Those fake brick panels are so cheap they look like they could blow off in the next wind storm. The black renderings actually made the building look cool and interesting. Smh
Yea, it's like where do I begin with this thing? So much to pick from.
Check out the concept design for the Pontiac Sunfire back in the day for gloriously disappointing analogue of what reality brought… Design rarely ever gets priority over the amount of money someone wants to put in it. When it does win out (see 1 Bloor W; at least so far), it'll get poo-pooed to the very end as too optimistic and aspiring to be able to continue.
I believe this is just excuse, they want residents ASAP so that they can start charging money to cover expense
So that's why they're working on the sidewalk now. I hope at least that's done before occupancy starts.
They can occupy without a completed lobby. 628 Fleet Street Occupancy commenced Jan 4, 2010 after multiple delays following the initial purchase in the Molson buildings in 2005 and the long tear down. Lobby wasn’t read until the Fall of 2010, just before registration. Still, West Harbour 1 began Occupying faster than this Alterra monolith, which has ruined 5 summers for anyone living at Earnscliffe or 155 Wellesley St E.
They want to rush the first 180 (50%) purchasers in so they can Register and get paid! All that deposit money from the original sales has been sitting in escrow for over 4 years.
The city just wants to know that an elevator works, the fire alarms and hoses function, that there is heat and hydro - that’s pretty much it. Garbage chutes, you might expect 2-3 months before garbage pickup can be arranged, especially with most senior managers having 6 week’s holidays. Fight for the one or two available elevators which will be covered in genuine plywood for weeks or months. Hint: do not buy in the lower half of any building. It might shock readers what the city will turn a blind eye to.
Say what one might about St Jamestown, but the glazed brick is 55 years old and original. Those towers were built to last anything except Rent Controls, OPG electricity hikes and Jane Jacobs rants again ‘tower in the park’ urban design. Be careful when painting over the glazed brick, as 155 Wellesley St E, (looking crushed and forgotten next to the Alterra behemoth beside it) has done, at least twice in the last 20 years. If the paint is porous it can trap moisture and cancel any water resistance the glazing might still offer. Ah, fashion before function
