|
|
| |
NEXT |
|
| |
Toronto's
Architectural and Cultural Renaissance
Text:
Barry Brown + Condo
Monde
Renewal, revival, rejuvenation. Renaissance. The city of Toronto is
undergoing the most fascinating period of growth and change that has
ever been seen. A mature city, with history, a social climate, an
identity, Toronto is quickly becoming the most culturally and
architecturally diverse and innovative city in North America. All
over the city, the old is becoming new again. In Rosedale and The
Annex, century and heritage homes are receiving million-dollar
facelifts, driving up property and aesthetic values. Just west of
downtown, King and Queen Street West are the hottest spots to
experience converted-factory condos – the refurbished Hershey Candy
Factory and Irwin Toy Factory are the most chic and coveted
residences for condo-living. Condominiums have steadily increased in
popularity in the last decade. They are no longer simply the smart
choice for someone looking to enter the housing market, they are now
a Toronto homebuyer’s statement. We are bearing witness to a new age
of landmark architectural projects rising alongside cultural
monuments, spanning the Greater Toronto Area. Highly marketable,
these new developments have an abundance of style and
sophistication, not to mention green appeal, numerous neighbourhood
attractions and proximity to the most vibrant arts and culture the
city has ever hosted.
Home to the theatre, opera, world-class art galleries,
world-renowned educational facilities and long-touted as the gateway
to Muskoka, Toronto’s posture is that of a city with only one place
to go: up. Condos are satisfying the desire for high-class living
while making the most lands at a premium. As one of the hottest real
estate markets in the world, Toronto is in the midst of a design
renaissance that is changing the meaning of condominium. Yorkville,
where Toronto’s priciest condos have exchanged hands, some fetching
prices of up to $15 million, is “the new Manhattan,” explains
Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill.
Fuelled by a robust economy, low unemployment and interest rates,
and an explosion of culture radiating from the downtown core,
condo-living is now a condo lifestyle that has resulted in a
powerful market, that in September comprised 80 percent of downtown
residential sales, 72 percent of the sales in the city and its
immediate suburbs.
|
|
| |
“Those 2,500 condos sold for an average of nearly $320,000 for a
very basic 700 to 800 square foot unit, while heading up to $3
million,” explains O’Neill. From leafy Riverdale and the Annex to
lakefront and downtown playgrounds like Harbourfront, the Beaches
Liberty Village and King West Village, “everyone is getting on the
condo bandwagon,” O’Neill remarks.
Toronto’s unprecedented growth in condo development shows no signs
of slowing down. From 2001 to 2006, Toronto added more new private
dwellings than any other city in Canada, and upwards of 38,000 new
homes were condominiums. In the past decade, 627 new buildings have
added more than 100,000 condo units to Toronto’s housing mix. During
that same period, the population of Toronto and its suburbs grew by
750,000 people, bringing its population to more than 5 million for
the first time in its history.
The Toronto condo renaissance is catering with equal success to
groups of baby boomers and empty-nesters, as well as affluent young
people. In either case, the cultural climate and the architectural
climate of Toronto are near mirror-images. As the city further
invests in and develops its rich and thriving cultural arts,
condominiums are being developed along-side. For example, The Four
Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is an astounding testament to
the ability of design to cater to the needs of the arts. West of
that, King and John is the betrothed home of the Festival Tower, a
“glittering complex” that the world will look to as Toronto’s
esteemed home-away-from-home for the international film world. The
residents of Festival Tower too will be able to enjoy unprecedented
access to the prestigious events of this address, not to mention the
luxurious amenities offered by this stunning, world-class
condominium.
The home-owners who are making the move to downtown condos want to
be near “restaurants, toys and theatre.” O’Neill continues “Single
people are buying their own condos instead of waiting to buy with
someone else.” Developers have responded to this demand by offering
extensive amenities like valet, hi-tech business centres, polished
fitness facilities, full-service spas, and on-site gourmet
restaurants, in addition to the added incentive of close proximity
to cultural institutions, movie theatres, and upscale boutiques.
The condo gold rush has led to a complete refurbishing of Toronto
centre in the past 10 years as old industrial factories and
abandoned lands, cultural landmarks and sleepy neighbourhoods are
transformed into destination points with hip, globally-networked
communities.
Buyers no longer satisfied with boring boxes yearn for exciting
projects like Daniel Libeskind’s L Tower, attached to the newly
renamed Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (formerly Hummingbird
Centre), which is attracting sophisticates from across the globe.
The ultra-glamorous Art Deco temple, the Regency Yorkville, and the
sleek modern lines, cedar cabinetry and flush appliances found at
the Wellington on the Park towers are tailor-made for buyers
interested in leading a luxurious lifestyle. Nestor Repetski, a
partner with developers Winick, Repetski Associates, reflects on 30
years of producing condominium buildings. “In the early days, condos
made up just 10 percent of the home sales and the market was narrow
and conservative,” Repetski observes. “While today, condo owners
make up half of all home buyers and condo people are sophisticated
shoppers that span all ages, incomes and demographics. Today, each
condo is purpose built for the buyer. It’s unique. It’s night and
day from 30 years ago,” he added.
Environmentally-friendly heating and cooling systems designed to be
energy efficient and individually controlled, engineered hardwood
flooring, Italian and German kitchen appliances, walk-in showers and
open-concept bedrooms are some of the lures condominium developers
are using in order to reach an up-scale market well-educated by the
wealth of real estate savvy TV shows and magazines. This new breed
of buyers are expecting their real estate investment to not only
service their desires but to reflect their lifestyle.
Amenities are as important as location, and new developments are
constantly overtaking one another in the bid to provide the utmost
of high-profile services and facilities.
In the current market, condos are no longer simply buildings – they
have become manifestations of identity. New developments are
bestowed with a unique personality, illustrating how the
architecture of today’s Toronto is catering to the ever-refining and
subtly-changing tastes of the upscale clientele who live there. In
the case of Wellington on the Park, architect Les Klein of
Quadrangle Architects approached the project with the intention of
maintaining the old building’s factory appeal while designing a
contemporary, multiple-use building.
more |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
