Posts Tagged ‘first time buyer’

River City announced the start of Underpass Park earlier in the week.  The public space will be located under and around the Eastern Ave overpass.  It will be the biggest park ever to be built under a bridge in Canada.  The Underpass Park is scheduled to open in spring 2011 and will we a welcomed addition to the future residents of River City!

A few posts back, I wrote about how much I liked the 500 and 530 St. Clair project… now that a Starbucks opened up on the main level of 500, add another reason!  I actually don’t drink coffee (per-say) but I do love their green tea and the occasional moca-frappucino!

So why is a Starbucks such a big deal??? After all, it’s just another coffee shop right?  Well yes, but Starbucks doesn’t just open a place on any corner.  It’s not very often you see a Starbucks close down, and I believe it’s because of all the research and surveying that’s done before one actually opens. I was prepared to write a whole post on the “Starbuck Effect” and the type of positive changes that one brings to an area….BUT another blogger beat me too it!  Instead of rewriting what he’s already written, I encourage you to check out David Fleming’s post entitled “The Starbucks Effect“ He pretty much sums up all the areas that have benefitted from having the popular coffee shop open up in their area!

I firmly believe that the strip of St. Clair (From Bathurst to Oakwood) will be seeing positive changes in the coming years.  It already has streetcar AND subway access, not to mention the massive Loblaw’s for shopping, and Cedervale Park for leisure.  With big name chains like Starbucks moving in, it’s only a matter of time before others set up shop!  Local residential hot spot “Ferro” also looked like it was expanding its space in anticipation for more business along the strip!

Property values aside, there is another reason why this particular store deserves attention.  It’s the first (at least to my knowledge) Starbucks in Toronto that was built to LEED standards!   LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, and a system that more and more Toronto developers trying to incorporate into their buildings.  Though ordering your moca-froca-whatever from a LEED Certifies Starbucks won’t taste and different than any other Starbucks… It is good to see the massive coffee chain reducing their environmental footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling and green construction.

Drop in to the new Starbucks; it has a very loft-like look to it with a decent combination of wood and concrete finishes!

I was at the River City sales office the other day getting some updates on availability of units…after chatting with the wonderful staff (I can truthfully say that from experience) I took a walk over to the see the progress at the site! To the average person it pretty much looks the same, but from what I saw back in October to how it looks now is quite substantial. For a project of this size, tons of parts must first be put in place before the actual project gets off the ground. In the coming days I’ll have some video footage showing some of the changes at the site….

BUT the bigggggest update I discovered was almost camouflaged by some graffiti on the hoarding. Posted towards the end of the construction wall was a white sign that read “Daniels”!!! I instantly got on my laptop and started searching to see if anyone had picked up on this! (As of writing this post, no one has)… before I go on, let me take a step back to explain why this finding is so HUGE!

Currently all that’s on the site is a ton of dirt and a bunch of construction workers getting ready to carve the River St extension. Once complete the street will run through the River City development (on the East side of the street. To the West of the extension will be a dedicated area for mixed use and affordable housing. Since the project launched back in November, I’ve been searching all over the City (and internet) for information on who will be building the housing. All that I was able to find was a short note reading “Toronto Community Housing Corporation is developing the first complex comprised of three buildings of affordable housing. Construction of the 243 unit development designed by Baird Sampson Neurt Architects will start in spring 2010 and occupancy is expected in early 2012.” from a March 10th Waterfront Toronto release. Even the Toronto Affordable Housing website lacked the details I’ve been looking for!

If my findings are true, and in fact Daniels is the developer selected to build at the site…this is great news for all! Daniels has an excellent reputation, already building AND selling out their One Cole project a few blocks away in Moss Park. They’re also the developers who practically sold out their Mississauga townhouse complex in several hours back in March. I couldn’t find anything on the Daniels website announcing their involvement in the River City project BUT if that little white sign is any indication of what’s to come, it’s should be a welcomed addition to the neighbourhood!

There are some great layouts available at River City! If you’re interested in calling River City home, give me a call or send me an email… I’d love to help!

Look for more video updates in the coming posts!

I was cleaning up some old footage from my Flipcam the other day when I came across a few clips I caught of the City.  With the Hot Docs film fest coming to town, I felt a bit “Spike-Leeish”  and decided to put together a short vid of my own…enjoy!

When you’re ready to call Toronto home…call me!

Toronto now has a new condo added to its SKYYline! Minto Skyy officially registered with the City last month, meaning residents can now sell their unit on the MLS. I visited the building shortly before registration and wanted to share with my readers what I saw!

Located at 1048 Broadview Avenue, the building is perfectly positioned to allow for spectacular sunsets (like the one above and below). They took the right approach with Skyy by keeping the amenities practical. Residents have access to a Yoga studio, Fitness room, Library, Media room, and Kitchen!

With the warmer weather coming are way, most residents will want to spend their time outdoors on the massive patio. The wide panoramic views of the Don Valley Brick Works and the rest of the Cities skyline,offer the perfect backdrop for outdoor events…if you look realllllly close you can even see Minto’s other work: Minto Midtown!

Excavation started back in 2007, and even then, Minto was ahead of the game. They were one of the few at that time building with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in mind. Over 80% construction waste was diverted from landfills and more than 25% of construction materials were produced locally! Now complete, SKYY residents have energy saving features such as: All-Off switches (which do what the name implies), rainwater harvesting, dual flush toilets and individual metering! With a Sobeys directly across the street and the Broadview subway station a short walk away, living car free is very possible at Minto Skyy.

Check out the photos below and give me a call or send me an email if you’d like to own a place in the SKYY! (Scroll down to the bottom for a bonus video by a SOB)

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Over the weekend I had the chance to check out a cooool loft conversion in the Bloor and Islington area of Etobicoke! Located a few minutes away from the Islington subway station at 2 Fieldway, the newly converted loft was once home to Bell Canada offices. For the past few years, they’ve been working to transform the building into what it is today!

Last week the building finally registered with the City, meaning residents can now sell their units on the open market (ie. MLS). I previewed several units, and EVERY one was totally different. Some had polished concrete floors giving it the industrial look, while others had beautiful thick-plank hardwood floors for a more modern feel! There is roughly 205 units spread out over 12 floors with 10′ ceiling heights for most suites and 15′10″ for the 2 story lofts.

With conversion lofts, residents should often give consideration to noise levels as most of the time builders can only work with what they currently have. At Network Lofts the builders had 10 inch to 18 inch floor slabs for exceptional low noise transition (as per their website). Though I can’t verify the slab sizes myself, I can say that the units were all very quite during our visit! (a big plus)

The lobby was very impressive, with its spacious entrance surrounded by wood paneled walls and big stone accents…pictured below!

We didn’t get to see all of its amenities but original plans called for: His and hers steam rooms in exercise area, guest suite, fully outfitted fitness room with two treadmills, two elliptical exercisers, various free weights and a rooftop terrace for use by all residents for enjoying warm weather and great views that Network Lofts has to offer!

As with most newly completed builds, new listings are coming out daily! If you’re interested in living and being part of the ”network” give me a call or send me an email…I’d love to help!

Sellers, units have appreciated quite a bit since its first launch; contact me if you’d like to know what yours is worth!

500 and 530 St. Clair, are in my opinion, one of the most underrated projects in the City!! The development is in the process of transforming the Bathurst and St. Clair corner with two well-thought-out condo towers. One of the reasons I so heavily favour it is because it’s perfectly placed location. Once complete, the towers will positioned between several highly desirable neighbourhoods, including Cedarville – Humewood, Forest Hill, Casa Loma and Hillcrest all offering unique characteristics for its residents.

Topographically speaking, the condo’s placement at the top of Bathurst allows for some of the most comprehensive views I’ve ever seen of the Toronto skyline. The photo below was taken from the 16th floor of 500 St. Clair, and perfectly depicts what I mean!

Lake views can be had to the South West!

Of course it takes more than views to make a great a building, and here’s where the project really shines! I had the opportunity to accompany a client during their “pre delivery inspection” last week. The layout was well planned, and had ample room for a beautiful kitchen with tons of storage space. I love to eat, so naturally the kitchen is something I hold very dear to my heart. Both my client and I both commented on how it was very similar in size to something found in a residential house (a huuuge plus, based on some of the smaller kitchens I’ve seen in my time). The stainless steel appliances complemented the space and completed the picture perfect image one should expect in a condo!

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