It seems as if the space required on the ground in order to build a giant condo in the sky is decreasing as the condo boom continues.
Here we have a very small vacant lot, with plans to build a very large condo!
I joke when I say, “I hope this building is structurally sound,” but maybe it’s not a foregone conclusion that every building in the city was constructed with the highest standards in mind.
Earlier this Fall, we were made aware of the “falling glass panels” from some of Lanterra’s projects, and then a few weeks back, we saw articles in the newspaper about the bleak future of Toronto’s concrete condo towers. Much of it was just speculation with very little research put into it, but it sure gets people talking!
I’m not an engineer, an architect, or even a guy who can draw a straight line with a ruler. But I do have questions about the integrity of a 20-storey condominium that is going to be built on such a tiny lot when most other 20-storey condos are built on plots of land that are much, much larger.
Can we, as both consumers of real estate and residents of Toronto, simply assume that somebody, somewhere, at some point, is making sure developers aren’t building too quickly, or too big for the land in question?
How many city planners work for Toronto and are there enough of them to look after all the development proposals that must be flooding through?
Graham
at 8:20 am
How big is the Trump site? I know it’s pretty tiny for 57 storeys, but I guess if most units start at over $1 million and you have some serious financial backing, you can afford such engineering feats.
And the City’s planning department is woefully understaffed and likely to stay that way for awhile.
Ralph Cramdown
at 9:41 am
The CN Tower is pretty tall, on a small footprint. Engineers and Geotechs ensure that foundations or piles suitable for the load and conditions are selected, and they’re professionally responsible (read liable) if they screw up.
It isn’t the high-rise foundations you have to worry about — it’s the poor crack filling, heat and sound insulation, and virtually everything not obviously visible on a move-in inspection. During a construction boom, there’s generally a shortage of trades, meaning marginally qualified screwups get hired. If your condo is delayed by a skills shortage, costing the developer big bucks, who do you think he’ll hire to get’er done?
Far worse, though, are the amateur (and amateurish “professional”) SFH renos, with their dodgy underpinning, leaky vapour barriers, missing insulation, uninspected and incorrect plumbing and electrical, poorly poured and sloped concrete, along with the easy to fix stuff they do wrong, like tile, drywall and trim. See all those people shopping at Home Depot with confused looks on their faces? They’re the ones “improving” our housing stock, one crappy reno at a time.
phil
at 8:54 pm
Well, I like the fact that that area is being developed at least. Between Queen and Gerrard, anything east of Church st is like a huge mess. That’s a pretty central location yet has been completely neglected by city planners for decades.I would like to see the condos bringing new people and injecting some new life there.
Not far from that lot, have you noticed a HUMONGOUS lot on Queen st, between Church and Mutual? Every time I walk past that lot, I was thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to build something useful here than leaving it as possibly downtown’s largest surface parking lot? It is literally 5 minutes away from Eaton center/the Bay, and 10 minutes from City Hall.
BillyO
at 8:24 am
From UrbanToronto:
‘O2 Maisonettes, (renamed from Oxygen Condos), is being developed by Identity Developments and Stal Inc. Project Managers are Empire Communities. Architects are Page + Steele / IBI Group. Website for the project is http://www.o2toronto.com/ The building is 14 storeys tall with the emphasis on two storey suites’.
That info was posted in May, so that zoning board hasn’t been updated in quite some time. There’s a few renders of the building on their site as well.
JTS
at 4:34 pm
I agree with Phil – anything is better than what stands there now. It has been neglected for years and years and new condos will bring new, affluent residents, and everybody wins. The local businesses get new clientele, the goverment gets more tax revenue, and the homeless and vagrants get to get the hell out!
Krupo
at 7:33 pm
LOL, that crazy “a” isn’t even Polish either. And the more I think about it, the more that amount of space “seems reasonable” when compared to the skinny tall towers built in Hong Kong.