Tag Archives: vertical city
Condo Culture
The proliferation of today’s renovation and design ideas has resulted in our homes increasingly becoming a reflection of our distinct tastes and lifestyles. Entire condominium developments are in fact, created to cater to specific cultures and aesthetics.
Style and ease of living are so important to busy Torontonians that a TD Canada Trust poll conducted in April 2010 found that we are mainly drawn to condo living because it involves less upkeep. Further, we’re willing to pay considerably more in maintenance fees than residents of Canada’s other large cities.
Torontonians have come to recognize the benefits of condo living to such an extent that in little more than a decade, ours has become a vertical city, one where condominiums account for one in every three homes that changes hands in the Greater Toronto Area. In central Toronto, 60% of resale transactions are condominiums.
If you’re planning on buying a resale condominium your real estate agent will ensure that your offer is conditional on receipt of a status certificate. It confirms that the seller is current on the payment of common expenses and outlines the condominium corporation’s financial details. You should also receive documents that govern the corporation and a list of other documents that affect it. A status certificate costs $100 and must be delivered within 10 days of request.
Your real estate agent can also help you evaluate a condominium’s amenities, which are now viewed by many as an adjunct to private living space. Look for significantly enhanced standard features like fitness facilities with current pools, spas and yoga studios, and indoor basketball courts. You can find lush rooftop gardens with gas barbeques and fire pits, billiard lounges, and even dog washing stations included in today’s condominium developments. With libraries, theatres, bars, and in some cases, housekeeping and room service available, you never have to leave the comfort of your building.
As a result, a strong sense of community has grown around condo developments with groups on social networking sites providing opportunities for neighbours to connect in just a click.
While many condominiums cater to well-educated young adults who value convenience and proximity to city life, they represent just one segment of the condo population. The TD Canada Trust poll also found that 36 per cent of those contemplating a condo purchase would consider raising a family in one. Seniors represent another key facet of the condo population and in fact, developments are also created to meet their specific preferences, featuring amenities like cafés, gourmet restaurants, reading rooms, greenhouses and salons. Drawn to the affordability of GTA property in comparison to other world cities, offshore buyers and new immigrants also comprise segments of the condo community. For virtually every demographic imaginable, there’s a Toronto condo designed to cater to specific tastes and lifestyles.
Providing for a good match between you and a condominium’s distinct culture, and protecting your interests by ensuring a status certificate is obtained are two of the many ways your real estate agent can help in your purchase of a condominium.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Toronto skyscrapers rise ever taller
The city may finally be getting over its irrational fear of heights
Marcus Gee – Globe and Mail
Yesterday, Mayor David Miller was on hand for the ceremonial ground-breaking of the tallest residential building in Canada. The 75-storey, 243-metre-high Aura condominium will be a dramatic addition to the city skyline, a blade-like glass-and-steel skyscraper that is the final stage of the College Park complex at College and Yonge. With 931 units and 1.1 million square feet of living space, it is the King Kong of condos, boasting more residential footage than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building.
Aura is a sign that Toronto is getting over its fear of heights. New office and condominium towers are popping up downtown like mushrooms after a summer rain. The Shangri-La hotel and condo on University Avenue will rise 66 storeys; architect Daniel Libeskind’s L Tower on the Esplanade, 57 storeys. The Ice condos down by the waterfront will comprise two towers of 65 and 55 storeys.
By 2014, Toronto could have close to 100 buildings over 400 feet tall, nearly double the number of a decade earlier. City councillor Kyle Rae says this city has become the “Manhattan of Canada,” a comparison that would have seemed absurd even a few years ago. For a city that used to quiver and squirm whenever a developer threatened to put up a skyscraper outside the financial district, it is a startling change.
Back in the 1970s, worries about congestion and overbuilding led Mayor David Crombie to slap a 40-foot height limit on downtown buildings. In the early 2000s, the city was consumed by a debate over the Minto project, a high-rise condo opposed by neighbouring homeowners. A couple of years later, developer Harry Stinson was forced to cancel plans for the spectacular, 90-storey Sapphire Tower on Temperance Street. It seemed too tall, too big, too flashy.
All that seems dated now. Though neighbours still complain about shadow impacts, traffic congestion and other often-imaginary problems with proposed tall buildings, Torontonians are coming to accept the merits of building into the heavens.
The thicket of downtown high-rises fits perfectly with the drive to promote urban “intensification,” planner-speak for packing people more closely together to save energy and counteract urban sprawl. The Aura project is right on the Yonge subway line, so thousands of people will be able to get around without their cars. It will bring new life to the tatty corner of Yonge and Gerrard and kick-start revitalization of the crummy Yonge Street strip.
Even so, the city at first failed to see Aura’s aura. The site was zoned for just 36 storeys and planners bridled at the notion of more than doubling that. When a City of Toronto planner first discussed Aura with Mr. Rae, a champion of urban density and downtown living, she called it a disgrace. “I turned to her and said, ‘Is that a planning term?’ and it deteriorated from there.”
But the city soon realized it was on thin ice if it hoped to oppose Aura. Both Toronto’s official plan and Ontario’s smart growth policies call for increasing density around nodes such as Yonge and College.
To ease the city’s concerns, developer Michael La Brier agreed to set up a five-member panel with leading U.S. and local architects to review the tower’s design. The result is a sleek and handsome building that will cost about half a billion dollars. The tower will stand on a three-storey granite-and-glass podium with high-end stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond. More than 97 per cent of the condos have been pre-sold, says Mr. La Brier, though if you have $17.5-million in your pocket, there is still a penthouse available.
That a developer can charge such a sum for a condo in Toronto is a sign of confidence in the city and its vibrant downtown. Aura was financed in the midst of the world financial crisis and more than 85 per cent of the units were sold within six weeks, sight unseen.
The building’s dramatic height is a draw, not a drawback. Mr. La Brier’s remembers the fuss when College Park’s early phases went up, with towers of 45 and 51 storeys. “In those days, 51 storeys was as scary as 75 is today.”
With Aura’s unabashed embrace of height, the city has moved on. If we can get over our fear of 75 storeys, why not 80 or 90 or even 100? In this new vertical city, the sky is the limit.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Toronto Beckons With Bolder, Brighter Buildings
PRNewswire
Toronto is undergoing a profound transformation. The city skyline is alive with 53 new corporate towers, two major arts and entertainment centres, luxury hotels and gleaming condos. A new construction crane seems to join the skyline every week.
The current building boom will add four million square feet of office space, some 15,000 condo units and 850 hotel rooms to Toronto’s core. Not only has the building boom kept up throughout the recession, but all projects follow a sustainability guideline developed by the Toronto Green Standard for New Construction. This is a city-wide guideline that sets out environmentally-friendly construction practices and ways to increase the energy efficiency of new buildings.
Be Our Guest!
The luxury hotel boom in Toronto has been the most prominent of city-wide developments. Appropriately located in Toronto’s art and design district is the Thompson Toronto Hotel. Set to open in spring 2010, Toronto is the first location outside of the U.S. for the prestigious Thompson chain. Its 102 rooms of artful luxury provide an ideal location for visitors to experience Toronto’s vibrant nightlife and cutting edge cuisine. The rooftop features a bar lounge, swimming pool with private cabanas and stunning views of Toronto’s skyline and lakefront.
Putting on the Ritz is precisely what the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto will be doing once open in fall 2010. The building’s striking form standing at 53-stories will be an architectural icon. The only Ritz-Carlton in Canada, it will feature 267 rooms and 159 condominium residences in midst of the entertainment district. Offering world-class dining and classic amenities this five-star hotel will join the club of Toronto’s elite hotel destinations.
When the new luxury boutique hotel, Le Germain Maple Leaf Square opens its doors in August 2010, discerning travellers and sports fans alike will appreciate the modern décor and high-tech amenities each room features. Adjacent to the Air Canada Centre, a major league sports and concert venue, the eight-storey boutique-hotel, will have 171 guest rooms, 5,000 square feet of meeting space, 8,000 square feet of fitness facilities and a 2,000-square-foot hotel café.
Donald Trump’s first Canadian venture, Trump International Hotel and Tower features luxury at its finest. The 60-storey mixed use building is slated to open in 2011 in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.
Where history meets sophistication, will be the renowned Shangri-La Hotel and Residences. Slated to open in 2012, this 65-storey tower features 17 floors of sumptuous hotel rooms decorated in a contemporary classical style with Asian highlights.
Rising out of Toronto’s sports and entertainment district in 2010 will be Bisha Hotel & Residences. This 41-storey hotel and residence building with its 1920s-inspired interior takes guests back in time. Bisha will feature a 24-hour café, two restaurants and a rooftop swimming pool.
Scheduled to start construction in 2011 and open in 2013, Hotel in the Garden will be located on the grounds of Exhibition Place along with the Direct Energy Centre and the newly-opened Allstream Centre convention and tradeshow facilities. The 320-room, 26-storey hotel will offer guests resort-style amenities and stunning views of neighbouring Lake Ontario and the city skyline.
Newest Venues
These venues include Canada’s newest and greenest conference centre – the Allstream Centre that opened in October 2009. Located in the historic Automotive Building in the grounds of Exhibition Place, this historical art-deco architectural masterpiece boasts 160,000 square feet of state-of-the-art technology; ideal for conferences, conventions and just about any exhibition.
Located just west of the Bloor-Yorkville shopping district The Telus Centre for Performance and Learning is one of the world’s finest cultural centres. Home to the Royal Conservatory of Music, the newly expanded facility combines Victorian and modern architecture and features new rehearsal and performance spaces. Koerner Hall opened to rave reviews for its acoustics and design.
You can feel the excitement and anticipation growing at the corner of King and John Streets in the heart of the Entertainment District, the site of the new 150,000 square foot Bell Lightbox. This outstanding facility will be the home for the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September. It will also facilitate existing film programs, new initiatives, as well as community and industry events. Bell Lightbox will provide an essential meeting place and transformative experiences for film professionals, educators and film lovers from around the globe.
Together the steadily rising Toronto hotels, condos and office towers culminate to offer a glimpse of the vertical city to come.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960
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Related posts:
- Luxury condos create mansions in the sky Toronto's super-luxury condo market has blossomed in recent years, even...
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