1 Bloor East (Bazis International) for Great Gulf see One Bloor - Real Estate -

[Mike in TO]

...until the mysterious "PHASE II NEW RELEASE!" magically appears next month! Basically the strategy is to sell out one floor at a time and create a sense of urgency to buy. Not a new concept in condo marketing.

Investor, that is 80-85% of total units in the project, not a portion of the tower with new units to be released at some point in the future like some other projects. All of the units have been released and only the more expensive larger ones remain available.

 

[investor]

Investor, that is 80-85% of total units in the project, not a portion of the tower with new units to be released at some point in the future like some other projects. All of the units have been released and only the more expensive larger ones remain available.

Without audited sales figure I would disbelieve the majority of info that emanates from this group, personally.

 

[Mike in TO]

Without audited sales figure I would disbelieve the majority of info that emanates from this group, personally.

Third party sources, but you can believe whatever you want.

 

[investor]

Third party sources, but you can believe whatever you want.

Mike, you seem like a reasonable guy. Why would anyone pay $800+/square ft. to own in this building when existing buildings in as good or better locations are selling for about $600/square ft. today. I sincerely doubt that living immediately adjacent to the city's premier gentlemen's club commands that much cache. Or furthermore that the $500,000+ buyers are motivated by the convergence of the city's two main subway lines.

Please illuminate me.

Again, these are merely my opinions and I readily admit that the developer has every right to maximize revenue on every sale. I'm sure this project will end up being a huge success for all interested parties.

 

[canarob]

Mike in TO has a very good track record with this kind of info, IMHO.

 

[grey]

Investor also raises some very good points, and a lot of you are acting like douchebags. When did this thread turn into a Bazis circlejerk?

 

[asiancolossus]

When did this site turn into Skyscrapercity?

I think we should all appreciate that there are two sides to every coin. The difference in this case is that although investor brings up some valid points, unless confronted, he unfairly skews Bazis negatively without just cause (for example going as far as accusing the website of "making up" previous construction in Europe) and calling other posters foul names and putting them down.

That kind of attitude I would think would be unwanted. If he was a little more objective and less crude towards other fellow posters, perhaps he wouldn't garner so much animosity.

 

[syn]

I think we should all appreciate that there are two sides to every coin. The difference in this case is that although investor brings up some valid points, unless confronted, he unfairly skews Bazis negatively without just cause (for example going as far as accusing the website of "making up" previous construction in Europe) and calling other posters foul names and putting them down.

That kind of attitude I would think would be unwanted. If he was a little more objective and less crude towards other fellow posters, perhaps he wouldn't garner so much animosity.

There has always been two sides to every coin and they've always been debated pretty well on this site...but recently things have gone downhill.

 

[caltrane74]

We seem to have more negativity than we need.


Obviously the 1 Bloor East project thread has clearly defined the negative posters from the positive posters. I don't know where the negative posters find the energy to post day after day on this project. And what has caused this dislike for the project, I have no clue. I wonder if it is because they are so "not Canadian" that feeds the animosity of the project, or maybe that Bazis has decided to do something bold, when the previous "Canadian" developers proposal was meek and short at only 63 floors, and seemed mothballed for good about 2 or 3 years ago.

Can you imagine if Kolter was still holding onto this piece of property??.. 1 Bloor east would have been a figment of our imaginations and vultur/investor would have never joined the site and wouldn't have been able to critique its sales methods and development practices. We wouldn't be having this conversation right now and we would likely be talking about some other project.

At least Bazis is doing something with a very crumby intersection in Toronto

 

[acetradamus]

Wake up people! ONE BLOOR LEAST is an uninspiring, over-arching and embarrassingly specuvestor driven symbol of the end of market stability and the beginning of the irrational exuberance that has crippled bigger ponds then Hogtown.

^^ very true, 1 Bloor East is nothing special to look at. The developer wins by having mega density at a site associated with desirability on no reasonable merits. Current market conditions allow Bazis to exploit the site by selling tons of units at unjustified exhorbitant prices. Usually this type of frenzied buying of high priced crap signals the point where there's too much money chasing too little substance.

It's unfortunate when high density = automatic high praise. This is clearly a speculation driven project being sold at a high premium ... = overvalued.

People may see 1 Bloor East as a monument for the Yonge/Bloor intersection, but any reasonable person sees it as a monument to the impending real estate crash. The market itself as a whole may not be ready to slow down, but projects like 1 Bloor East are an attempt at a quick money grab by people with money (Bazis and purchasers) trying to exploit the current conditions.

The prices don't reflect the hard value of the investment because they already include a substantial premium built in by having too much money chasing appreciable gains. Once the real estate market cools down a bit expect 1 Bloor to suffer the most in its price group in terms of resale value.

As for the sentiment of forumers liking this project because its something cool for an important Toronto intersection and we should be grateful Bazis has brought us 1 Bloor East...

Well, you have to understand why they are doing it. There is a lot of money to be made. Bazis knows market conditions around the world and they know Toronto is ripe for the picking at the moment. We shouldn't be grateful to Bazis for anything, if they didn't develop this site someone else would have sooner or later. Toronto is being viewed as a comparably cheaper alternative to other high valued cities and so there are international developers attracted to the prospect of maximizing their funds. 1 Bloor represents a whole level of economic complexity with uncertain implications that amount to much more than just a tall building at our subway crossroads.

 

[caltrane74]

People may see 1 Bloor East as a monument for the Yonge/Bloor intersection, but any reasonable person sees it as a monument to the impending real estate crash. The market itself as a whole may not be ready to slow down, but projects like 1 Bloor East are an attempt at a quick money grab by people with money (Bazis and purchasers) trying to exploit the current conditions.

The prices don't reflect the hard value of the investment because they already include a substantial premium built in by having too much money chasing appreciable gains. Once the real estate market cools down a bit expect 1 Bloor to suffer the most in its price group in terms of resale value.

Why worry, it's not your money that will be going down the toilet. It's the people who can afford to buy and one would assume can afford to loose to. When it (ie: "the crash") happens why don't you come to the bar with the rest of us and have a good laugh at these suckers over some drinks.

 

[acetradamus]

Why worry, it's not your money that will be going down the toilet. It's the people who can afford to buy and one would assume can afford to loose to. When it (ie: "the crash") happens why don't you come to the bar with the rest of us and have a good laugh at these suckers over some drinks.

Yea, I don't care about rich people losing money. I'd prefer if it was me taking their cash though instead of Bazis and agents. I give tons of praise to Bazis for thoroughly plundering whoever is paying for those units.

 

[asiancolossus]

Why worry, it's not your money that will be going down the toilet. It's the people who can afford to buy and one would assume can afford to loose to. When it (ie: "the crash") happens why don't you come to the bar with the rest of us and have a good laugh at these suckers over some drinks.

Good point caltrane, these posters are oh so worried about the state of the condo market and potential crash, acting as if 1 Bloor will be the catastrophic straw that breaks the camels back. I think they are giving 1 Bloor way too much credit. If the condo market crashes, yes places like 1 Bloor will go down further than the others, but it will be because of a multitude of factors. And which developers are not taking advantage of the condo craze? Trump? Ritz Carlton? C'mon, they are building BECAUSE of the buying spree Canadians are going on, supply and demand. And if these buyers lose then you can say I told you so. On the other hand, those who invested in 1 Bloor taking such a big investment who make money also deserve to make money. And that seems to piss certain people off.

 

[maestro]

when the previous "Canadian" developers proposal was meek and short at only 63 floors, and seemed mothballed for good about 2 or 3 years ago.

Kolter is as "not Canadian" as Bazis. AFAIK, the family that spent 25 years consolidating the properties (without reinvesting a single dime) to build their dream landmark tower is still the owner of record which pisses me off. Fcukin' slumlords cashing out!

 

[acetradamus]

Money(Bazis) + Money trying to make money (investors) = product (condo)

We have people trying to get richer and as a result we end up with an 80-story condo whose major architectural feature are sliding balcony screens.

mmm... great. I guess it makes our skyline look a bit cooler having something that tall away from the core. It'll look real nice in the distance to people at Taste of the Danforth.

To me, it's a crappy looking building for its size and magnitude of visibility. I'm not too happy about Bazis making millions and leaving a huge piece of crap at a prominent location. The only oooh's and aaah's it gets will be because it's tall, not because it looks good.