buying into electric city
I've recently agreed to purchase a 500sq ft condo on one of the upper floors of the first condo development. I just wanted to comment on a few things that have been posted here and discuss what information I have about the building and the area. The reason I’ve made this post so detailed is because there seems to be a lot of off-hand sweeping statements about this development from people who haven’t even been to the neighbourhood or the condo sales office. I live in the area and I believe i’ve done my due diligence in deciding to invest in this development.
It seems clear to me that the developers have a solid plan for the area both in terms of liveable space and in terms of retail space. The pitch i got from Scott, (who can be seen in Yassi’s video), and taking into full account that he is a salesman, was that they expect and plan to have a significant retail area at the base of the two larger towers on the north side of dupont that will be constructed after the two smaller condo buildings on the south side. He specifically mentioned they expect a large grocery store chain to be put in there. That makes sense considering the sheer number of planned units they have. Given this idea of creating a community in 'davenport village', which started with the quite luxurious and well sold foundry lofts, I would hope that the issues regarding the area and specifically the apartment buildings at the NE corner of Dupont and Lansdowne will be addressed. As far as I can tell, these apt. buildings are simply poorly managed, combined with some vacant units this has allowed some squatters to move in. With a large boost in the immediate population, most of whom i expect to be young professionals, I foresee increased policing (whether that comes as a security guard presence or actual police presence i don’t know) and increased demand for those vacant units plus an increased pressure to put in solid management at those buildings. Regardless, I would expect the success of electric city to have a positive effect on those buildings and the area.
As far as the rest of the area goes, I have been living at the corner of Lansdowne and Bloor for nearly a year now and am very impressed with the neighbourhood. It may not be “quaint†like other trendy parts of the city (see bloor west, roncesvaille, king east, annex, etc...) but it has a beautifully raw feel like any neighbourhood consisting mainly of young individuals and newly immigrated peoples. The area also has a large Portuguese population and from what I can tell the Portuguese are a very family oriented people which makes the neighbourhood feel very friendly. Shopping in the area does NOT feature trendy clothing stores or Starbucks on every corner, instead, there is a fantastic mix of ethnic cuisine (see Dosa Mahal, Vena’s, Caribbean Queen, etc.. and what I would consider the most environmentally friendly form of clothing retail in second hand clothing stores. Anybody who thinks that value village is a place where scuzzy people shop should spend a little time in there. People from all over the city venture to ‘the village’ because there is a fantastic array of lightly worn clothing and house wares and young people like myself dominate the scene. High Park and Dufferin mall are also within easy walking distance. The area has a bad rep because of the two strip clubs, ‘kiss cup’ bar, and another bar closer to dufferin. From my experience, people going into the strip joints are never really seen and so it’s difficult to even worry about them and kiss cup actually has a close knit, if hard looking, group of people who simply enjoy the cheap beer they serve there. The other place has a re-done facade and looks much friendlier now. I’ve also seen considerable positive change in the neighbourhood in just the last year which would indicate things are improving here.
Side note: Galleria mall is a 2 minute walk from the condos and it has a price chopper, zellers, pet store, and an LCBO, among others. It is a fairly old mall but is terribly convenient for davenport village inhabitants.
As far as the building goes, the amenities include a half basketball court, saunas, gym and rec room but no pool. Maintenance fees are dirt cheap because there is no pool or formal concierge and every unit has a decent sized balcony. The architecture is adequate and its difficult to say whether it 'fits in' with the neighborhood as the area has a mishmash of old and new buildings. Its certainly more friendly looking than the apt buildings previously mentioned. Currently there aren't many high rises in the area so the views are quite nice. My unit looks south towards downtown and i expect it be as good as any view in the city.
I guess what I want to say to anybody looking to buy at electric city is to actually spend some time in the area. Once you realize that there is a lot to offer here, even though it’s not delivered to you on a cookie-cutter silver platter, and you concede that there are sketchy people everywhere in Toronto this neighbourhood being no exception, you might begin to see not only the potential of the area, but how far it has come along already. I’m not saying these condos are a for-sure success, but I’m certainly looking forward to staying in the area and seeing how this community develops.
