I Have Seen the Future of Real Estate and it Worx
As someone who makes a living by helping people buy and sell real estate, I have to be honest, a lot of the recent developments in our city have left me feeling uninspired. I'm not going to name names, but often it seems that Toronto's collective architectural and development communities have seriously let down our city.
Too many developers seem to be only concerned with the bottom line. The result is threefold: their buildings are ugly or at best boring, their units have unlivable layouts with impossibly small rooms, and no care is taken to ensure their buildings interact well with the surrounding buildings and street.
Enter N-Blox. Designed by Quadrangle Architects, here is a project that I think has the potential to give the Toronto condo game a much needed shake up, and will give new meaning to the phrase it's hip to be square.
N-Blox represents a serious deviation from what we've become accustomed to in Toronto. There are only going to be 8 units, all with their own terraces and direct elevator access. They are being marketed as a house-alternative rather than just another cookie-cutter condo. They will range in size from 1,100 to 2,000 square feet and will be priced starting at about $700,000.
Sure, N-Blox will not be for everyone, but I'm hoping this will be the start of some more creative developments located on some of our city's most creative streets.
Image from nblox.ca.
Comments (16)
They should take this concept one step further and make the units detachable and moveable (a la Archigram "Plug-in City" and "Capsule" visions).
Dear lord--so that's why the buildings in that location have been entirely painted black. Hopefully this will liven up an otherwise drab strip of College, and not just be an eyesore (compared to its surroundings).
You've seen the future of Toronto real estate and it's stylish $700k condos without a mention of sustainable practices?
Yeah sure, that looks great. But who they f can afford a $500,000 condo. (Btw, if you can, i'm jelous). I am getting sick of renting and want to buy a condo, because i cant afford a house. Why do all these retarded condos have to keep trying to push some bs condo 'lifestyle' on buyers anyway. It just makes people embarassed to walk into their sales centres (ie: bohemian embassy, westsidelofts, etc)
I made a private bet with another reader that, by the end of the day, someone would dismiss the design/concept because they can't afford it. My question in retort: where does this sense of entitlement come from?
I'm not saying this project is the answer to all of Toronto's housing problems, I'm simply saying there are some aspects of it that make it unique and separate it from 99% of the condos out there:
-It's located right on one of the best streets in Toronto (College St. in Little Italy)
-The units are big on purpose-house alternative-and they all have outdoor spaces
-It's small but significant
-It's architecturally beautiful
that would be cooler if it faced a park or a ravine. i'd feel on display - like i was in a storefront - if i lived in there.
The smallest unit is a $700k 1200 sq ft open concept 1 bedroom 1 bathroom. That isn't an alternative to a family house.
I think all of north america is suffering from the bland and sterile imagination developers. It seams like many of the new house built by developers are glorified hotel rooms. any development to break this trend is good. The price is a little high but a while back so where dvd players. hopefully this new design will gain popularity and sell in other regions as well. Its a nice rendering. Don't be surprised if the real thing looks nothing like this.
Looks so great and like in a dream. But I am not sure what percentage of Torontonians can afford a more than half million home.
I went to the opening party or whatever... the smallest unit is actuall $809k... which is beyond overpriced at $674/sqf... That price is just stupid.
You can get very good property downtown at $350-400/sqf.
Alex, yes, I was there too and was surprised that the units started at $809K and not the stated $700K that everyone in the mainstream media was quoting in their articles about the project.
Will be interesting to see if they sell them all at these prices.
I believe 1 sentence sums this up:
TORONTO IS A BLACK WHOLE OF CREATIVITY!
Honestly. When the ROM Crystal is among the top 3 most creative and innovative buildings in the city something is wrong.
The point of these condos was to be different and demonstrate that just cause its a condo in downtown, doesn't mean it has to look just like every other condo in downtown. Unfortunately, this comes with a price tag due to land value. At least the architects tried to do something innovative...and unfortunately the sheeplike people in this city are too scared to appreciate it.
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