Not all condos— or neighbourhoods — are created equal
By Lucas on Nov 06, 2012
Urbanation reports a severe drop in condo sales in Toronto in the third quarter — 30%, headed for a 35% overall slump year over year; resales went down 32%.
Chief economist David Rosenberg of Gluskin + Associates is quoted in the Globe and Mail saying that the bright side is “evidence of the beginning of a rational supply response, as projects without presold units are being shelved. This will help to limit any price correction.” Sounds like good news for the economy. Then the article took a different sort of turn.
Globe writer Michael Babad takes to task Mondelez Canada, which is closing its Christie Cookie plant on the Etobicoke lakeshore and planning a condo for the site. It ran under the headline, “In Toronto, they pave paradise, and put up a condo.”
I guess there are worse kinds of factories than cookies, but I’m not sure whose idea of paradise is a factory of any kind, nor do I think Toronto has been paving over paradise to build its many condos – a lot of them involved paving over parking lots, actually. I do have sympathy for the 550 employees affected — I still think there’s a place for manufacturing in a modern economy — but I don’t know if I agree with his insinuation that excess inventory means we stop development. It just means we look a little more closely.
Starting with location. An excess in one neighbourhood doesn’t necessarily mean an excess in every neighbourhood in the city. The Etobicoke lakeshore has a very different appeal to a different buyer than the downtown core. Or Yorkville, Shops at Don Mills or Yonge and Eglinton for that matter. A condo in Mississauga isn’t in competition with a condo in Scarborough.
It’s a moot point, anyway. Developers develop; they don’t just pull down their shingle when the market shows signs of change. I’m actually in a backhanded sort of way looking forward to the ways in which they distinguish themselves. I hope it’s not limited to merely lowering prices.
I’d love to see more distinctive architecture in future projects, plus bigger suite sizes, and better incorporated outdoor space, as builders up their game.
I think developers in Toronto on balance do very well. Suites, while small by historical standards, are these days only part of the residential equation for condo buyers. Amenities, both those within the development and in the surrounding neighbourhood, complement living spaces and are becoming increasingly impressive — we’ve gone beyond party rooms (which are mostly spectacular in the new developments) and fitness centres to indoor/outdoor barbecue-equipped cabanas, swimming pools, wine cellars, billiards rooms, you name it.
Design choices for lobbies and other common areas are stunning, and come from some of the most respected design firms around, like Cecconi Simone and Munge Leung. Back in the day, a party room was a big, mostly empty space with a linoleum floor.
I hope that those projects that do move forward won’t succumb to the notion that, in order to please more buyers, they’re obliged to tone down their architecture even more — Toronto’s buildings are already pretty dull. What are we afraid of when it comes to the exteriors? That we’ll alienate a buyer or two? That it’s show-offy, and therefore unCanadian? I hope that builders facing a tougher market than that of the last few years will take the opportunity to distinguish their projects through architecture, features, courtyards, public art and all the things that make urban design great.
Great Cities don’t strive for sameness. Barcelona’s Gaudi apartment complexes are stunning, its Park Guell a masterpiece, drawing visitors from around the world. Chicago’s Cloud Gate is instantly recognizable. Dubai is in the news practically every other week for another stand-out building. Even if they’re not your taste, they’re arresting. I’d rather live in a city of interesting if polarizing design than one in which you can’t tell one highrise from another.
Toronto isn’t old enough to leverage its history — a la Rome and Athens — but being such a “new” city is a great excuse to be cutting-edge modern. And now is a great time.
A market like the one the pundits say we are facing is challenging, and challenges thin the herd. Those who rise to the challenge will succeed, some of them spectacularly, and that’s a good thing for buyers.
