Gemterra breaks ground at Joy Condos after only 6 weeks of being on the market

After hitting the market for only six weeks, Joy Condos by Gemterra is now officially under construction! We had the pleasure of attending the groundbreaking ceremony, along with councillor of Ward 40 Scarborough-Agincourt, Norm Kelly, MPP Soo Wong representative, Fiona Su, President of Baker Real Estate, Barbara Lawlor, and of course, President of Gemterra, Yan Wang.

"Today's groundbreaking marks our commitment to continue with our high quality projects in this bustling pocket of Scarborough,” Wang announced. “Once complete, Joy and Love will be home to hundreds of new families and residents establishing their roots in this area, which we are very proud to be a part of.”

Norm Kelly

Kelly was second to address the crowd: “My wife questioned me this morning, she said ‘what are you going to be doing this morning? What’s your appointments like?’ and I said, ‘well, the first thing is, I’m going to be in love.’ I had to explain that to her,” joked Kelly as we stood in Love Condos, the completed first phase of Gemterra’s two-tower condo community.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to see this building up close. It’s beautiful. You should be very proud of it,” Kelly added. “I’ve heard that the roof garden is fantastic, and all I can think of is apartment living has come a long way since I first lived in an apartment in grad school back in the mid ‘60s. Everything that you could possibly want in terms of personal lifestyle and community services are here, and I congratulate Gemterra for producing such a quality product. And I’m looking forward to the joy of celebrating the opening.”

Barbara Lawlor

We also had an opportunity to chat with Lawlor about sales, which have been obviously going very well. “I’m so excited because the sales at Joy have come together so quickly, and I believe this is because of the reputation of this building; people have seen how great Love is,” Lawlor stated. “They (Gemterra) have established themselves now as a builder in our city and I think that’s very important. Because of this, the interest has grown tremendously in their product. It’s so beautiful what they’ve done here that I think they will only get better and they’ve set the standard high as the first Chinese builder from China to build here. They’ve led the charge and done it exceptionally well.”

While discussing site progress with Wang, he told us that the original plan was to have Joy Condos completed by 2018, but since the building has been selling so quickly, they're actually about a year ahead of where they thought they would be. Gemterra is now planning to have occupancy of Joy Condos by 2017! It’s not very common to see a condo development jump a year ahead of schedule.

(L-R) Yan Wang, Norm Kelly, and landscape architect Gus Maurano of The MBTW Group atop the green roof

To get the groundbreaking photo, we headed up to the 4,000 square foot Green Rooftop terrace, the largest rooftop garden of its kind, which features an incredible landscaping design and also has a track for walking or jogging. The terrace is atop the indoor pool, which is enclosed by glass walls, so it’s very bright inside and makes for a very interesting amenity space exclusively for residents.    

Photo by Maurice Lerman, General Manager, Gemterra

The remaining units at Joy Condos

Construction is under way, but there is still a great selection of units available, including one+dens, two-bedrooms, and two+dens, ranging from 606 to 844 square feet. Prices for the available units start at just $237,900.

Now that the dirt is moving, Gemterra is offering one last chance at preconstruction pricing for a very limited time. So, if you’re in the market for a new condo in Scarborough and are looking for a tested and proven community, then Joy Condos should be topping your list!