[URBAN NOTE] More on Crystal Blu
Nov. 7th, 2007 07:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldIn September, I wrote about the radical changes soon to be visited on the southeastern corner of the intersection of Yonge and Bloor in downtown Toronto, now that the eighty-story Crystal Blu Condominiums tower is slated to replace a pleasant cluster of shops and restaurants. Today, local media--like the Globe and Mail--have reported that the competition for condominiums in these tower has begun.
This demonstrates at least part of the ongoing boom in condominium construction in Toronto (1, 2, 3), driven by the reality that a downtown Toronto that is already densely populated has to turn to condominiums if its population is to continue to grow and the GTA avoid a sort of doughnut structure, with a depopulated and often dysfunctional city surrounded by relatively prosperous suburbs.
Leaving the larger context of the Crystal Blu tower aside, it will be a spectacular addition to the Toronto skyline, a will be a "275-metre skyscraper, tall, skinny and sleekly sculptural, [including] shops at street level, an eight-storey hotel and residential [units] above."
Toronto's real estate market reached a new high - or low, depending on your point of view - this week as more than 60 people set up temporary camp on Bloor Street to spend eight nights awaiting the opening of the One Bloor sales office.
When those doors open at noon next Tuesday, the people in line will give up their places in line to dozens of real estate agents who will have first option on the $850-a-square-foot units. Many expect the 80-storey tower to sell out on that brokers-only day.
It may not be the large, high-end apartments that are in hottest demand: Tradeworld real estate agent Winston Mak said the smaller, lower-priced units are generally easier to sell. That makes them hot commodities for anyone thinking of flipping.
Mr. Mak will spend most of the coming week surrounded by road construction, frustrated pedestrians and curious onlookers so he can buy units for two Toronto clients and one for himself. That's the maximum purchase, and he is hoping to snare for himself a unit that's "hopefully not too big."
The sidewalk campout began Monday morning when ReMax real estate agent Hersh Litvack and Royal LePage agent Anna Cass sought to catch their rivals unawares by starting the expected queue at an unexpected time: eight days before the sales event.
Eleven people were set up in camp chairs and given sleeping bags, umbrellas and food money. The building that houses the sales centre - a few doors east of where the condo tower is to stand - objected and had the rudimentary camp moved to a nearby alley that afternoon. But it was moved back to the sidewalk yesterday, and is likely to stay there until noon next Tuesday under the watchful gaze of security guards.
This demonstrates at least part of the ongoing boom in condominium construction in Toronto (1, 2, 3), driven by the reality that a downtown Toronto that is already densely populated has to turn to condominiums if its population is to continue to grow and the GTA avoid a sort of doughnut structure, with a depopulated and often dysfunctional city surrounded by relatively prosperous suburbs.
Leaving the larger context of the Crystal Blu tower aside, it will be a spectacular addition to the Toronto skyline, a will be a "275-metre skyscraper, tall, skinny and sleekly sculptural, [including] shops at street level, an eight-storey hotel and residential [units] above."
