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interchange42
Guest
Re: Toronto real estate prices
Oooo! Properly quoted and compared statistics! Very sexy!
number-crunched 42
Oooo! Properly quoted and compared statistics! Very sexy!
number-crunched 42
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A
AlvinofDiaspar
Guest
Re: Toronto real estate prices
dougbennion:
There are several issues:
1. Just what percentage of area within each city's boundary is considered "buildable"?
2. How much land within each jurisdiction is suitable for urban development but remains unused?
Without taking these factors into account, density calculations could be relatively meaningless.
AoD
dougbennion:
There are several issues:
1. Just what percentage of area within each city's boundary is considered "buildable"?
2. How much land within each jurisdiction is suitable for urban development but remains unused?
Without taking these factors into account, density calculations could be relatively meaningless.
AoD
B
boiler2000
Guest
Re: Toronto real estate prices
^ For all of LA's endless sprawl, it does have natural boundaries in the surrounding mountains, which probably has an effect on overall metropolitan density. Toronto is surrounded by endless homogenous flatness, and no natural limit to sprawl (except the Great Lakes).
May be a simplistic conclusion, but it seems to me the only thing that will curb our sprawl is self-regulation.
But this is all way off topic...
^ For all of LA's endless sprawl, it does have natural boundaries in the surrounding mountains, which probably has an effect on overall metropolitan density. Toronto is surrounded by endless homogenous flatness, and no natural limit to sprawl (except the Great Lakes).
May be a simplistic conclusion, but it seems to me the only thing that will curb our sprawl is self-regulation.
But this is all way off topic...
T
TdotTrickyRicky
Guest
Comments:
-don't be too eager for Toronto to become more exuberant and for there to be more rich people or foreign investors doing dumb things with their money
-There is a direct correlation between income and housing costs however it is largely influenced by custom and culture. So I believe saying that x salary means y housing costs is questionable. Toronto for its size stays remarkably close to its fiscally conservative protestant roots. People expect value for money and nouveau rich exuberant spending is still frowned upon or at best is a spending behaviour that needs to be rationalized. This "cultural component" I believe does actually tame housing costs in the region. However at the point where high prices become "logical" or can be "rationalized" Torontonians with money are perfectly willing to pay. 1989 was a notable exception to this behaviour but that bubble was predominantly a supply side event.
-don't be too eager for Toronto to become more exuberant and for there to be more rich people or foreign investors doing dumb things with their money
-There is a direct correlation between income and housing costs however it is largely influenced by custom and culture. So I believe saying that x salary means y housing costs is questionable. Toronto for its size stays remarkably close to its fiscally conservative protestant roots. People expect value for money and nouveau rich exuberant spending is still frowned upon or at best is a spending behaviour that needs to be rationalized. This "cultural component" I believe does actually tame housing costs in the region. However at the point where high prices become "logical" or can be "rationalized" Torontonians with money are perfectly willing to pay. 1989 was a notable exception to this behaviour but that bubble was predominantly a supply side event.
9
99
Guest
1989 was a notable exception to this behaviour but that bubble was predominantly a supply side event.
With the volume of unsold inventory creeping up and the strong presence of foreign speculators it can be argued that the supply bubble is brewing again. Yes, 60%-70% of a typical building is pre-sold before construction, HOWEVER, in many instances it is sold to phantom buyer syndicates as opposed to a warm body.
Given the enormous volume of new projects (reportedly the largest in north america) the quantity of existing units for sale could become problematic rather quickly.
The global fallout from the deflation of the housing bubble in many big US markets will be interesting.
Back to Yonge/Bloor though, the intersection is begging for a new project, but the issue is can such a massive one be absorbed before the cycle turns?
B
Bogtrotter
Guest
^ We'll soon find out :smokin
Y
yyzer
Guest
Timing is everything, isn't it? :smokin
I
interchange42
Guest
Location location location.
42
42
M
Mike in TO
Guest
I would suspect that this particular development will be heavily targeted by investors. Not many opportunities like this exist in Toronto. One of the reasons why Maple Leaf Square sold 800+ units in less then 6 months was that it was particularily well suited towards investors. I wouldn't be surprised if 1BE achieved a similar rapid fire response from the marketplace.
Y
yyzer
Guest
John Bentley Mays
The city's central junction deserves a building that defies the standard grid.
From Friday's Globe and Mail
For more than 200 years, the junction of Bloor and Yonge streets has been a key orientation point for those of us who live in this part of the world. But despite its historical importance, the intersection has gotten precious little architectural respect over the years. It's today little more than a smudgy comma in the street grid, marked by low, mean buildings of no architectural merit, the ugly hulk of the Hudson's Bay store, and a couple of dismal high-rise office towers.
The outstanding mediocrity of Bloor and Yonge has been under attack for a few years now. In early 2005, a sleek 60-storey proposal was floated for 1 Bloor St. East — currently the site of a shabby building that is home to a botox clinic and other little enterprises — by the Toronto firm, Young + Wright Architects.
Then, ownership of the place changed. Its new developer, Bazis International, a company with origins in Kazakhstan, has recently come forward with its own vision of what should happen at 1 Bloor East: a shopping, hotel and residential complex topping out at nearly 80 storeys, designed by Toronto artist and architect Roy Varacalli. (Mr. Varacalli recently became design chief at Bazis.)
The size of the $450-million tower is right, if what Toronto wants for Yonge Street is the kind of strong, urbane identity that tall buildings can confer. I, for one, will miss the tacky souvenir and gadget shops that have long flourished along Yonge south of Bloor, and that may well disappear as the strip becomes classier — though I also think it's probably time for them to go elsewhere.
The architect's scheme features a four-level base for retail shopping, which anchors the building firmly in the high-end commercial culture of Bloor Street West. Around this bright platform will sweep a double strip of loosely looping fabric embedded with light-emitting diodes, sparkling with advertising messages. This lively, chic treatment of the building at street level will be a welcome change from Bloor West's more usual store fronts, which tend to be just the homely first floors of dowdy buildings.
Having established a firm relationship with the street and street life in its first four levels, the tower then soars up to a tall crest of sharp fins. There are three vertical elements in Mr. Varacalli's tower composition (which includes a luxury hotel and some 500 condominium residences). One of these volumes, wholly enclosed by translucent glass balconies, and concave in curvature, faces west. Another, also wrapped in balconies, but uncurved, faces east along Bloor. Both these volumes rise alongside a central blade of glass and tile that finally culminates in the building's crown.
But this façade is not quite as simple as I'm making it sound. As it rises from the base, the mass of the west-facing element slides away from the central blade, leaning toward downtown, while the east-facing volume performs a similar slight bow in the direction of suburbia. These very large slides and bends in space should make the tower sprightly, dynamic — an exclamation point in the urban grid of streets and blockish buildings, a beacon marking the significance of Bloor and Yonge, and of the key subway intersection below the streets.
In making these unusual façade gestures, Mr. Varacalli is allying himself with a new generation of architectural designers weary of the modernist box and all its variations. They have come out of school armed with powerful design and production software that allows — and definitely encourages — architects to dream of buildings that twist and bend, bow and slide. New engineering techniques and technologies have opened the way to make these dreams real and concrete — meaning that, over the next few years, we can expect to see more and more buildings that defy the standard grid.
My lingering problem with Mr. Varacalli's design lies in its caution with regard to this prevailing avant-gardism in skyscraper aesthetics. If the architect wants to give us glitz and swing, let's have glitz and swing with a vengeance. Prudence is surely not appropriate for the corner of Bloor and Yonge, which cries out for a highly unusual, striking design that will throw down a dare to future developers at the intersection.
The good news here is that the picture of 1 Bloor East recently released by Bazis International is not the absolute last word about this project. In an interview last week, Mr. Varacalli said the design process will go on for a few more months. We can hope that this promising scheme gains in daring and ambition, and that the crossing of Bloor and Yonge gets the landmark tower it badly needs.
The city's central junction deserves a building that defies the standard grid.
From Friday's Globe and Mail
For more than 200 years, the junction of Bloor and Yonge streets has been a key orientation point for those of us who live in this part of the world. But despite its historical importance, the intersection has gotten precious little architectural respect over the years. It's today little more than a smudgy comma in the street grid, marked by low, mean buildings of no architectural merit, the ugly hulk of the Hudson's Bay store, and a couple of dismal high-rise office towers.
The outstanding mediocrity of Bloor and Yonge has been under attack for a few years now. In early 2005, a sleek 60-storey proposal was floated for 1 Bloor St. East — currently the site of a shabby building that is home to a botox clinic and other little enterprises — by the Toronto firm, Young + Wright Architects.
Then, ownership of the place changed. Its new developer, Bazis International, a company with origins in Kazakhstan, has recently come forward with its own vision of what should happen at 1 Bloor East: a shopping, hotel and residential complex topping out at nearly 80 storeys, designed by Toronto artist and architect Roy Varacalli. (Mr. Varacalli recently became design chief at Bazis.)
The size of the $450-million tower is right, if what Toronto wants for Yonge Street is the kind of strong, urbane identity that tall buildings can confer. I, for one, will miss the tacky souvenir and gadget shops that have long flourished along Yonge south of Bloor, and that may well disappear as the strip becomes classier — though I also think it's probably time for them to go elsewhere.
The architect's scheme features a four-level base for retail shopping, which anchors the building firmly in the high-end commercial culture of Bloor Street West. Around this bright platform will sweep a double strip of loosely looping fabric embedded with light-emitting diodes, sparkling with advertising messages. This lively, chic treatment of the building at street level will be a welcome change from Bloor West's more usual store fronts, which tend to be just the homely first floors of dowdy buildings.
Having established a firm relationship with the street and street life in its first four levels, the tower then soars up to a tall crest of sharp fins. There are three vertical elements in Mr. Varacalli's tower composition (which includes a luxury hotel and some 500 condominium residences). One of these volumes, wholly enclosed by translucent glass balconies, and concave in curvature, faces west. Another, also wrapped in balconies, but uncurved, faces east along Bloor. Both these volumes rise alongside a central blade of glass and tile that finally culminates in the building's crown.
But this façade is not quite as simple as I'm making it sound. As it rises from the base, the mass of the west-facing element slides away from the central blade, leaning toward downtown, while the east-facing volume performs a similar slight bow in the direction of suburbia. These very large slides and bends in space should make the tower sprightly, dynamic — an exclamation point in the urban grid of streets and blockish buildings, a beacon marking the significance of Bloor and Yonge, and of the key subway intersection below the streets.
In making these unusual façade gestures, Mr. Varacalli is allying himself with a new generation of architectural designers weary of the modernist box and all its variations. They have come out of school armed with powerful design and production software that allows — and definitely encourages — architects to dream of buildings that twist and bend, bow and slide. New engineering techniques and technologies have opened the way to make these dreams real and concrete — meaning that, over the next few years, we can expect to see more and more buildings that defy the standard grid.
My lingering problem with Mr. Varacalli's design lies in its caution with regard to this prevailing avant-gardism in skyscraper aesthetics. If the architect wants to give us glitz and swing, let's have glitz and swing with a vengeance. Prudence is surely not appropriate for the corner of Bloor and Yonge, which cries out for a highly unusual, striking design that will throw down a dare to future developers at the intersection.
The good news here is that the picture of 1 Bloor East recently released by Bazis International is not the absolute last word about this project. In an interview last week, Mr. Varacalli said the design process will go on for a few more months. We can hope that this promising scheme gains in daring and ambition, and that the crossing of Bloor and Yonge gets the landmark tower it badly needs.
B
Bogtrotter
Guest
"The good news here is that the picture of 1 Bloor East recently released by Bazis International is not the absolute last word about this project."
That is good news. Something tall and curvy would be a welcome change.
That is good news. Something tall and curvy would be a welcome change.
I
interchange42
Guest
One of these volumes, wholly enclosed by translucent glass balconies, and concave in curvature, faces west. Another, also wrapped in balconies, but uncurved, faces east along Bloor. Both these volumes rise alongside a central blade of glass and tile that finally culminates in the building's crown.
More good news. While the tower's design will continue to transform, this line confirms glass for those who doubted, thinking the rendering indicated a lot of concrete. No concrete!
42
U
unimaginative2
Guest
But what does "tile" mean?
S
scarberiankhatru
Guest
Precast.
J
jgreebnerg76
Guest
Generic advertising for "1 Bloor" up on the building now. No renderings. Crystal Blu moving sales centre into same block. Makes sense since Baszis now owns the property.
JG
JG
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