Who should pay the piper?
Mayor Rob Ford and TTC chair Karen Stintz were at it again this week, squaring off over the bike-share system Bixi. Bixi, a portmanteau of bicycle and taxi, is a bike-share system that originated in Montreal in 2008. The system has now spread to several
Urbanation’s Review of the Condo Market’s First Quarter
Urbanation, the leading source of high-rise condominium stats, released their look at the first quarter of 2013.The results were not surprising. A total of 2,728 new market condominiums were sold in the first quarter, which is the lowest number of sales
Master class with Sandi Pei
Sandi Pei’s in town.Second-generation in one of the finest architectural dynasties of our times, Li Chung (Sandi) Pei and his brother Chien Chung (Didi) Pei are the founding partners of the Manhattan-based Pei Partnership Architects and two of four sons
Martin Blake Talks Regent Park
One of, if not the most, impressive transformations happening in Toronto right now is the work being done at Regent Park.About seven years ago, Daniels and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) partnered to redevelop the Regent Park neighbourhood.
Time to get walking
This is usually an exciting time of year for those of us who love buildings. Construction ramps up with the warmer weather; condos that were barely at grade when you shuffled miserably past them in January suddenly seem to sprout towers like daffodils.
BILD Low-Rise Forum: Mortgage Mania
On April 18th, 2013, we attended BILD’s Low-Rise Forum. The speaker was Will Dunning, an economist and housing market analyst with over 30 years of experience. Dunning has a history working with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and now his
Let’s just build it already
As I write this, Mayor Rob Ford and his executive committee have just voted 9-4 to open the door to a downtown casino, although the Star reports that new “no” votes increase the likelihood city council will kill the proposal. Council spent the morning
BMO Surveys First-Time Homebuyers
The average first-time homebuyer expects to purchase a $300,000 home with a $48,000 down payment, so says a recent BMO first-time homebuyer survey. The survey, released Tuesday, gave us a peek into the mindset of some of the most important buyers in the
Is Toronto going to the dogs?
It is according to Dog Dazed, a CBC-aired documentary that looks at the environmental and social impact of dogs. According to the flick by filmmaker Helen Slinger, there are now more North American households with dogs than kids. Urban areas across the
First-Time Homebuyers more Prepared in 2013
First-time homebuyers continue to adjust to the rules that are being placed in front of them, says a recent survey by our friends over at Genworth Financial.An annual poll by Genworth asked 1,514 Canadians questions about their financial well being,
