Tag Archives: pan am games
New community being built from ground up for Pan Am Games new
Simone Abrahamsohn – Property Biz Canada
As the city prepares to host the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games, the future Athlete’s Village will be created on schedule – and on budget, according to Jason Lester, President of Dundee Kilmer Developments Ltd, the company managing the project.
“What’s exciting, is that the plan was already 20 years in the making,” says Lester. “But, the Games just gave it momentum it didn’t have yet before.”
According to Meg Davis, Vice-President of Waterfront Toronto, the plans for the Athlete’s Village were requested by the province, once the bid for the area renewal – and 32-hectare revitalization – was already underway.
“We got a call asking,’Can you fit the athletes village into the West Don Lands block plan?’ Basically, it meant advancing the West Don Lands [development] by about five or 10 years, getting it to market that much sooner.”
The Canary District is a 35-acre post-industrial site, stretching from Cherry St. to Bayview Ave., with an extended Front St. being the centre of the area.
From 0 to 12,000 by 2020
After almost no activity for 20 years, (and having a population of 0 in 2011) the emerging new district has been steadily forming since the ground breaking in the fall of 2011. About 700 workers fill the site each day, creating the soon-to-be community and most expensive component of the $1.4-billion Games.
After originally being cleared to become a housing project called “Ataratiri”, in the 1980s, (private investors retreated, hesitant due to flooding risk), that project was cancelled in the early 90s after a real estate crash. The new neighbourhood will have a population of approximately 12,000 by 2020.
Over 50 percent sold, the condominium community has attracted various stakeholders, including the City of Toronto, Waterfront Toronto and Infrastructure Ontario.
Residential buildings along Front Street will range between 11 and 15 storeys high, while heights on narrower Mill Street will drop down to eight storeys. Additionally, four architectural firms were asked to design the buildings within the athletes’ village, to avoid a homogenous look and achieve what Dundee Kilmer calls “cohesive diversity.”
Avoiding contract overruns of the past
A funding model has been implemented through a fixed price contract between Dundee Kilmer and Infrastructure Ontario, so that the $514-million provincial cost for the village won’t increase. They want to ensure the budget does not escalate as it did in the past, such as Vancouver’s Olympic village.
“We do a lot of upfront due diligence so [developers] know exactly what they’re getting into. Everything’s out on the table, so that when they sign the agreement they are agreeing to a specific date and … a specific price,” says Mandy Downes of Infrastructure Ontario.
“They don’t get paid until the work gets done, so there is a big financial incentive for them to complete it on time. They take the risk so that the province and the taxpayers are not on the hook for things we are not in control of.”
The up-and-coming new “Urban Village” will include a new streetcar line, created on a rebuilt Cherry Street, connecting to the district from King Street, and through to the neighbouring Distillery District.
The eight buildings currently in development will temporarily be home to approximately 10,000 Athletes from 41 countries during the Games, (while the sporting events will actually take place elsewhere, such as Toronto, Markham and Mississauga) and will be 100% complete once new tenants/owners move in in early 2016.
Plan includes affordable housing
The area will include the first residence for George Brown College, (housing 500 students), along with an adjoining YMCA, housing a pool and fitness centre, 253 units of affordable housing (a project in affiliation with the Fred Victor Centre), including studios as well as 2-bedroom plus den apartments, and townhomes, some as large as 1,475 square feet. Prices start at $200,000.
The almost-800 condominiums, 28 townhomes and 12 retail store and office spaces will be fully operational after the Games. The residential buildings along the extended Front Street East will have more than 40,000 square feet of retail space for rent.
Front Street will extend with four traffic lanes and lead to a Riverfront park. The $15 million, 18-acre park, known currently just as Don River Park, will open to the public this summer.
“There’s always a chance it might be changed to a politician’s name in the future,” says Lester.
“It will act almost like a trailhead to the ravine system on the east side of Toronto, as well as to the waterfront to the south. It’s quick access to the trail system for biking and walkers,” he said.
“There’s probably more parkland as a ratio to the community being built in this neighbourhood than any other community in downtown Toronto.”
Refurbishing landmark Canary Restaurant
Included in the plans to revive the East end neighbourhood is the refurbishing of the old Canary Restaurant, situated at the corner of Front Street East and Cheery Street from the mid-1960s to 2007.
The 19th Century Heritage building, dating back to 1859, experienced several incarnations, including being the Palace Street School and then the Cherry Street Hotel, before becoming the Canary Restaurant.
As industries moved out and various Waterfront revival plans were put on hold, the kitschy diner remained a fixture. The diner, at one point a popular spot for film crews, will serve as a symbol of the new area’s revitalization.
“It kind of gives you a layer, an anchor in time,” said Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB, the architectural firm involved in the project.
“I think what it does, is it amplifies the meaning and provokes a discussion about history. Little kids will say, ‘Why is this called the Canary District? I like the name, but why?’ And then there’ll be a story to be told.”
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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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New in Toronto real estate: Monde Condominiums
Robyn Urback – blogTO
Comment: For the record, Robyn is the BEST condo reviewer in Toronto bar none.
Monde Condominiums is an absolutely huge new Great Gulf build, optimally slated for right beside Sherbourne Common Park. Yes, a downtown high rise that actually comes with a little green (and I’m not talking about money — well, maybe that too). This condo will rise a full 40 storeys tall, with a 12-storey “podium,” and retail at ground level. Plus a laundry list of amenities, two green roofs, and more than 500 units. To reiterate: huge. Here’s a closer look at Monde Condominiums.
SPECS
Address: 5 Lower Sherbourne Street
Number of floors: 40
Number of elevators: 5
Total number of units: 516
Type of units: One bedroom, one plus den, two bedroom, two plus den
Unit sizes (in square feet): 483 – 1253
Ceiling height: 9′
Prices from (available suites): ~$350,000
Parking: $42,500 (for suites 675 sf or larger)
Maintenance: $0.50/sf
Maintenance fees exclude: Hydro, water, gas
Locker: $4,500
Architect: Safdie Architects, Quadrangle Architects
Interior design: Cecconi Simone
Amenities: Negative-edge outdoor pool, sauna, garden, yoga studio, billiard room, gym, outdoor terrace, 24/7 concierge, guest suites (2), resident superintendent
Expected occupancy: April 2016
THE GOOD
It doesn’t get much better than a park right outside your door. And a new one, to boot (meaning Toronto’s Sharpie-equipped punks probably haven’t even gotten to these benches yet). Sherbourne Common is right next to the Monde Condos site, meaning residents will be privy to its green space, playground, skating rink, and other amenities right when they step outside the building. And all for the low price of $650 (give or take) per square foot! In all seriousness, it is somewhat of a rarity to find a new high rise in downtown Toronto with a park right next door (“parkettes” don’t count — sorry, Financial District), and it doesn’t get much better (or newer, at least) than Sherbourne Common. This is a perk that resonates especially with pet parents, who know that their puppies deserve more than a little plot of grass or two. Bitches know what I’m talking about.
But onto the building itself. I’m glad to see that Monde has done away with the pitiful 300-something-square-foot bachelor, perhaps recognizing that we humans tend to share our living spaces with other physical objects. Of course, I’m referring to items such as beds, tables, and perhaps an item of clothing or two — items otherwise known as “superfluous non-necessities” to developers touting “condominiums” of parking space square footage. The smallest suite in Monde is a still-livable 483 square feet (plus 55 square feet of balcony), which is not huge by any means, but does offer some room to breathe.
The quality of layout in Monde depends largely on the suite, but it is worth noting that all units come with a standard kitchen island/dining table combination — a definite bonus considering many condo kitchens can be hard to outfit. As well, some one-plus-den units come with a powder room and a full bathroom, and most layouts include bedrooms with actual windows.
And obligatory nerd remark: Monde will be situated in the “Intelligent Community” of Waterfront Toronto, meaning residents will have access to internet speeds up to 100 times faster than me. And you. And everyone else in the city. Damn.
THE BAD
I don’t get it, Lower Sherbourne. What’s with you and gargantuan structures that occupy and dominate full city blocks? It’s a little…off-putting. Sure, it looks great from a bird’s-eye rendering, but what about from the sidewalk when all of these log podiums are actually built? Monde is guilty of the city-block-base (does someone need to take a look at zoning here, or what?) with its hefty 12-storey podium at its foot. Not exactly a scenic view for those looking out from Sherbourne Common.
Now, every developer likes to tout its supposedly “groundbreaking” design, and in this case Great Gulf is no exception. I believe the big talking point here is the cantilevered balconies on the tower’s odd floors. And yes, they are quite interesting-looking, but they strike me more as ejected stapler trays than breathtaking examples architectural innovation. Or maybe I should just stop staring at my desk. But I wonder, too, about the functionality; if two people want to sit out on the balcony at the same time, must they sit front seat/back seat? Or can they squeeze side by side?
Speaking of squeezing, let’s talk about density. Lower Sherbourne is poised to receive a considerable influx of new residents in the next few years, due mostly to the completion of this and other condo projects in the area. Now, the same increase in density could be said of many other neighbourhoods in Toronto, the exception being that Lower Sherbourne will be going from relative desolation (relative — I said relative!) to thousands upon thousands of new residents in a relatively short period of time.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it is likely that there will be at least a few growing pains. Plus, the building itself is a mini-neighbourhood in the sky (and yet, only three of Monde’s five elevators are designated for the tower), and with so many people sharing a few common elements, wear and tear on the structure will inevitably get pricey. Add up the (ever-rising, most likely) cost of monthly maintenance fees, plus hydro, plus water, plus gas, plus property taxes, plus interest, and let’s hope you have enough left over for that pesky “principle” or whatever it is. Living here will not be cheap, but then again, where is?
THE VERDICT
The view from the inside isn’t half bad. Let’s just hope Sherbourne Common visitors like shade.
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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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Regent Park
Nestled between the scenic Don River and Cabbagetown, Regent Park has been weighed down with the reputation of being one of downtown’s truly downtrodden areas. With its ill-conceived 1950s-era housing projects and a conglomeration of aid agencies concentrated within a few sombre, troubled blocks, the area has historically been avoided by nervous potential buyers. Today, though, it’s a neighbourhood in progress.
Built in the late 1940s and early 50s, by the turn of the century Canada’s largest publicly funded housing project had declined into a down-at-heels neighbourhood beset with significant social ills. Today, it is a community in the midst of complete redevelopment, as private and public investment combine in a 15-year, six-phase undertaking to re-imagine and revitalize the area south from Gerrard Street East to Shuter Street and west from River Street to Parliament street.
The plan is already in progress. One at a time, Regent Park’s blocks of public housing are being demolished, only to re-emerge in a variety of new forms tailored to suit different income brackets. Lofts will be built at River Street and Queen Street; apartment buildings and brick townhomes at River and Shuter streets. And low-cost housing at Sackville Street and Dundas. The neighbourhood also has a number of elderly Edwardian-style homes awaiting visionary renovators.
Regent Park Real Estate Map
Over many years, the colossal revitalization plan will attempt to attract different income brackets to the area. Public housing blocks are being razed and rebuilt as rental buildings, resulting in low-cost housing (Dundas-Sackville, Oak-Parliament), townhouses (along Shuter) and a burst of new condos peppered throughout (Paintbox, One Cole and One Park West). Some new amenities have already set up shop, including a bank and a grocery store – the neighbourhood’s first in 40 years.
The $1-billion undertaking will include office, park and cultural space, and the podiums of many of the new towers have been marked for new retail space. In the meantime, clusters of shops, restaurants and bars are found north on Parliament, east of the valley or west of Parliament along Queen.
At present, pending new retail development, the neighbourhood’s only immediately local shopping is along Queen Street or north on Parliament. For commuters, streetcar service connects to both the Yonge-University-Spadina subway and to Castle Frank Station on the Bloor-Danforth line. Recreation options include Regent Park Community Center, with its game room, gym and weight room, Parliament Street Public Library, a swimming pool, baseball diamond, and two outdoor artificial ice rinks.
Regent Park Redevelopment Condos
With the neighbourhood’s rejuvenation underway, and the anticipated renaissance of the adjacent Corktown neighbourhood, Regent Park may well prove to be one the city’s better investment opportunities. Add in the West Don Lands and Pan Am Games to the south, and it is easy to see just where Toronto’s downtown east is heading. Up and only up!
Regent Park real estate prices correlate to individual income, and housing choices are varied. Options for housing range from apartments in walk-up and high-rise buildings, townhouses, and row-houses. You will start to see many more new Regent Park real estate options as more condos and lofts are built.
Life in Regent Park is made convenient with retail and other businesses located on the main streets. Residents also enjoy a local community health centre, as well as other services to come, such as the Regent Park Art and Culture Centre, a new aquatic centre, a new community park, and the Regent Park Community Centre, which will include recreational and fitness facilities. Also nearby is the Parliament Street Library, and several public schools.
Regent Park is a community on the upswing. Diverse and multicultural, Regent Park is poised for a new beginning.
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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
