Posts Tagged ‘Casa Loma’
Look along our downtown skyline and you’re guaranteed to see two things – cranes and highrises! It’s beauty to some, but often times sad to me (and no, not because a catastrophic bubble is about to pop). For you see, once you peel back the glass and concrete cladding… they’re all pretty much the same on the inside!
The formula for developing a condo in Toronto these days is pretty straight forward:
1. Buy downtown lot (bonus points if it’s “steps to” anything.)
2. Select from a one of five “starchitects” to design your glass box.
3. Once you have the outside mapped out, start on the interiors. Here you choice is even more limited… there’s roughly 3 to select from. Who you select won’t make much of a difference as they will typically suggest any or all of the following – granite in the kitchens with a modern or European cabinetry (from what I’ve seen, the words are used interchangeably), some form of hybrid hardwood/laminate concoction in the main living areas and a natural stone tile for the bathrooms.
4. Now that you’ve got 3 of the main ingredients in play, you’re going to need choose from one of the 2 big name preconstruction brokers. Both are equally good, it really comes down to who can sell a better story about your project. They’ll suggest a few marketing firms to bring the “vision” to life – actions words and pretty people are a must for all glossy brochures.
5. Hold a few VIP releases to the ever busy real estate community, and voila you’ve sold a condo.
I’ve left a few sub steps such as floorplan design, coming up with a price, and my personal favourite - music selection for flash based/non smartphone loading website… but i’m sure you get the (sarcastic) point i’m trying to make!
I recently stopped into the sales centre of 277 Davenport, expecting the same as usual. What I found was anything but! They used the same formula I described above, but did it soooo well it doesn’t seem wrong at all!
Let’s start with step 1 – Location. As the name signifies, the condo is being built at 277 Davenport Rd. just a few doors down from Chef Massimo Capra’s Mistura and across the street from Brian Gluckstein’s gorgeous courtyard. The development is being built in a tucked away part of Davenport and the sales centre is almost hidden from plain sight. Panning out, you’ll notice that the project is smack in the middle of 3 of the most sought after neighbourhoods in the City – Casa Loma, Annex and Yorkville.
Posted in New Condo Developments, Real Estate, Toronto | 
Tags: 277 Davenport, annex, Casa Loma, Hariri Pontarini Architects, Mark Savel, Real Estate, The Burnac Group, Toronto, yorkville | 
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I was driving down Davenport the other day, and noticed a massive ad for the South Hill Condos on Madison by the Burnac Group!
This project is the long awaited answer to the vacant land next to the Madison Lofts (also by the Burnac Group) pictured above. For years, the site has been sitting empty and boarded up. There isn’t much info currently known about the project but at a community meeting back in October 2011 it was mentioned that the building is going for a proposed height of 21.95 m.
The Burnac Group is no stranger to the area having built and completed the incredible Madison Lofts directly south of the site. It was here that they transformed an old hydro building into a collection of unique hard loft spaces.
South Hill Condos will sit at the base of Casa Loma and have the Dupont subway station literally minutes away. A brand new eco park is also in the works for the are and will be developed on the vacant parking lot to the south of Macpherson!
Posted in Architecture, New Condo Developments, Real Estate | Tags: Burnac Group, Casa Loma, condos, lofts, Mark Savel, Real Estate, South Hill Condos On Madison, Toronto | No Comments »
