Posts Tagged ‘condo’

Love’m or hate’m, tall towers are as much a part of Toronto as the “gravy train” was to Rob Ford winning the election!  The growth of these towers, both in height and numbers, has attracted a of attention from various members of the community. The biggest complaint I hear from people on the opposing side of condos isn’t so much the number of them being built, but rather the heights at which they’re reaching… which leads to the age old question:

How tall is too tall?

Award winning architecture studio RAW invites all architecture buffs, shutterbugs and those interested in city design to contribute photos to a new Harbourfront Centre exhibit ‘TOO TALL?’ launching Sept 30.  In conjunction with the Toronto Society of Architects, Harbourfront has invited top architecture firms including RAW, Architects Alliance, KPMB and visual artist Douglas Walker to engage the public in a debate on the role, benefit and beauty of tall buildings.

RAW Architects (you may remember them from the wicked awesome bread party the held in May, or the fresh building design they delivered for Downtown Mini Cooper) is offering the general public a rare opportunity submit photos to the exhibit and put the debate over tall buildings into perspective.  Hundreds of images are needed!  Examining scale as a relative term, people are encouraged to send in a quick pic using any device of ANY building they consider to be tall, framed between their thumb and index finger. Could be a building people like or hate, just put it in perspective with a caption up to 140 characters.  Pictures will be incorporated into RAW’s ‘TALL IS MORE’ digital installation. Deadline for image submissions is Monday, September 26^th.

Images can be submitted via Facebook, Twitter or Email and should include a brief description up to 140 characters. Max file size is 600×800 pixels.

 Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/RAW-architects-and-designers/133960586658656

Twitter http://twitter.com/rawdesignTO

Email      tall@rawdesign.ca

‘TOO TALL?’ will launch with a VIP event Friday, September 30^th, and will be open to thepublic from October 1^st, 2011 through December 31^st, 2011. Harbourfront Centre is located at 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8. For more information, please visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com

I was chatting with someone from Vancouver the other day, and they noted how few balconies in the City have plants or small gardens growing on them… take a drive around Toronto, it’s true!

The Hot Pot BBQ may be exactly what we need to keep up with our West end neighbours. Created by London design firm Black + Blum, the Hot Pot looks like a regular terracotta planter, but actually doubles as a BBQ below!  With a cooking area of a little less than a foot, users can sizzle some steaks in the summer time…with seasoning from the herbs above.  Check out the video below to see the pot in action!

The Hot Pot ships to Canada and can be or ordered from the companies website here.

If you’d like to find a terrace big enough to fit you and a few friends, contact me… I’d love to help!

I’ve run out of jokes for my “Make You Laugh Mondays” and have made the executive  decision to reinvent the often boring start of the week to “MUST HAVE MONDAYS”.

Must Have Mondays will be a collection of furniture or accessories that I think every cool condo dweller must have!

The inaugural item for this series is the super-cool iRetrofone.  The trendy device was hand-sculpted Artist Scott Freeland.  It’s a fully functional charging dock that’s USB compatible and is also a working handset!  It’s fully compatible will all iPhones, and even allows users to sync data with their computer.  The iRetrofone is available online and comes in a variety of styles and colours.  I like this particular one for it’s gold accents. I could see it working well in hard loft, alongside other nostalgic pieces from it’s time.  It blends our old stagnant methods of  communicating with today’s mobile world!

Feel free to send me suggestions of other eclectic items you’d like to see covered on the blog!

If you were putting off buying a penthouse until Tableau Condos released their final collection…I have some great news for you!

In a building that has sold over 80% of suites , the top two (35th and 36th) floors have just been released and will feature suites from 405 sq. ft to over 1,000 sq.ft. Penthouses will have 10 foot ceilings and offer sweeping views of the City.  Prices start from $292,900 to $679,900 for the final release.  Parking is available for all units on these floors and is currently selling for $35,000 a spot.  Read up on the entire project here!

Send me an email below if you’d like to discuss Penthouse living at Tableau further:

After spending a week in sunny Varadero,  the end of vacation and the start of work officially commenced with an update letter from the River City team!

The letter was sent out to all the purchasers and their Realtors in an effort to keep us up to date with progress on this changing part of Toronto.   To summarize the changes thus far:

When Tableau Condos first launched to the real estate community, very little was known about them.  I attended the Realtor’s VIP session and did some digging my self to get the low down on the project. The session took place in the a warehouse at 117 Peter St above the old Embassy Night Club.  There wasn’t very much marketing materials to work with aside from floorplans and a scale model of the tower.  At the time, they were only releasing 60% (which works out to approximately 250 units) of the building.  Purchasers were to be selected by way of worksheets  in a lottery system.

Within the first week, word on the street was that over 1000 worksheet were submitted!  The lack of a model suite and finishing selection didn’t seem to matter as the price was very attractive compared to other developments launching near by (The Mercer and Studio on Richmond). With very little marketing, a showroom incomplete and a well priced product, Tableau easily achieved what they had set out to do…Sell!

Last week, a much smaller group than the one originally at the launch was invited back for an early peek at the showroom and an update on Tableau’s progress.  I was on hand for the event and was quite excited with what I heard.  According to the developers: the last remaining tenant of the building has a year left on their lease.   Tear down and preservation of the existing facade should start as early as January 2012!  They also confirmed that sales are well over 60% and they anticipate that number to go even higher as they gear up for their public launch!

After the presentation, I toured the sales centre and snapped a few picture of it’s transformation. I especially liked the way they displayed the finishes.  Instead of your normal “wall of samples”, they’ve created three different cubes, each showing a different selection of finishes. The model suite was a replica of the T4A floorplan. Everything in the suite was standard except for the divider in the kitchen (that’s an upgrade).  My only criticism would be the use of white in the model.  Other may disagree, but I’m just too clumsy of a guy to be left in a white room lol.

Tableau has come a long way since it’s initial launch in October and I’m certain they’ll do very well once they launch to the public!  I have discounted prices on suites at Tableau but only until February 2nd! Check out the photos below:

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If you’re interested in purchasing at Tableau give me a call (or send me and email)…I’d love to help!

The lack of posts on the blog is directly related to the increase in activity, but not to worry… I’m back, busy, and ready to blog!

By the first week of January appointments on my listings started to really spike and the emails started pouring in from people interested in buying and selling.  I had taken a client of mine into a loft conversion that we’d been eying for some time.  A few hours after the listing went live, I booked us an appointment with the hopes of being the first ones in… 3 others had already previewed the place before us.  My client loved the space so much that within an hour of viewing the unit we had an offer printed and ready to present. Luckily for the both of us we moved fast.  The next day another 7 appointments were booked.  Because I was able to secure the unit for my client the night before we narrowly avoided participating in multiple offers… others weren’t as fortunate.

I’ve seen several new condo listings in the downtown core with the ever famous “Offers if any, reviewed on the xx of January”.  For those not in the biz, this is one of the many signs that it’s a sellers market and that there are more buyers than there are sellers!  When this happens, the negotiating power isn’t heavily the purchasers side BUT I still think it’s worth while to look.  I’m not a fan of paying several thousand dollars more than what a unit is worth, and I’d never suggest a client do that either… but if that dream layout and your desired building does become available, I say go for it just be aware of what comparables have sold for.  If your fair priced offer isn’t accepted don’t loose faith…another one is always out there!  Sellers, instead of waiting for the spring market I’d suggest prepping you’re unit for sale a lot sooner.  It’s only a matter of time before others get word of the increase demand and start listing their places.

On the preconstruciton side of things, 2011 is promising several great launches through out the City.  Projects gearing up for future phased launches and those looking to move last years inventory have started offering a variety of incentives. Throughout the week I’ll be spotlighting a few with great perks!

If you’re looking to live Downtown, I’d love to help!