Toronto Monde | 149.95m | 44s | Great Gulf | Moshe Safdie

[interchange42]

Exactly my point above. As a short term investment maybe... but if you are planning on making one of these condos your medium to long term home you should prepare for the window wall systems to fail. And if you are one of the owners left holding the bag when they do, you'll likely be on the hook for a very heft bill to replace them.

The Condo Act requires that condo boards set budgets which put enough money away to handle replacement of anything in the building that wears out over time. That includes glazing of course. To stay on top of that, the Act requires that engineering studies be conducted every tens years (with updates on the fives). When glazing fails in the future, every building is supposed to have enough in the kitty to cover the reglazing.

Similarly, if you own a house, you better be financially prepared to replace the roof every so many years, etc.

42

 

[TheKingEast]

The Condo Act requires that condo boards set budgets which put enough money away to handle replacement of anything in the building that wears out over time. That includes glazing of course. To stay on top of that, the Act requires that engineering studies be conducted every tens years (with updates on the fives). When glazing fails in the future, every building is supposed to have enough in the kitty to cover the reglazing.

Similarly, if you own a house, you better be financially prepared to replace the roof every so many years, etc.

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The thing is....who knows how much repairs will cost in 20 years? I guess that's where special assessments come in.

 

[DSC]

The thing is....who knows how much repairs will cost in 20 years? I guess that's where special assessments come in.

No, that's NOT the intention. A special assessment is the result of poor planning and estimating. Reserve Fund Studies are carried out (every 3 years) by an approved list of professions (usually engineers or architects) and are supposed to estimate the life expectancy of all building components and estimate the cost of replacing them at that time. They then propose a contribution schedule to ensure there is enough money available. If a major repair becomes necessary and there is not enough money available it means that either they over-estimated the life expectancy or under-estimated the cost. If a condominium board has seen a pattern of poor estimates they probably need to get new Reserve Fund engineers before there is need of a special assessment.

 

[alenka]

Whether an expensive repair is charged as a special assessment or increased condo fees for years, owners would still have to pay the cost one way or another.

My old building (about 35 y.o.) was always well managed and reserve funds were adequate. We had elevators replaced, and overall renovations, and pool repairs etc. Condo fees were high and contributions to the reserve funds were substantial. But when it came to building envelope project, it was simply too expensive and we were hit by a special assessment, the only one in 35 years. At that point owners selected to install much smaller than original window panes because of the cost of larger panels would triple the amount of the assessment (about 27 K per unit.). Needless to say, the look of the building has changed, became even more old-fashioned, and I do not like the 4 small panels of glass instead of previous single panel for each window. This is why I was concerned about replacement of window walls in new condos. If it costs a fortune, one would have to pay it as condo fees or a special assessment.

 

[Razz]

December 26, 2017:

 

[Rupert Pumpkin]

I'm really not a fan of the podium. I have higher hopes for the tower, but the podium is tough to look at.
I would like to see less concrete and larger windows.

 

[TheKingEast]

I'm just hoping the balcony glass will save the podium.

 

[stjames2queenwest]

Nothing in need of saving to me, looks great. The podium reminds me a lot of the national gallery.

 

[TheKingEast]

Nothing in need of saving to me, looks great. The podium reminds me a lot of the national gallery.

I like the tower and the posium separately. Just not together. But I'm willing to wait till everything's done.

 

[.dwg]

Earlier iterations of the podium were much more promising, but I think at ground level it will be a good experience.

 

[argus]

No, that's NOT the intention. A special assessment is the result of poor planning and estimating. ... If a condominium board has seen a pattern of poor estimates they probably need to get new Reserve Fund engineers before there is need of a special assessment.

Special assessments are not automatically the result of poor planning. Unanticipated costs not captured in the Reserve Fund could be one possible reason to impose a very legitimate special assessment. Another reason would be that actual costs of repairs exceeding the listed RF expenditure. Engineers can't always anticipate exact costs or a Board decision to replace an item with something of better quality for good reason.

 

[tripwire]

I like the tower and the posium separately. Just not together. But I'm willing to wait till everything's done.

I feel exactly the same way. They both look great to me, but just an odd transition/meshing of the two.

 

[3Dementia]

The original plan used tower materials similar to the podium... cohesive and lovely addition. Looked like a Safdie. This isn't a fail but there was no blue glass in the design. Shame.

 

[Edward Skira]

From earlier today.

 

[skycandy]

Arctic sea smoke and distant steam devils...the harbinger of that darned Polar Vortex. If you don't like this weather, wait a bit. Plenty of thaws coming as Arctic air begins to retreat back to, well, the Arctic.