CityPlace Condos

[urbantor]

.Shes planning to move in about a year,the saving grace is she will be making a bit of profit but she will never buy form this condo maker again.

I wouldn't hold my breathe on that plan being realized. Given the market slowdown this will most likely be the first pod to be hit by falling prices.

Given all the accurate comments that you mentioned above, why would anyone choose to live in this isolated, disconnected area with all the other housing options in more desirable locations around the downtown core?

This is quickly emerging as a second-rate rental community as the project nears completion and the giant drawbacks of the area become obviously apparent to the sheeple who purchased here for investment.

To the original poster, consider King West, Queen West, Yonge and College, Yonge and Bloor/Yorkville, Lesliville, High Park, Roncessvale, Yonge and Eglinton, Cabbagetown, etc. as desirable urban residential areas with an abundance of housing choices all superior to this wasteland.

 

[gei]

hi guys,

was checking out some of these condos online and they seem nice but quite far (have no car and dont intent to get one yet). was just wondering if the TTC is expected to expand more into the areas where these condos are and when the expected completion date is.

I live in one of the first cityplace condos on Front Street, and find that the buildings are served excellently by transit.

The Spadina streetcar is virtually right outside my door and that will take me right into union station in a few minutes. Although on a nice day if I'm trying to get there I just walk (about a 10 minute walk).

That being said I rarely take transit because most places I go are within walking distance. I'm younger so I tend to go out to the local bars quite a bit, a bit Jays/Raps fan and of course the Skydome is right there and the ACC is only a few minutes walk. The harbourfront is also only a few minutes walk, as is the king west area. I also work in the financial district which is also only a few minutes walk.

I would ignore most of the criticism from people in this thread. Mainly because they are just making assumptions and actually have no clue what they're talking about. That's generally the problem with most internet forums though... people love to share their opinions even though they have no real substance. I have 0 problems with noise or building materials.

The biggest indicator however is what people who actually LIVE in the buildings think. Literally every single person I know who lives in my building absolutely loves it. Many have considered selling and taking the profit, but they just can't bring themselves to leave the area.

Anyway like I said, you can take the meaningless opinions of some random posters on this board, or you can walk around cityplace and perhaps ask some of the actual residents what they think. You'll be plesantly surprised.

Edit: For comparison sake, I actually have a few friends in the area living across the street at the SohoMet, Element, and ICON (I actually rented at ICON myself for a while). I liked this particular area, so I looked at all those buildings (and of course many others). Basically, I paid less than the people at those 3 buildings, got a MUCH larger space, an infinitely better view of the entire city, and far superior amenities. My friends in those buildings are always at my place, either because my place is much larger, or because they feel like playing basketball in our gym, or taking a dip in the pool. I'm sure their "finishes" or "materials" or what have you might be better, but I assure you, people are much more likely to say "wow" when they see the incredible view I have then when they see the nicer light fixtures they have.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I have to agree about the quality of those condos,my Gf friend bought one there and she has issues about the lack of noise insulation and the iffy materials being used.Friday thru Sunday when the Spadina,Front street is packed with ingoing and out going traffic she has to close the door and drapes to muffle out the external noise,even then its still noticeable and shes on the 16th floor.With GO train traffic and some times the Porter planes noise is a big issue.Shes planning to move in about a year,the saving grace is she will be making a bit of profit but she will never buy form this condo maker again.

There is plenty of street noise everywhere in this city, I fail to see how that's the developer's fault. Floor to ceiling double paned glass can only buffer a certain amount of noise from the outside.
I've several friends and colleagues who live at City Place and they're all happy there. I'm pretty sure that they all have cars, save for one person.

 

[Eastside]

I'm currently renting at Cityplace (West One) and so far it's been a pretty positive experience. I don't really agree with the noise issue, although I'm 30-odd floors up and just moved from Yonge and Bloor, which I found to be much noisier. As far as things I could complain about are the following:

- The intersection of Spadina and Bremner. I'm looking forward to seeing what this intersection will be like once Fort York is opened but right now it's a mess. There are so many different stages to a light cycle that most people just jaywalk. There's also no crosswalk on the south side, which makes crossing the street to get from the southwest corner to southeast corner a bit of a pain. All in all, though, a minor complaint.

- Needing the key transmitters to get the elevator to go to your floor is absolutely ridiculous. Having people over or having food delivered involves going down to the lobby each time someone needs to come in. I wasn't aware of an epidemic of people's apartments being broken into, this sort of system in a building that already has secure front entry and a 24 conciege seems overkill.

- Unruly residents. I am sure this is mainly the rental contingent (yours truly excluded, of course!) but some of the people here take absolutely no pride in their community. There is constantly litter in the elevators, someone smashed holes in the billiards room wall with a pool cue, people leave their dogs' messes wherever they may drop, etc. The first weekend I was here, someone even threw a beer bottle off of what I can only assume was a pretty high floor, due to how small and scattered the glass shards were.


Despite these few things, though, I wouldn't steer anyone away from living here. I'd probably advise to rent for a year to see if you like it. The quality of the building, despite what some on here would have you believe, seems to be fine. Like any new building there are kinks to work out, but I really don't see any huge flaws in the workmanship. It's got a lot of things going for it, primarily (in my opinion anyway) the views, the location and the amenities. The notion that this is an isolated community is only valid if you're either speaking strictly in regards to the train-bridge-as-psychological-barrier or if you're the laziest person ever. King and Spadina is a 5 minute walk, so is the waterfront.

 

[western221]

As somebody just said, that spadina/bremner corner is a mess. For me personally living west of the spadina didnt have much appeal to me, even though i am barely to the east of it, but mentally its a large barrier. Maybe things will change once the park/store/lcbo/school are built.

Also i dont know but maybe since i live in Optima, the only standalone building, i havent had any issues with mess or renters in the building.

 

[urbantor]

- Unruly residents. I am sure this is mainly the rental contingent (yours truly excluded, of course!) but some of the people here take absolutely no pride in their community. There is constantly litter in the elevators, someone smashed holes in the billiards room wall with a pool cue, people leave their dogs' messes wherever they may drop, etc. The first weekend I was here, someone even threw a beer bottle off of what I can only assume was a pretty high floor, due to how small and scattered the glass shards were.

Basically it's a post-college frat house. I know people who've rented there btw. It is difficult to imagine anyone contemplating this low-end rental community as anything but a short-term living arrangement that will undoubtedly fall into disrepair.

 

[gei]

Basically it's a post-college frat house. I know people who've rented there btw. It is difficult to imagine anyone contemplating this low-end rental community as anything but a short-term living arrangement that will undoubtedly fall into disrepair.

I should point out that this guy is a known troll who has been banned several times already. I wouldn't take his opinions seriously (or at all, for that matter).

 

[Eastside]

To a certain extent I don't really disagree with him, though. It's undoubtedly a small minority of the residents causing the problems and I'm sure that they'll be dealt with appropriately by management- who, despite all of what I've heard to the contrary, seem to be genuinely helpful and friendly people. I don't think they should treat the place like a retirement home, but the dangerous and destructive acts should result in swift eviction notices.

As far as the "low end rental community" comment, I've lived in several true low-end apartments in my life and to compare this place to any of them is laughable. Maybe if management sat and did no upkeep for 20 years, this (or any other place, for that matter) could be a slum. I don't see it happening, though..

 

[urbantor]

I should point out that this guy is a known troll who has been banned several times already. I wouldn't take his opinions seriously (or at all, for that matter).

gei, your bias is clearly showing as a result of the fact that are a vested owner in this dismal development.

Perhaps to you and your gen-y crowd it's 'the place to be', but much like the vagaries of the club scene this place will quickly drift into the abyss of poor planning and oversight from the top of the city on down.

It's sheeple that are buying here, renters that are living here, and ultimately that will to disarray and likely mild forms of chaos in the not-too-distant-future.

 

[urbantor]

I should point out that this guy is a known troll who has been banned several times already. I wouldn't take his opinions seriously (or at all, for that matter).

gei, your bias is clearly showing as a result of the fact that are a vested owner in this dismal development.

Perhaps to you and your gen-y crowd it's 'the place to be', but much like the vagaries of the club scene this place will quickly drift into the abyss of poor planning and oversight from the top of the city on down.

It's sheeple that are buying here, renters that are living here, and ultimately that will lead to disarray and likely mild forms of chaos in the not-too-distant-future.

 

[avatarreb]

...

Your comments seem oddly familiar. You've been banned before under multiple accounts, yes?

 

[taal]

To someone who lives in cityplace ... preferably in the older buildings (4 of them I think) on Front street.

1) How's the building doing ... any problems with leaks? condo board doing a good job? this has been around a few years now so how does that quality of the material seem.

2) AC!! when does it turn on, sometime in May I presume? when exactly though.

Thanks a bunch!

ps - Just for some context my friend is considering *strongly* moving into on of the buildings on front, forgot the address. We just saw it today, I liked it a lot

 

[Apex2N1]

I used to live at The Apex until the end of last month when i moved to N1. The buildings have been very well maintained. The condo board has been doing an excellent job in keeping the buildings in excellent condition. My condo fees increased less than $100 in the 5 years that i lived there (and that increase includes basic cable!!!) Needless to say, it all helped translate into big bucks for me when i sold my condo in less than 5 days for more than asking!!! A friend of mine who lived in the same complex sold his unit the same day it listed late last year!!!

 

[urbantor]

^that's doesn't explain the hundreds of units collecting cobwebs on the mls system and craigslist at this very moment...

 

[gei]

To someone who lives in cityplace ... preferably in the older buildings (4 of them I think) on Front street.

1) How's the building doing ... any problems with leaks? condo board doing a good job? this has been around a few years now so how does that quality of the material seem.

2) AC!! when does it turn on, sometime in May I presume? when exactly though.

Thanks a bunch!

ps - Just for some context my friend is considering *strongly* moving into on of the buildings on front, forgot the address. We just saw it today, I liked it a lot

I'm in apex and our condo board is actually really on top of things. They really make an extra effort to add value to the place... constantly updating artwork, landscaping outside... they even redid the entire elevator cabs a few months ago. Overall I'm very happy with them. As mentioned, our condo fees are very reasonable and include the Rogers VIP package for a highly discounted price. The only bill you'll have to pay seperately is internet.

The building is quite new, so no problems with leaks or anything like that. The board is actually very quick to fix things I would expect to be left alone for years. Of the 12 units on my floor, only 2 are rented. And even those guys have a sense of "pride" in the building.

As for the AC I'm not entirely sure... haven't actually thought about it cause of this weather though. I would guess mid-may.