Tallest Condo In Canada Coming To Downtown T.O.
Friday November 16, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
Think the chaos over the condo at 1 Bloor St. East was frenzied this week? Just wait till the real estate agents, developers and would-be flippers hear about this. What promises to be the largest condo tower in all of Canada was confirmed on Friday – a building that once finished, will stand 75 storeys and 343 meters tall.
The “Aura” will change the face of the downtown core yet again when it’s built at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard, opposite College Park. The builders say it will encompass 1.3 million square feet – with at least 1.1 million devoted solely to residential space. And what would a Yonge St. development be without business? Some 190,000 square feet will be reserved for retail space.
The Bloor condo is 79 storeys and this one is only 75. How can they claim bragging rights to being the tallest? A spokesman tells CityNews.ca that The Aura beats its competitor on metre and square footage size, and that each residence will actually be bigger in height than the Bloor spot – so even though it has fewer storeys, it will actually wind up being slightly taller than the other address.
Those behind the plan have yet to reveal how much it will cost you to buy a spot in the complex. That may not be decided until next month. But the spokesman explains that while there will be high end and pricey luxury models on the upper floors, some of the lower tiers should be affordable – although he wouldn’t say how much “affordable” is.
The structure has been in the planning stages for more than a year, undergoing seemingly endless scrutiny and changes, before the city approved the project. After the frenzy that accompanied the earlier unbuilt condo, this one promises to create equal fireworks. Early registrations are being accepted online but actual sales won’t start until 2008, and the condo may not be ready for tenants until 2012.
It’s the latest in what’s rapidly becoming a newly energized market. A survey released earlier this week by Remax shows condos are on fire again in this city, with a 14 per cent rise in sales over last year – and growing. Melissa Grelo will have more on the condo craze and what this new project will do to the revitalized Yonge St. strip on CityNews at Six.
