City
Morning Brew: February 27th, 2009
Photo: "Street Preaching" by HighPlainsDrifter Photography, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.
What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):
A confidential document by the province's transportation agency Metrolinx reveals some potentially shady practice. The Globe and Mail reports that a Metrolinx draft of their communications strategy suggests that supporters be "salted" at public consultations in order to avoid be mired in "an orgy of consultation" when "nimbies and local politicians on the make" get involved. This comes after the agency had already been accused of lacking transparency.
PM Harper spoke publicly about introducing new anti-gang legislation that focuses on making stiffer penalties for offenders, and also took the opportunity to speak for everyone who may be opposed to his proposals: "We know that we're going to hear these critics, and we know that we're going to hear the opposition parrot some of these critics because they all believe in soft-on-crime policies."
29 units are still available (starting at $1.4 million) in the snazzy Ritz Carlton development project in Toronto. Developers are confident that the building will sell through despite the economic dive. An interesting but not completely surprising revelation: only 20% of the buyers so far are Torontonians.
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Are retailers' fears that removing parking spots in favour of bike lanes will cause them loss founded in reality? A recent study in the Annex suggests otherwise. In my opinion, as long as we continue to hastily weigh economic earnings against environmental benefits, not much will get done.
Retail giant Walmart will be closing all 8 of its member-based Ontario Sam's Club stores in just a few weeks, but says it also has plans to open 26 new supercentre Walmart stores. Will competitor Costco buy up the locations? Will the staff be transferred to the new Walmarts? Some details have yet to be revealed.
And arts and crafts and fashion lovers might want to check out a pretty cool initiative that aims to highlight local designers and retailers, and get people to come back to their abandoned craft projects. Details are at Toronto Craft Alert.
Discussion
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Re: Ritz Carlton development
"An interesting but not completely surprising revelation: only 20% of the buyers so far are Torontonians."
Yikes. Nothing says "run away" quite like a development that has attracted speculators from around the globe.
It's nice to know Tocondo can bulldoze whole neighbourhoods so the international rich can live in luxury.
=/
Wow, that preacher on Yonge/Dundas has been there for YEARS. And now he's got a big-ass sign to boot. (When should we expect a BlogTO profile on him? ;)
Err, which community was bulldozed for The Ritz-Carlton site?
The ugly parking lot community of course. Poor pigeons.
@davedavedave...I think Protogenes is thinking of the lovely surface parking lot next to the CBC and Simcoe Place that was eons ago part of a railway yard where the Ritz is going up. Clearly a beautiful neighbourhood that will be missed by all under the massive new Office Tower (RBC) and the Ritz under construction there.
I think that they clearly have their projects confused, the Ritz is not the Kazakhstani's from Bazis International Group at Yonge-Bloor where Roy Square was demolished to make way for their development.
What would make anyone nostalgic for Roy Square? Yonge-Bloor, proportionate to its prominence in the psyche of Toronto, might be the most wasted intersection in the city. A ridiculously tall skyscraper (if it's ever built) is much more appropriate than an OLG office, Mr. Sub and Harvey's.
I'm tired of these passive aggressive tactics from Harper, generalizing his critics as evil and immoral, and taking ANY opportunity to paint himself a halo and his opponents horns.
Frankly it feels like we're steps away from "You must support the Conser- I mean government or you're un-patriotic".
I feel like the truth isn't nearly as pithy as 'tocondo' and 'international rich'
Maybe "positive-density-on-a-former-brownfield-site-in-a-financial-district-next-to-the-subway"? Anyone?
"Maybe "positive-density-on-a-former-brownfield-site-in-a-financial-district-next-to-the-subway"? Anyone?"
Sums up the Tocondo philosophy nicely.
Not attacking your "Tocondo" criticisms at all, protogenes, but I'm wondering if you have an alternative solution as to where/how to house new residents over the next 10-20 years? We have limited land, not much room for sprawl.
"We have limited land, not much room for sprawl"
Building so called condos (with in reality are vastly overpriced apartments, imho one of the best scams of the past 20 years), leaving many out because of the cost is a long term solution?
10-20 years from now, many of these hastily built condos won't be in fine shape.
So your solution is ?
why should i matter where they are from? Why does it mean run there champ?
International Community. International Buyers. International City. New Money in is a good thing. Wy are you running from them, cause there not like you?
Give your head a shake
Ritz Carlton is an international brand that is why they are more likely to sell to international investors and probably why they are pitching it to people world wide with all of thier other developments. Who knows what they plan on doing with the condo's they've bought no one said they are going to move into them, maybe they are just going to sell, or rent them out.
Don't kid yourself just becasue it's written into the article, international buyers are buying into many developments not just this one. THe percentage is higher because its a inetrantional company.
In these times we want money now were gonna pick and choose who buys and where? should we be approving based on the country they come from? where did your international grandparents move from?
Remember, if you're not pro-Harper, you're pro-crime.
RE. SAMS CLUB; THIS IS A DAMN JOKE!!! THEY WERE SELLING MEMBERSHIPS IN MY OFFICE A MONTH AGO FOR $16!!!!!
RE. CRIMINALS; FORCED LABOUR IN THE YUKON.
um, you can get a refund at Sam's if you want.
Love how you didn't actually answer my question. Is there a reason that Toronto shouldn't build high-rises in the downtown core, right on the subway line? This isn't a biased comment, I'm just trying to see if someone (i.e. protogenes or anyone else) has an alternative solution. Toronto's population is constantly growing and yet we can't keep building townhouse complexes and detached and semi-detached subdivisions. Where will these people live?
"so called condos (with in reality are vastly overpriced apartments"
Frankly, condos are just apartments that are owned and not rented. It's the same fucking thing.
"10-20 years from now, many of these hastily built condos won't be in fine shape."
And which high-rises won't have maintenance problems 10-20 years from now? Seriously, I'd like to know.
and you think the membership sellers and staff really new this was coming for them. Sounds liek your office is the joke, jokes on them
About 10 years ago, they instituted a similar law in Manitoba (anti-gang).
All it did was put a bunch of innocent people in jail as they were guilty by association.
Manitoba 10 years later is still the gang capital and murder capital of Canada. It didn't even dent the gang populace.
Keven: This has nothing to do with stopping violence and getting rid of gangs. This is about getting re-elected and keeping people scared of the boogyman.
Stu,
Thank you for the invitation to give my head a shake.
New money is a good thing, yes. International is good, yes. But you should try to recall that we've been told all along that Toronto's condo boom is genuine this time, not like the 1980s speculative boom. We are told that today's buyers are nice Toronto working people who need homes, NOT speculators.
My point, if you have the analytical yarbles to grasp it, was that a project overwhelmingly sold to foreign buyers, is most likely overwhelmingly being sold to speculators, contrary what we've been told by the CREA all along. These buyers are NOT into Toronto for the long haul -- they will liquidate at the first sign of trouble.
Can you dig it now?
Sounds good to me! I don't care what they do with it, just don't go telling them that they can't buy it. You don't like it? but can't afford and are going to complain. Start a corporation, become a multi-billionaire buy them all up as a Canadian owner and see how much the public likes you then.
Um, what? Its a luxury item that certain people can afford. I guess they shouldn't build Toyota Camrys and Chevy Malibu's because some people can't afford new cars, right? Or are you saying that every possible development, including those located near the financial district of a major city, must be affordable to every common denominator? And if condos are overpriced apartments - who cares as long as you're not the one footing the bill?
But hey, who am I to stop you from the defending the poor parking lot that got booted out of a home.
This whole anti-development/anti-commerce/etc crap makes me sick.
Better to sell them to people with $$$ that can afford the condo fees and upkeep in 20 years the management will still milk them and they will still be fine looking builings, becasue they won't settle for less. The cheaper ones where people can barley afford the condo fees now will go to shyte and you'll complain about how "poor" the building looks.
Roof over head? YES
Clothes on Back? YES
Food on Table? YES
Hey Stu, go back and read Ratpick's post again - I think you missed something. The problem here is that these condos are not being purchased to provide shelter, they're being purchased as an investment by people hoping to make an easy profit. The demand they're creating for these properties is a false demand and when the deck of cards collapses we're going to be stuck with a lot of ugly, empty buildings that are nothing more than vertical slums.
Personally, I have nothing against the idea of a parking lot being turned into high-density living space, IF the demand is there and people actually use the building to, you know, live in it. But the idea of foreign investors using our real estate to play their financial games is a little disconcerting, especially considering the whole global financial mess we're in right now started when some greedy investors in the US decided that the price of real estate could only go up indefinitely, not realizing that every bubble's got to burst sometime. And when the Toronto condo bubble bursts - watch out, it's gonna be ugly.
Hey HumanFly I read that and I understand that. It's gonna be ugly, whatever. It'll be cheaper condos for everyone, how is that friggin ugly. WAKE UP!!!!