1 Bloor East, DEAD AND BURIED (Bazis, -2s, Varacalli)

[condovo]

Fair enough that you don't fancy the design, many don't, but the apartments sure are sweet.
So you hope for an empty lot/parking lot here? This intersection has gone from a vibrant and exciting place to live and be entertained for 18 hours a day to a drab and boring place to be in just the past 7 or 8 years.
Oh, and remember the north-east corner of Yonge & Dundas and a decade of blue hoarding and L'Oréal ads? Hopefully there won't be a repeat of that debacle at a key downtown intersection.

Of course I'm not hoping for an empty lot but for a better development. There's no way this lot will remain empty for 10+ years but if that's the case and what emerges after that time is a truly beautiful, landmark tower then the wait will have been worth it.

 

[yyzer]

here's the article from globaltv.com.....

Questions surround high-profile condo development
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009

The construction site of "One Bloor" remains empty
Global News

An empty eyesore remains at one of downtown's prime intersections, and just 18 months ago it was set to be the hottest development in Toronto.

Condo hysteria swept the city back in November 2007, all because of a project called "One Bloor", an 80-storey building that took the housing boom to new heights.

Buyers camped outside the sales office for a week and prices shot up.

Mark Cosman got caught up in the hype and put down a deposit on a one bedroom suite.

"Bloor and Yonge, it couldn't be any better," said Cosman. "Centre ice in the City of Toronto."

Almost the entire building was sold, the site was quickly bulldozed, but construction never actually started.

Developer Bazis International is on its second extension of its condition date to start building.

Buyers are desperately trying to get answers.

"They're excited about the project, they're nervous about the project, but they're still hopeful," said Anna Cass from Royal LePage. "They want it to happen."

The holdup appears to be project financing that was tied up with Lehman Brothers, the failed U.S. investment bank. Lehman Bros. is now in bankruptcy court and that means the money that was supposed to help finance this project is tied up in the courts as well.

The developer has remained silent. Calls by Global News to Bazis International were not returned.

The project has not been cancelled but no one knows if or when it might be built.

"I was very happy with my investment intitially," said Cosman, "but now, if i could get out from a legal perspective, I would."

People who bought into One Bloor may still have a chance to walk away.

As of June 15, Bazis has 31 days to cancel the project at no risk to purchasers, or they can choose to proceed with construction.

 

[yyzer]

Fair enough that you don't fancy the design, many don't, but the apartments sure are sweet.
So you hope for an empty lot/parking lot here? This intersection has gone from a vibrant and exciting place to live and be entertained for 18 hours a day to a drab and boring place to be in just the past 7 or 8 years.
Oh, and remember the north-east corner of Yonge & Dundas and a decade of blue hoarding and L'Oréal ads? Hopefully there won't be a repeat of that debacle at a key downtown intersection.

Wise words from dt_toronto_geek....with where we are at with the economy and the real estate cycle, it could be 5 years minimum for anything else to be even considered for this site....be careful what you wish for...

 

[Granny]

This is so funny.
Global's big breaking news on this project is that they have no news to report on this project.
Must be a really slowww news day.

here's the article from globaltv.com.....

Questions surround high-profile condo development
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009

The construction site of "One Bloor" remains empty
Global News

An empty eyesore remains at one of downtown's prime intersections, and just 18 months ago it was set to be the hottest development in Toronto.

Condo hysteria swept the city back in November 2007, all because of a project called "One Bloor", an 80-storey building that took the housing boom to new heights.

Buyers camped outside the sales office for a week and prices shot up.

Mark Cosman got caught up in the hype and put down a deposit on a one bedroom suite.

"Bloor and Yonge, it couldn't be any better," said Cosman. "Centre ice in the City of Toronto."

Almost the entire building was sold, the site was quickly bulldozed, but construction never actually started.

Developer Bazis International is on its second extension of its condition date to start building.

Buyers are desperately trying to get answers.

"They're excited about the project, they're nervous about the project, but they're still hopeful," said Anna Cass from Royal LePage. "They want it to happen."

The holdup appears to be project financing that was tied up with Lehman Brothers, the failed U.S. investment bank. Lehman Bros. is now in bankruptcy court and that means the money that was supposed to help finance this project is tied up in the courts as well.

The developer has remained silent. Calls by Global News to Bazis International were not returned.

The project has not been cancelled but no one knows if or when it might be built.

"I was very happy with my investment intitially," said Cosman, "but now, if i could get out from a legal perspective, I would."

People who bought into One Bloor may still have a chance to walk away.

As of June 15, Bazis has 31 days to cancel the project at no risk to purchasers, or they can choose to proceed with construction.

 

[Automation Gallery]

So you hope for an empty lot/parking lot here? This intersection has gone from a vibrant and exciting place to live and be entertained for 18 hours a day to a drab and boring place to be in just the past 7 or 8 years.
Oh, and remember the north-east corner of Yonge & Dundas and a decade of blue hoarding and L'Oréal ads? Hopefully there won't be a repeat of that debacle at a key downtown intersection.

The city has to lay down the laws so developers dont just leave these key intersections looking like shit.
One way is to issue them a hefty fine and eventually expropriate the land of the proposed project, if the developer does not honour the start-up date.

 

[Bentley]

Can someone explain to me something. What happens to the buyers who bought the paper from other buyers at inflated prices? I know that a few people who got in early on day one ended up selling their units over to other buyers at higher prices, adding to the hysteria.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Can someone explain to me something. What happens to the buyers who bought the paper from other buyers at inflated prices? I know that a few people who got in early on day one ended up selling their units over to other buyers at higher prices, adding to the hysteria.

Good one they are all probably ready to slash their wrists thats if they already havent It will be a mess if this thing gets canceled.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Of course I'm not hoping for an empty lot but for a better development. There's no way this lot will remain empty for 10+ years but if that's the case and what emerges after that time is a truly beautiful, landmark tower then the wait will have been worth it.

Ok, fair enough but no parking lot

The city has to lay down the laws so developers dont just leave these key intersections looking like shit.
One way is to issue them a hefty fine and eventually expropriate the land of the proposed project, if the developer does not honour the start-up date.

Definitely, good point.
My thought has been that the City could demand a separate bond upon approval of a given project which would be held in trust and that would approximate the amount of money it would take to turn a failed or delayed project into a usable public space until the project resumes, is sold or a new project approved. This could be something as simple as truckloads of soil & sod, an interlocking brick surface with some benches and landscaping or something of that sort. The property owner would also have to be responsible for continuing to pay taxes on the site, maintenance and carrying liability insurance. That is of course assuming the project isn't above ground.

 

[maestro]

The city has to lay down the laws so developers dont just leave these key intersections looking like shit.
One way is to issue them a hefty fine and eventually expropriate the land of the proposed project, if the developer does not honour the start-up date.

That is probably the greatest idea ever to chase development from the city. I do think the city is far too easy in handing out demolition permits however, there is no real solution to stopping it from happening. Real estate is cyclical and there is no such thing as full, unconditional financing.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

An empty eyesore...

Not that I would mind something on the site - but "empty eyesore"? I don't think I am alone in saying that what's there right now is actually easy on the eyes.

AoD

 

[Peepers]

I don't know if this has been posted before but I found this City document regarding the sale of a City owned lane way to Bazis which occurred last month. What is interesting is that it details the problems with the Lehman bankruptcy. Originally the lane way was to be purchased by a company called "IBSEL" which was jointly owned by Bazis AND Lehman Bros. Since Lehman was in bankruptcy "1BSEL" could not complete the sale so Bazis alone purchased the lane way. From this recent document it does seem clear that Bazis does intend to proceed with the project but as we can see the Lehman bankruptcy is complicating things.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-19823.pdf

 

[taal]

I don't know if this has been posted before but I found this City document regarding the sale of a City owned lane way to Bazis which occurred last month. What is interesting is that it details the problems with the Lehman bankruptcy. Originally the lane way was to be purchased by a company called "IBSEL" which was jointly owned by Bazis AND Lehman Bros. Since Lehman was in bankruptcy "1BSEL" could not complete the sale so Bazis alone purchased the lane way. From this recent document it does seem clear that Bazis does intend to proceed with the project but as we can see the Lehman bankruptcy is complicating things.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-19823.pdf

Really nice find ... explains everything, kinda


Regarding Bazis ... maybe their stance on the matter is no news is good news. If the situation with Lehman is still in court there's really nothing to report ... no good news at least. So maybe they're just holding up until they know more.

 

[Peepers]

Really nice find ... explains everything, kinda


Regarding Bazis ... maybe their stance on the matter is no news is good news. If the situation with Lehman is still in court there's really nothing to report ... no good news at least. So maybe they're just holding up until they know more.

It does at least provide a glimpse into the complexities behind the scene. What I find odd is Lehman was part owner with Bazis in the company buying the land from the city. It seems to me like Lehman was more than just a lender - they were an equity partner in the project which means that even if Bazis arranges new sources of funding there can be legal entanglements from the original equity partnership.

 

[taal]

It does at least provide a glimpse into the complexities behind the scene. What I find odd is Lehman was part owner with Bazis in the company buying the land from the city. It seems to me like Lehman was more than just a lender - they were an equity partner in the project which means that even if Bazis arranges new sources of funding there can be legal entanglements from the original equity partnership.

Could be standard practice maybe?

What's also interesting is what happened to the so called European financing (lies?)

Maybe MikeTO can shed some more light now that the secret is out of the bag? Then again there could be more at play (that report is closing on 2 months now).

 

[Peepers]

Could be standard practice maybe?

What's also interesting is what happened to the so called European financing (lies?)

Maybe MikeTO can shed some more light now that the secret is out of the bag? Then again there could be more at play (that report is closing on 2 months now).

It could be standard practice (I'm not an expert) however I think it is likely that Lehman was a partner as opposed to a lender. I found this old Globe & Mail article that described the relationship in such terms; quote: "Lehman Brothers Inc., which Mr. Gold's company, Kazakhstan-based Bazis International Inc., had partnered with to buy the land.

As Lehman's fortunes teetered and a European lender headed for the door, Mr. Gold moved a few months ago to seek out new financing partners. Conditions are getting tougher, but the location and quality of the project helped him sign on two European pension funds, Mr. Gold said. full article here: http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20081006/wrbanksbazis07.html

So it appears that Lehman was a partner in the project and when Lehman went bankrupt the project lost the original European financing. However - according to the article - Bazis was able to secure financing from 2 other European sources. I think that this explains the delays as Bazis not only had to seek out new financing but also new partners.

I'm sure that MikeTO could shed more light on the subject however up until now it seems that he is keeping a lot of information "close to the vest"