The era of the shoebox condo is over…. Really?

[Admiral Beez]

One can only hope, but the article seemingly only mentions low rise. And what happens to the tens of thousands of shoeboxes now in inventory or under construction? Conversion seems unlikely.

The era of the shoebox condo is over. Here’s how Canada can build livable apartments

Canada needs livable apartments to help fix the housing crisis. To do that, it must change the rulebook for both condos and rentals

www.theglobeandmail.com

Paywall free: https://archive.is/kW6D8

 

[gabe]

We considered downsizing to a condo last year. But between the bad layouts, lack of sq-ft, horrible elevator wait times, and high prices. We gave up.

The condos built before they became investment boxes, actually had good sizes kitchens and living spaces. We looked at a building built in 2011. The condo units had kitchens big enough you can actually cook something. Most of these new condo's are for people who don't cook, they just want to heat up their DoorDash food. They stick the kitchens along the wall, basically in the living room. So you can chop veggies while sitting on the living room sofa i guess.

‘A literal shoe box’: Why some Toronto renters are avoiding new builds​

Only 53 new condo units were sold in Toronto in September, new BILD data shows​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-renters-new-condos-9.6968060

Toronto condos built from 2016 to 2020 are about 400 square feet smaller than ones built between 1971 and 1990, when looking at their median size, according to Statistics Canada — and fewer investors are rushing to buy them.

Growing up my family lived in one of those 1970s apartment buildings. The kitchen in that apartment was actually bigger than the kitchen in the house we bought!

 

[Admiral Beez]

The older condos are definitely more spacious. One of my pals lives at GreyStone Walk in a one bedroom plus insulated sunroom (instead of balcony) with sliding glass door and an enclosed kitchen. It’s a nice unit for a single guy and good for a couple. The two bedroom units looks good for families.

 

[xmyth_]

The older condos are definitely more spacious. One of my pals lives at GreyStone Walk in a one bedroom plus insulated sunroom (instead of balcony) with sliding glass door and an enclosed kitchen. It’s a nice unit for a single guy and good for a couple. The two bedroom units looks good for families.

Saw a tiktok about the office building concert at Yonge and Wellesley, so I looked at units. It’s definitely interesting, how they converted. Seemed like plenty of room, but yeah- fees might as well be mortgages.

For the most part I wonder wtf we have to do in our current state. Would ANY market crash make these shoeboxes viable?

Would a condo corp ever find a way to turn into a partial hotel to offset maintenance fees? Like, collect all these 300 sq ft units, convert into “hotel” rooms, let out and throw profits back on the building?

Just total blue sky thinking here.