Bay and College Condos

Aura Construction at Yonge and Gerrard

2010-03-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

The triumphant third phase of The Residences of College Park has been under construction since January 4th, 2010. This is one of a series of blogs dedicated to watching it's construction progression. Do you remember what it used to look like last summer? (2009?):

Check out how things now look on that corner. It's a far cry away from what it's going to look like in a few years time!

www.LarissaDoherty.com

Is underpricing fair?

2010-03-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

I received an email from a client recently asking me, "is this correct?" in regards to a new listing in the Bay St. condo corridor. It was for a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom unit with parking located on one of the upper floors of a neighbourhood building and measuring around 850sq.ft. The issue of "is this correct" comes from the price: $299,000. Wouldn't you question the same thing?

After checking some numbers, it turns out that this unit is not just merely underpriced, but severely underpriced in the neighbourhood of 25% below market value! Is this fair? Ethical? Worthwhile? The idea, I imagine, is to attract attention, but is all attention good attention?

Why do I think this is a bad idea from a seller's point of view? Well...

1) Those who can't afford it think they can. They bring in an offer that doesn't match the seller's hopes and expectations and everyone ends up disappointed.

2) Most buyers are savvy enough now not to be gimmicked into thinking they're getting a deal no one knows about. Buyers these days don't want to get involved with an offer presentation circus involving a dozen or more other buyers, which drives up the price. It simply seems unfair, and when people suspect unfairness, they keep away - losing valuable buyers in the process.

3) Those who rightly can afford it don't give it the attention it deserves. It doesn't pick up on their radar and it gets lost.

The moral of the story? Price it at market value and you'll generally always get people who are reasonable, financially equipped and ready to act. There's no need for a smoke and mirrors show. Just price it properly and the people will come. Why waste your time doing it any other way?

www.LarissaDoherty.com

What Will Toronto Look Like?

2010-02-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

There is an incredible amount of change happening around Toronto lately as a result of the demand for centrally located real estate. Think about just the surrounding areas at Bay and College and consider what's changed in the past 5 years: College Park Phases I and II, Lumiere, Burano, Murano I and II, plus The Met and Encore At The Met one block over. That's eight brand new, very tall towers!

What were many of these places before they were condos? Well, for the most part, they were this:

Surface parking lots. Ah yes, the landscape of Toronto past. And believe it or not, this is a recent photo off of Google Maps that illustrates that there is still construction potential in the neighbourhood of Gerrard and Bay. I'm sure there are many a developer's eyes on this space.

On top of that, that corner is changing quickly and dramatically too. Where there was once a sketchy coffee shop, there is now a very popular breakfast joint, Eggsmart. Where once there was a filthy by-the-hour hotel, there will soon be... actually, I'm not so sure because the place is boarded up, but anything has to be better than the original place. Recall with a photo what it looked like when it was operational:

And to the south of this place too is another parking lot. This area is a gold mine for developers! As long as no one minds being close to the hospitals (and thus the emergency helicopters that are on call 24/7) then this is a dynamite location.

As the metamorphosis continues, we'll eventually be able to add to this series of photos looking up Bay St. from Queen St.

<- 1936

2009 ->

What comes next? Only the future knows...

www.LarissaDoherty.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larissadoherty/

Lumiere In Construction

2010-02-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Living in a corner suite in College Park has it's advantages: lots of sun, less noise from neighbours and panoramic views - especially of the construction going up all around me! Having seen Murano now start from scratch and go to being occupied, I'm waiting to see how Lumiere and Burano will end up looking.

Lumiere is definitely the one to watch from my perspective. Though the building technically has about the same number of floors as the one I'm on in College Park, the issue with Lumiere is that the ceiling height in this development is much taller than the lower floors in College Park.

I was excited to be at the same level as the proposed rooftop garden at Lumiere, as described in their website (http://www.lumierecondos.com), but it unfortunately seems as though I'll be looking up to a garden if I'm lucky!

As an aside, I've now heard many comments from people suggesting that the name Lumiere, French for "light", seems unrepresentative of it's dark exterior colour scheme. Hopefully, it's too early to tell, and things will brighten up as they come along.

Also, from my perspective, I'd better get used to construction workers who are working away only metres away from my living room window. Soon those people will be replaced with residents, which means my day without considering curtains are over!

www.LarissaDoherty.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larissadoherty/

Why are the prices in College Park higher than the surrounding buildings?

2010-02-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

The Residences of College Park certainly command a higher price than other condominium residences in the neighbourhood, though not everyone understands why. Consider some of the benefits of College Park, which will soon become some of the benefits to Aura when the buildings are linked underground.

1) Direct underground access to 777 Bay, the College Park Mall, which is connected to College Subway Station, Metro, Winners, Marche, Service Canada, a food court, Tim Hortons, Pharma Plus, TD Canada Trust and a whole host of other stores and services. In the winter, heck - even the summer - there is technically never any need venture outside for anything. You can view the services available at the historic Art Deco portion of the original College Park building here: http://www.torontocollegepark.com/

2) Well regarded builder, Canderel Stoneridge, has done an impressive job of high quality finishes throughout the building.

3) A dynamite location that is close for medical professionals, since the hospital corridor is only one block over on University Avenue, and government employees, with numerous government buildings - most notably Queen's Park - within the area. Plus, the University of Toronto is just around the corner for students and faculty.

4) It's new - And sometimes it's as simple as that. Many people prefer to live in a space that does not require updating or renovating, and since there are a number of buildings that are 20 or more years old in the area, College Park glows in it's newness.

5) The maintenance fees remain low in College Park because of good management and due to the fact that there is little to upgrade at this point and because the amenities are shared between both phases of College Park.

6) College Park is designed to be a community, and as such, community events are organized to bring the building together. You'll find there are aerobic activities, educational seminars, sporting events, wine and cheese nights, movie events, and more on the way. You can see the activities in the building through a website designed by the volunteers on the College Park social committee: http://www.theresidencesofcollegepark.com/

7) The great amenities in the building include: Two guest suites, a computer room, board room, movie room, party/billiards room with a full kitchen attached, virtual golf and ping pong room, a pool with a jacuzzi and steam room, gym, dance studio and a 3rd floor terrace.

8) A small thing, but a good thing: lockers for the upper floors are on the same level so there is no traipsing around the building to put away camping gear and empty electronics boxes.

9) Safety through 24 hour concierge and security, restricted access to floors if not a resident, fob access to various private areas of the building and security cameras in the hallways and elevators.

10) Affordable luxury for the downtown core while still being within a short walking distance to Yorkville, the Eaton's centre and all that the core has to offer.

This is a great place to live, and I'm sure those who live here can contribute even more to this list, based on their own experiences.

Knowing how successful College Park has been with the residents of Toronto will only solidify for me how well Aura will add to the real estate landscape of this city.

www.LarissaDoherty.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larissadoherty/

The Beginnings

2010-02-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning this blog with a bit of an explanation on how I'm connected to the phases of the residences of College Park, which is soon leading up to the third and final phase, Aura. One could say that I'm a bit of an expert on these residences because I'm a Realtor in the area, but most importantly because I live in College Park myself. Also, in being a member of the volunteer committee in the building, it helps to keep me in the loop with regards to what's happening and what's going to happen in College Park. I have been proud to call College Park my home for about 1.5 years now, but with space always seeming to get smaller and smaller in the unit I live in, I'm curious to see if Aura will be the right place for me to move to when occupancy begins in a few years. I'll be documenting the unfolding of this project for the benefit of my readers, along with my own ownership thoughts in mind. Thanks for reading along.

But now for some of the basic information just to get us started:

Location: All three buildings exist on the city block boarder by Yonge, College, Bay and Gerrard.
Builder: Canderel Stoneridge
Website: www.collegeparkcondos.com

Wikipedia Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residences_of_College_Park