If you live in a condo, look outside your window, and find a vacant piece of land, or a dilapidated building.
How long would you bet it’ll take until that piece of land has a high-rise condominium on it?
I recently checked out the new “Pier 27 Condos” down on Queen’s Quay, and as cool as they are, I have to wonder what will become of the parking lot next door…
I know, I know…
You’re all thinking that the real story here is: what’s going to happen to Captain John’s? Apparently, there are some issues with the sale. Read about the latest, HERE.
As for that plot of land, just west of the site of the new Pier 27 Condos, it’s only a matter of time until there’s a condominium on that site.
Buying a “view” in Toronto comes with an incredible amount of risk, and while the reward is fantastic – a lake view, city view, CN Tower view, etc., any parking lot or 3-storey building within spitting distance of your condo can ruin that view in a heartbeat.
If you’re looking at a pre-construction condo (well, if you are, then you certainly aren’t reading this blog…) or even a resale condo that’s near a vacant piece of land, do your due diligence and find out what’s going on in the surrounding area.
Anybody with access to Land Registry or Public Records can find out who owns a vacant piece of land, when it was sold, who it was sold to, etc.
You don’t need to see that giant sign out front that says “ZONING APPLICATION REQUEST” to know that a condominium is scheduled for the piece of land…
ijc67
at 8:24 am
This is a very interesting site. Not to mention the sugar dust from next door at RedPath!
Here are some more links:
This story is from Urban Toronto Feb 2011. I wonder if the developer will now request higher.
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/02/excavation-almost-completed-waterlink-pier-27-cityzen-and-fernbrook
The southwest corner is filled in. Here’s a pic from Waterfront Toronto:
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/explore_projects2/central_waterfront/lower_yonge_precinct_planning
And some UrbanDB links with some numbers:
http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/pier-27/index.html#.VSJ4wZM8O6Q
Lastly, see also the faint rectangle boxes on the developer’s site plan:
http://waterlink.ca/siteplan.html
Joe Q.
at 9:07 am
It’s particularly eye-opening to look at aerial photos of downtown Toronto from the 1980s, before the condo boom really got going. Parking lots everywhere.
jeff316
at 10:52 am
Yes, it looked a lot more like one of those mid-tier American cities, with tall towers surrounded by many open spaces.
Mike
at 9:27 am
I’d like to see the P&L on that development. They had massive problems with flooding due to it being on in-fill and well below the actual water table. That might be a big deterrent to anyone building in that area for a while
IanC
at 11:12 am
This is a very interesting site. Not to mention the sugar dust from next door at RedPath!
Here are some more links:
This story is from Urban Toronto Feb 2011. I wonder if the developer will now request higher.
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/02/excavation-almost-completed-waterlink-pier-27-cityzen-and-fernbrook
The southwest corner is filled in. Here’s a pic from Waterfront Toronto:
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/explore_projects2/central_waterfront/lower_yonge_precinct_planning
And some UrbanDB links with some numbers:
http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/pier-27/index.html#.VSJ4wZM8O6Q
Lastly, see also the faint rectangle boxes on the developer’s site plan:
http://waterlink.ca/siteplan.html
Chat conversation end
Libertarian
at 11:21 am
Is Queens Quay even popular? I’ve heard stories, anecdotes, informed opinions, etc. that condo buyers don’t want to live down there because other than the lake, there’s nothing there. People want to live on King. The result is that the current condos on Queens Quay haven’t had the same price growth as other condos.
ijc67
at 4:52 pm
Here are some more links:
This story is from Urban Toronto Feb 2011. I wonder if the developer will now request higher.
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2011/02/excavation-almost-completed-waterlink-pier-27-cityzen-and-fernbrook
The southwest corner is filled in. Here’s a pic from Waterfront Toronto:
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/explore_projects2/central_waterfront/lower_yonge_precinct_planning
And some UrbanDB links with some numbers:
http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/pier-27/index.html#.VSJ4wZM8O6Q
Lastly, see also the faint rectangle boxes on the developer’s site plan:
http://waterlink.ca/siteplan.html
Appraiser
at 6:59 am
“TORONTO, April 7, 2015 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Paul Etherington announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,940 sales in March 2015. This result represented an 11 per cent increase compared to March 2014.
In March, the average selling price for all reported transactions was $613,933 – up 10 per cent
year-over-year.”
Did someone say that this is going to be a record-breaking spring!?
AlexUnder
at 8:31 pm
The price of single detached homes exceeded $1-million in March 2015 in both Richmond Hill and Markham!!!!
Wut
at 2:11 pm
Not just condo’s that this is a problem. I’ve seen cul de sacs turned into regular roads after people paid more to have them. Same with land zoned for parks or schools turned into more houses or even worse. When buying a new build you’re always taking a chance that things don’t turn out the way you expected. The only way to guarantee is if the land is already developed and impossible to change.