fits my lifestyle. Although a backyard garden can be nice, I do love gardening on a balcony or a terrace. So easy to maintain and change up.
Why did you buy new, not resale? I’m not big into resale. That’s part of the fun of buying new construction — actually watching it, being able to pick all your finishes and then seeing it go from nothing into something.
When do you move in? Next summer. They’ve just topped off my building and I can see there are windows being installed, so they seem on schedule.
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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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Moss Park
Home to picturesque Allan Gardens and its lovely conservatories, Moss Park has potential, but it’s hampered by crime and gritty streets. There are signs of transformation, largely via construction cranes and projects outside the neighbourhood borders. More buyers are willing to take a chance on the region thanks to its proximity to the core and reasonable prices.
Though there’s a strong social housing presence, condo towers are rapidly rising off Sherbourne and Richmond, and King Street East is seeing a condo boom among the old storefronts and heritage properties. Young professionals are turning from the chaos of the Entertainment District to Corktown, which has been poised to pop for years. One selling point is the proximity to the Distillery District (more of a destination than a standard community) and the foodie’s paradise St. Lawrence Market.
Moss Park Real Estate Map
To the southeast, grand plans to develop the West Don Lands could bring extra foot traffic. If the nearby Regent Park revamp introduces more middle– and high-income earners, the downtown east side might no longer be the down-and-out.
Moss Park — the area of downtown Toronto extending north from Queen Street East to Shuter Street and west from Trefann Street to Jarvis Street — was once part of 100 acres of parkland, owned by William Allan, one of the wealthiest men in town in the early 1800s. In 1830, Allan commissioned construction of a vast mansion on his estate, and named it Moss Park. The mansion stood were the city park of the same name is today.
On William’s death in 1853, the Moss Park estate passed to son George, a future Mayor of Toronto. George lost no time in sub-dividing the land, and the neighbourhood became one of the young city’s more affluent areas, known for its handsome Victorian houses.
Little remains of this original community. In 1962, the old homes fell to the wrecking ball. In their place, The Toronto Community Housing Corporation built a massive public housing project — the trio of 16-storey, 300-unit subsidized apartment towers that today characterize Moss Park and generate a negative reputation for the area.
Moss Park Real Estate
Despite the neighbourhood’s acknowledged social ills, however, the many small streets and the areas on the periphery can surprise. Berkeley Street, for example, with its row of attractive gabled homes and landscaped plots. Wilkins Avenue, a street of just 20 houses and its own residents-only parking. Or the mix of old and new townhomes on Trinity, just north of Eastern Avenue. Home-buyers looking for a fixer-upper might do well to check Seaton Avenue, to the north of Dundas Street, where homes awaiting a renovator owner mix with already renovated Edwardian style homes.
The neighbourhood’s negative reputation produces deals unlikely to be matched elsewhere in downtown; meanwhile, the continuing gentrification of Regent Park and adjacent neighbourhoods such as Cabbagetown, Corktown and The Garden District makes Moss Park a solid bet to see appreciation considerably above average. In fact, as I have said for years, the entire east end is ripe for solid appreciation through the next 5 years or so.
For shopping, residents of Moss Park homes are close to the Sherbourne, Queen Street East and Parliament retail strips, and within walking distance of St. Lawrence Market.
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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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Yes, these are also condos
Sarah Kelsey – National Post
Toronto’s love affair with high-rise condos is still going strong, as evidenced by the smattering of construction cranes that dot the city’s downtown skyline.
But take a stroll through the city’s more established neighbourhoods – Rosedale, the Annex, Cabbagetown – where large, low-rise homes are a staple and trees tower over all other structures, and you’re likely to see signs of an emerging urban design trend: the uncondo.
“They’re more like a custom home than an apartment,” says Neil Spiegel, a principal at Oxygen Development. His company is at the forefront of this housing trend where old, low-rise, multi-unit rental buildings and homes are regenerated into luxury, eco-friendly condominiums.
A good example is Oxygen’s current project, Lytton Park Suites. The spaces are some 40% larger than conventional condos – units range from 1,053 to 1,287 square feet, with prices starting at $594,000, including parking. Each suite is outfitted with luxe materials and details: quartz countertops, dual-flush toilets, spa showers and extensive soundproofing and millwork – from the trim to the flooring. Units even have wood-burning fireplaces.
“When you’re building six units, there’s an ability to pay attention to detail. You can focus on all of the trim and the details, and you can make sure things are being managed properly,” Mr. Spiegel says. “Our decisions, such as choosing solid wood materials that fit into the era of the home, wow customers.”
A similar uncondo build is 103 Pembroke in Cabbagetown. Developed by The Rainbow Group, the project entailed transforming a heritage home from 1879 into four two-storey, two-bedroom units, each approximately 1,400 square feet. All of them feature 10– to 12-foot ceilings, as well as gas fireplaces and quality finishes that honour the home’s Victorian period.
These include ceramic mouldings and hardwood floors. But the spaces are also outfitted with modern touches such as granite countertops and marble bathrooms. Prices range from $500,000 to $600,000 and include parking.
Living here will feel very much like life in a single-family low-rise, says Rainbow Group president Mac Champsee, who is restoring the home with his daughter, Sonal. “Our spaces are generous. A lot of people are interested in these properties, because they give the sensation of living in a house with a backyard,” he says. “[Residents] get their own garage with access on the back laneway.”
Mr. Champsee echoes Mr. Spiegel’s sentiments on what makes these uncondos special.
“[With this type of restoration], we can feel good about offering a unique style of living while also preserving parts of Toronto. There are a lot of homes with good character that would otherwise get torn down.”
Of course, there is a catch to such boutique-style condos: They don’t have the amenities found in high-rise towers. There is no concierge, swimming pool, movie theatre, gym or underground parking and there are no elevators.
“The amenities are the neighbourhood it’s in,” says Brian Elder, a sales representative with Royal LePage Real Estate. To him, properties such as Lytton Park Suites and 103 Pembroke give people who don’t want or need traditional services an opportunity to purchase relatively affordable condo-type dwellings in otherwise hard-to-buy-in neighbourhoods. They’re great for those who can’t afford to buy a detached house and who are looking for alternative living options.
They’re also great for those who want to pay lower maintenance fees.
“[In our buildings, common element fees] end up being around $0.20 per square foot,” Mr. Spiegel explains.
Investing in these homes could even prove to be cost-effective for developers.
“If you’re converting a house, the structure is already built. You’re not building an underground parking garage so, technically, it should be less expensive than a high-rise condominium,” Mr. Elder says.
That’s not to say, of course, there won’t be costs to renovating or restoring these types of spaces (things always pop up during construction). Or that building uncondos is actually a trend. Mr. Elder believes too many people still want to live in a high-rise condo or in a detached home on their own.
Mr. Spiegel feels differently.
“What 10 years ago was three-quarters low-rise new building is now 25% low-rise and 75% condo. The pressure and the desire for low-rise is still there, without the land to build it on. And with the increasing cost of low-rise, [these spaces] provide a low-cost option that melds the best of both worlds.”
—————————————————————————————————–
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
Related posts:
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- New condos for the King (King Edward Hotel, that is) Dundee and its partners plan a massive rejuvenation of the…
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