Affordable condo units draw eyes eastward
By Derek Raymaker – Globe and Mail
Toronto is among the most extraordinary condominium markets in North America, not so much because of the quality of the suites but the vast array of pockets that seem to perform well.
As we look at the lesser known condo submarkets around the Greater Toronto Area, it’s apparent that the city’s proud neighbourhoods have played a role in staking out markets beyond downtown.
The eastern reaches of Toronto include some of the most stridently independent neighbourhoods, including The Beaches, Riverdale, Leslieville and the Danforth. Each of these communities has endured its own peaks and valleys in terms of affluence, and all are in demand today among younger buyers. In the case of The Beaches, older empty nesters are drawn to the shoreline neighbourhood.
On the fringes of these neighbourhoods are Kingston Road and Eastern Avenue. Both arterial roads are flush with heavy traffic during the day, but they also have surplus commercial and industrial buildings ideal for lofts or more experimental condominium developments.
The east end has become a test canvas of sorts for art-deco, mid-rise designs reflecting South Beach and other maritime styles. Certainly, the buyers who gravitate to the east end are more likely to take a chance on designs that reflect their free-spiritedness rather than the standard cookie-cutter suites of downtown or the harbour front.
But the kicker for most buyers is, as always, affordability. At the end of 2007, the average price for this neighbourhood stood at $402 a square foot, pretty close to the Greater Toronto average of $399, according to data collected by RealNet Canada. That’s up 17% year over year.
The average suite in this neighbourhood is quite a bit larger than the average in Toronto, and prices are higher, too, at an average of $379,601, compared with $355,998 in Greater Toronto. That’s also a cool hundred grand higher than the area’s average price of $276,992 in 2006.
Hyde Park Homes has been active in the east end, starting with a successful 18-unit infill townhouse redevelopment in the Upper Beaches and following it up with Leslieville Lofts just north of Queen Street East at Broadview Avenue.
Leslieville Lofts will be a new eight-storey building on the site of a former auto-body shop made up of 157 suites and 14 two-storey townhouses, with prices ranging from $180,000 for 470 square feet to $1.4-million for a 2,265-square-foot penthouse.
Leslieville Lofts, which was launched last November, features open-concept spaces and vast terraces on the seventh floor. The townhouses will be zoned as live/work units.
If you’re looking for spectacular views, Minto’s Skyy project at the top of Pottery Road near Danforth Avenue will soar 25 storeys above the Don River Valley. It features contemporary open-concept designs suited for younger buyers, but it’s also been a big hit with local residents who want to cash in on their valuable houses but stay in the same neighbourhood. The project is now under construction.
Prices here range from $189,000 for 522 square feet to $1.5-million for a 4,482-square-foot penthouse with two terraces and an enormous living area with a curved bank of floor-to-ceiling windows.
An authentic loft project – living space that is converted from industrial use – that has turned a lot of heads for its shape-shifting design and intriguing courtyard is the Printing Factory Lofts, developed by Beaverbrook Homes. This 254-unit project will also include 44 stacked townhouses with street-level access on Boston Avenue, just north of Queen. Prices here range from $189,000 for 573 square feet to $491,000 for 1,235 square feet, with extensive landscaping in common outdoor areas as well as private yards.
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