Market Wharf Condos (Context Development) - Real Estate -

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UrbanVigor

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Curious to know your thoughts on Market Wharf just a block south of the St. Lawrence Market.

It looks like a beautifully designed building, Context, I believe, is a reliable developer (any comments?), and the location can't be beat.

I've always liked the neighbourhood and am looking to make a purchase - either resale or new. Market Wharf certainly is pricier than most other options in the area, but I think it's justified by it's prime location. I believe there will always be demand to live in it once it's built. But it is pricey on a cost per square footage basis pushing past $600 psf with parking.

Also they've just recently broke ground so at least 2 years before occupancy will begin in the tower. How is Context in terms of reliability in estimating occupancy dates and how long do their occupancy periods tend to last before the mortgage finally kicks in? How do they rate compared to other developers?
 
So construction has started.

I was told at the sales office that occupancy for the podium would be in 2011 and the tower in 2012. Is it fairly safe to say that these are accurate estimates?

Does anyone have an idea on when one should generally expect occupancy and final closing to occur?
 
UrbanVigor said:
So construction has started.

I was told at the sales office that occupancy for the podium would be in 2011 and the tower in 2012. Is it fairly safe to say that these are accurate estimates?

Does anyone have an idea on when one should generally expect occupancy and final closing to occur?
Click to expand...

There are way too many factors that influence when a building will be finished/occupancy. I have never bought a condo that ended up being on schedule. So, expect delays. However, it is starting construction so that is a great first step!
 
UrbanVigor said:
So construction has started.

I was told at the sales office that occupancy for the podium would be in 2011 and the tower in 2012. Is it fairly safe to say that these are accurate estimates?

Does anyone have an idea on when one should generally expect occupancy and final closing to occur?
Click to expand...

Sales offices usually tell you what they think you want to hear and that's normally that the building will be finished (and look great) just at the moment you want to move in. :)

As they have not yet got all their permits I suspect that actual construction will not start until April/May 2010 so occupancy of the podium would probably not happen until late 2010 at the earliest. As far as I know they have not yet officially applied for any permits to build Phase 2 (the tower) so unless they get on with these very soon 2012 looks optimistic to me.
 
DSC said:
Sales offices usually tell you what they think you want to hear and that's normally that the building will be finished (and look great) just at the moment you want to move in. :)

As they have not yet got all their permits I suspect that actual construction will not start until April/May 2010 so occupancy of the podium would probably not happen until late 2010 at the earliest. As far as I know they have not yet officially applied for any permits to build Phase 2 (the tower) so unless they get on with these very soon 2012 looks optimistic to me.
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One thing that will help this project be realitvely speedy is there is no huge excavation.
 
Although I'm sure optimistic, they say the podium will be occupied June 2011 and the tower in 2012 (wasn't told anything specific, just 2012).

Somewhere I read that they started in November 2009 (which is true) and that construction would be completed in February 2011... probably optimistic? What happens between February 2011 and June 2011 should everything go as planned? Also when they say construction completed in February 2011, I'm sure that just means substantial completion, right?

Sorry for all the questions. I have no previous experience purchasing new and just want an idea of how accurate the occupancy dates are or what the worst case scenario might be (which I understand no one could predict).
 
UrbanVigor said:
Sorry for all the questions. I have no previous experience purchasing new and just want an idea of how accurate the occupancy dates are or what the worst case scenario might be (which I understand no one could predict).
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from my personal observations, i've estimated completion dates as follows:
- if ground breaking hasn't occurred yet, the occupancy dates given by the developer/broker is all BS;
- 1 floor = 1 month, 20 floors = 20 months, etc.

so i estimate this building will be ready for occupancy 32 months after ground breaking
 
So Summer 2012, if all goes well, even for just the podium?

How reliable is Context considered in terms of their estimates? Or are they all virtually the same?
 
bar1967 said:
One thing that will help this project be realitvely speedy is there is no huge excavation.
Click to expand...

That is certainly true but to date all they have done is scrape the asphalt off the ex-parking lot. They will need to do SOME excavation and none has happened yet as far as I could see when I walked past yesterday. In mid-October they applied for two permits but NEITHER has yet been approved.

18 LOWER JARVIS ST

09 179985 BLD 00 New Building Oct 19, 2009 Not Started
09 179985 FND 00 Partial Permit Oct 19, 2009 Under Review

I would not start packing just yet! :)
 
^Agreed. I don't know how development usually goes, but they only have one piece of equipment on site. We purchased one of the podium units and they haven't announced an official groundbreaking yet. I suspect they're simply doing some very preliminary work so they can claim "construction has started".

Still, very excited about this location!
 
I've scheduled my appointment (next week) to pick the finishes for my unit. One of the no cost options is for porcelain tile instead of engineered hardwood throughout (other than the bdrm which is broadloom). The tile is a fairly large tile and looks quite good but I'm thinking of going hardwood because it's not as cold or hard as tile. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
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