Ryan Starr – Toronto Star

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]onsidering that Indx Condos will be the first purely residential tower built in the Financial District, its developers didn’t have to spend too long determining the project’s target market.

Indx, a 54-storey glass tower to be built at 70 Temperance St., will cater directly to Bay Street’s young bucks — 20- and 30-something go-getters who work long hours at their bank/law firm/consulting firm/accounting firm and want to stay tapped into what’s happening downtown.

“We see the buyer being someone who works hard, plays hard and views his career as being very important,” explains Andrew Hoffman, president of CentreCourt Developments, which is building the project in partnership with Lifetime Developments. “So there’s tangible value to living at a central address that’s within a five-minute walk to the office.”

The Indx tower — designed by Page & Steele IBI Group Architects — will feature a variety of glass treatments and cut-outs. The top of the building will have stone work that echoes its four-storey limestone base. The podium will house the condo’s amenities and 1,500 square feet of street-level retail space. Plans call for Indx to eventually be tied into the PATH network.

Suites at Indx will have nine-foot ceilings, engineered wood floors and open-concept layouts. The units, designed by Cecconi Simone, are decidedly bachelor-friendly spaces, with black countertops and cabinetry, warm earth tones and clean lines. Some suites will have balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows, depending on the plan.

To further woo the man-about-town, Indx’s pads can be upgraded to include a custom closet with double hanging space to accommodate suits, racks for ties and belts and a drawer for cufflinks and watches.

Kitchens come with a 35-bottle wine fridge, granite countertops and open-glass shelving with accent lighting.

All units have an Energy Star appliance package: a cabinet-covered refrigerator and dishwasher, black electric cook-top, 24-inch stainless steel oven and hood fan and a stainless steel microwave oven.

Units also come with a front-loading stacked washer/dryer.

Given that the target market for Indx is guys who don’t have much time to cook, though, suites can be upgraded to a “low-maintenance” kitchen, with the full-sized oven/dishwasher swapped out for a single-rack oven and high-speed dishwasher, freeing up space.

Bathrooms come with a choice of natural stone or quartz countertop, porcelain tile flooring and a five-inch soaker tub.

The amenities include a party room with full-length bar, cocktail lounges and fireplace. The party room opens out to a terrace equipped with barbecues, banquettes/lounges and a 12-foot water wall.

There’ll be a poker room with two full-size tables, a billiards room with sports lounge and bar, and a golf room with putting green and simulator. Indx will also have a cigar lounge and movie theatre.

With this many alpha males in one building, the gym had better be big — and it will be; a 3,000-square-foot area with free weights, cardio machines, circuit machines, a spinning room, yoga room and separate change rooms for men and women.

For the downtown man on the move, Indx will offer concierge services including drop-off and pickup of dry cleaning or laundry and full-sized fridges for storage of delivered groceries or wine. There’s also a shoeshine station in the lobby.

The Indx site is tucked behind the historic Graphic Arts Building on Richmond St. near Bay St.

Designed by Toronto architect F.S. Baker and built in 1912, the Graphic Arts Building has strong ties to Toronto’s literary history. It housed The Grip, an advertising and design firm where members of the Group of Seven once worked, as well as Tom Thomson. It also served as the offices of the defunct Saturday Night magazine. “There’s a real rich history to that block,” says Hoffman.

Indx’s four-storey limestone base, which matches the cornice lines of the Graphic Arts Building, will have Chicago windows and a canopy at street level, Hoffman notes. “It’s a classic base that really ties in with the classic architecture of the Graphic Arts Building and the Bell building to the south.”

Marketing guru Robert Galletta, whose team at Blackjet Inc. developed the advertising strategy for Indx, says they’ve come up with a male-oriented campaign that a “distinct Bay Street buyer” can identify with.

“It’s targeting that person who lives to work,” he explains. “They’ve been out of school for a while and are looking to climb the corporate ladder, and it’s all about work — they never shut off, there’s always connected. Even when they’re not at work they’re working. If it’s going out at night for drinks, they’re going out and networking and looking to ladder climb.”

The Indx campaign was inspired by the TV character Barney Stinson, the cad played by Neil Patrick Harris on the show How I Met Your Mother.

“When he opens his closet he’s got 90 different shades of grey suit,” Galletta says. “And his apartment is meticulous, very modernist; he’s probably never cooked a meal in his kitchen before. He eats out a lot.

“We really wanted to translate those ideas into the Indx campaign.”

As such, the ads and social media promotions for Indx will be based on what Blackjet has dubbed the “Condo Code” — “a guide to living big” for high rollers in training.

A few excerpts:

• Article 1: Condos before bongos.

• Article 21: Always share a cabana, unless on a date.

• Article 42: A suite is like a fine suit. Tailor it to you.

Marketing campaigns are more effective when they target a specific audience, Galletta notes. By focusing so much on catering to Bay Streeters, though, don’t the developers risk alienating other potential buyers?

“We think the (Bay Street) market is extremely deep and there’s great demand for this type of offering,” says Hoffman. “But also Indx is going to be very well designed so anyone will feel comfortable with the classic nature of the architecture and the suite finishes.

“And ultimately the location will be a huge driver of demand.”

Hoffman doesn’t argue when it’s suggested that he’s designed a condo that he himself would love to live in.

“I did actually,” he says. “I’d like to think of myself as being in that 20- to 30-something demographic. But my wife keeps reminding me I’ve passed it.”

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Contact Laurin Jeffrey for more information – 416-388-1960

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto Realtor with Century 21 Regal Realty. He did not
write these articles, he just reproduces them here for people who are
interested in Toronto real estate. He does not work for any builders.
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