Location, location, location
TORONTO’S EAST DOWNTOWN CORE WELL-POSITIONED TO ATTRACT BY LISA VAN DE VEN
Choosing a great location is the first challenge for any condominium developer. And CentreCourt Developments is so confident they’ve got it right this time, they named their newest project Prime Condos.
Located north of Jarvis and Dundas streets, Prime is CentreCourt’s latest offering in Toronto’s quickly evolving east downtown core — a community the developer has become well acquainted with over the past five years.
“What we’re realizing, and a good chunk of our competitors are realizing, is that the east core is really the area where we’re going to see the vast majority of development activity in the foreseeable future,” says Shamez Virani, president of CentreCourt. “There’s now a momentum in this neighbourhood.”
While Toronto’s east downtown has been slower to attract condominium growth compared to the more developed west downtown, Virani adds, that’s quickly changing as both developers and buyers see its potential. CentreCourt’s own first foray east of Yonge Street was in 2013, with the release of their Shuter Street site, Core Condos. At the time, the area was still new to condo growth and the project “felt like we were trying something new, outside the box,” he says. But it was a risk that paid off — the project sold out in less than a week.
Since then, CentreCourt has built on that success, starting construction on two more sites in the neighbourhood: Grid Condos and 411 Church. Currently in registration, Prime — developed in partnership with Centrestone Urban Developments — will be their fourth project in the community.
“People who have been in the area for a long time have noticed that the pace of that community is growing,” says Virani, who calls the neighbourhood one of the “the final pieces of the downtown urban fabric.” New shops and restaurants are emerging alongside the condos, adding amenities to an area already easily walkable to the Eaton Centre, Allan Gardens and the Yonge subway line. Ryerson University — a dominant presence throughout the area — has also added to the local growth.
In fact, Virani anticipates Prime will see a large segment of purchasers associated in some way with Ryerson itself. “We see a lot of parents who are interested — a lot of parents who have students in high school, and they’re thinking to themselves ‘OK, well my kids are going to need a place to go to school,’” he says. “Whether it’s Ryerson or U of T or George Brown — there are actually a lot of educational institutions nearby.”
Investors are also eyeing the site, as are young professionals looking for starter homes close to downtown or near jobs at Ryerson or St. Michael’s Hospital. To accommodate that younger market, Prime will feature a range of smaller units, from 400- to 600-square feet. Studio to two-bedroom-plusden layouts are available, with prices starting in the $300,000s.
Designed by Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects, the 45-storey tower will feature a three-storey podium and a contemporary exterior that integrates horizontal and vertical metal panel bands. The interiors, by the Toronto-based firm figure3, draw on the inspiration of Versace, for a high-end, design-savvy esthetic that will be carried throughout the lobby and amenity spaces.
“We used some of Versace’s furniture pieces as an inspiration for the design, and also we will be purchasing several pieces of Versace furniture out of New York that will be used in the lobby space,” says Dominic DeFreitas, vice president residential development for figure3.
In addition to the Versace furniture, the lobby will also feature pale marble walls and matching tile floors, with a custom light fixture of gold rods inset into a ceiling cove. The amenity spaces, meanwhile, will include an indoor/outdoor fitness centre and steam room, as well as a co-working space for residents. “Aesthetically it’s like what you’d see in a VIP lounge in an airport,” DeFreitas says of the co-working
(IT’S) ONE OF THE FINAL PIECES OF THE DOWNTOWN FABRIC.
space. “There’s a lot of individual quiet zones where people can work or get on a call, and there are also collaborative zones.”
While the interiors will reflect the needs and design-savvy style of the site’s buyers, the project will also keep in mind the growing use of technology in the lives of those same purchasers. August locks will allow residents remote access to their units, offering them the ability to lock and unlock their suite door through an app. There will also be an automated package system that sorts parcels and texts residents when one arrives, and license plate recognition that scans plates to automatically allow residents entry into the parking garage without the use of a fob.
“We’re thinking of a world where you don’t need keys,” Virani says. “You should be able to do everything from your smart phone.”
After all, when it comes to creating a prime condo offering, location is only the start.
Occupancy for Prime Condos is slated for the beginning of 2022. To register, call 416-593-5855 or visit primecondo.com.