Duncan McAllister – Metro

A new neighbourhood rises from a neglected corner of Queen Street West in what may be Toronto’s best-kept real estate secret. The neighbourhood surrounding Alexandra Park near Spadina and Queen will be home to several new condo developments as well as a host of major new retail, dining and recreational options.

Toronto real estate agent, Ralph Fox alludes to what investors call the Starbucks factor. “When you had Starbucks open at the corner of King and Bathurst, it really was a sign of things changing,” he says.

Comment: You mean the 10 condos and lofts that Peter Freed built didn’t mean anything? I think they came before the Starbucks…

The area has long been the site of an aging public housing infrastructure and rows of ramshackle brownstone townhouses. “Most people still have a negative view of that area, but that’s stale-dated,” says Fox. In addition to Brad Lamb’s Harlowe project and the boutique Origami lofts, Fox says, “You’ve got the behemoth Tridel project which is essentially going to change the entire neighbourhood from the ground up.”

The entire revitalization of Alexandra Park will eventually stretch from Queen Street as far north as Dundas. A series of old townhouses will be demolished to make way for the new project.

Comment: And another old and gross area of the city will be improved. Highest and best use.

The community master plan includes two residential condominium buildings with a total of 1,540 suites. The first of the two projects will be Tridel’s contemporary SQ condos designed by Teeple Architects. The first phase of the five-year project is estimated to complete in early 2019.

“For us, it was all about where this community is and its relationship to key things that people want that are close to their home. That was the big appeal for us to come to this community,” says Tridel VP, Jim Ritchie.

In addition to the new units, the area will see the addition of 5,700 square metres of new retail space, a new public park, new basketball courts, a larger community centre and measures to integrate Alexandra Park more fully into the surrounding area. Several major retailers are opening up, including a large Loblaws and Joe Fresh stores, a CB2 showroom, and a Winners store.

“It’s really an amazing area that’s just primed to take off.” says Fox. With a transit score of 100 and a walk score of 99, he sees this area as the next big thing for would-be investors. “We walked into the Tridel showroom just to see first-hand what they had going on, and it’s almost like a secret that’s happening in the city — nobody’s really talking about this.”

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

Laurin Jeffrey is a Toronto real estate agent 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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