Toronto 19 Bloor West | 317.4m | 99s | Reserve Properties | Arcadis
- Thread starter Bayer
- Start date
limer
Active Member
Are we getting our own Billionaire’s Row? maybe there won’t be too many people actually living in this building
ProjectEnd
Superstar
There are no parallels between those buildings and these ones except that they're...buildings (I guess?).
ProjectEnd
Superstar
Only that one is required for buildings over 3 storeys. One. Just. One. This, at 95 storeys, could have one and still technically meet code.
limer
Active Member
Skinny supertalls on a high value street that cater to foreign investors to park+wash their money rather than creating livable spaces
Northern Light
Superstar
Since the OBC is often by reference to the National Building Code, I wanted to have a peak the 2020 edition of same, and whether national elevator standards were any higher.
The Standards (requirements) were as you cited, of course, but I did find an NRC publication outlining the recommended standard of service for elevators, which is done by call time.
These, of course, are not binding, but presumably should be.
Now this, which is also in the OBC, struck me as a curious contradiction:
Sooo, code requires only 1 elevator, but enough emergency power for two! Exactly why do we require power for an elevator that we don't require exist at all?
To be clear, I will advocate for requiring the extra elevator, not for less emergency power!
Rascacielo
Senior Member
Billionaire's Row condo towers have max maybe 4 units per floor, often just 1. This will squeeze in as many as the developer can get away with to maximise profit.
UpwithOlives
Active Member
At least they have balconies...Here's a fun statistic: at median occupancy rates for apartments in the City of Toronto (1.7 people/unit), this will house approximately 2,193 people. This results in a density of 17,432 people per hectare.
The Kowloon Walled City, the world-famous vertical slum of Hong Kong, housed approximately 50,000 people on 2.6 hectares:
Kowloon Walled City - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
That results in a density of 19,230 people per hectare. Just 10% higher than what is proposed here.
maestro
Senior Member
No billionaires are buying here. The floor space indexes for towers like 432 Park are in the mid teens and still required density transfer from surrounding heritage properties (preserving them in perpetuity) to build above the 10 max residential FSI. The max FSI has been loosening since 432 Park. Still, I'm unaware of any residential densities in Manhattan approaching 30 FSI or half of the 60 proposed here. These are not densities that enhance quality of life for residents or the public realm on Bloor.
Rascacielo
Senior Member
10 or even 5 years ago most people on this forum would've been thrilled to hear a supertall proposal, never mind what it looks like or how many tiny units it contains. It's refreshing to see that we're much more critical now, height is no longer the be all and end all. It's a sign that we and the city have finally grown up (pun intended).
ProjectEnd
Superstar
This has a per-floor GCA of between 777 and 879sm.
Eh, for this City, sure.
The vast majority of our investors are local. The work involved in owning / maintaining / and operating an offshore condo property isn't for the plutocratic class.
You're correct about 'park + wash' as it relates to NYC, but to call the apartments in any of the 5 Billionaire's Row condos 'unlivable' is simply a lie.
limer
Active Member
Are people living in them then? I meant livability in terms of affordability. Obviously the buildings are different, but they’re both housing built for investors in mind rather than residents
ProjectEnd
Superstar
I don't know what occupancies are like in those buildings in 2024 but you are correct, the 'investment' wasn't in a 'living space', it was in property in Manhattan, and the folks paying to play there would probably prefer that those units remain vacant. Here, the 'investment' is in the cashflow, so if it's not occupied, you're screwed.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Even for those outside of market housing it pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable, IMO. And to put it mildly.
xy3
Active Member
A lot of this would be improved by linking mortgage approval documents with a CRA verification/approval portal to stop the mortgage fraud that significantly bids up prices on the lower end of the condo market. Furthermore, the people perpetrating the fraud generally dont discern in the quality of living the unit offers , so they just create a market for junk that didnt exist 30 years ago.