New streetcar line will add to area’s accessibility
And by summer, a new streetcar spur will be operating down Cherry St. “It’s great to have all that on my doorstep.”
The PDI is actually the second final inspection of the units. Months earlier, the development team did an initial post-Pan Am-conversion walk-through of the suite. Known as “the pre-PDI,” the goal, Barth explains, was to flag any issues — such as chipped drywall edges. Then, during the purchaser’s PDI, workers can reference a tablet-based list to check that the concerns have been addressed and also additional requests noted.
“When we walk in we don’t expect to find anything we found before,” stresses Barth, noting that hardly any of the finishes in the condos were in place during the Pan Am Games: The kitchen cabinetry, appliances, closets, flooring and baseboards (floors were painted concrete for the Games), as well as ceiling finish and painting are all new. Blinds were installed (a must-have for napping athletes), and remain in place.
“We were concerned the post-Games process might be even more challenging than putting up the actual buildings,” Barth says. “We had promised our purchasers a delivery date and it is our intention to meet every one of those dates.”
Completing 810 suites in five months is a fair amount of work. And judging from Koo’s reaction to his space, they nailed it.
“I was a bit nervous picking finishes out of a booklet,” he says. “But it’s all come together nicely. So I’m feeling pretty good right now.” Breanne McNamee and Andrew Salmon were also feeling positive during the PDI of their post-Pan Am place, a 724square-foot suite, including balcony, at Canary Park Condos on the corner of Front St. E. and Bayview Ave.
“We’ve been thrilled the entire time,” says McNamee, an education director at Oxford Learning. “The kitchen is about two times the size of ours now.”
The couple is planning to start a family in the near future and intends to use their suite’s den as a dining room initially, and then a nursery. Having Corktown Common, with a kids’ playground and water features, right next door, will be a huge upside.
Salmon, a digital communications manager, is eagerly anticipating the eateries and retailers opening this spring. He’s also hoping that a heritage industrial structure across the street from their building might eventually be turned into a large grocery store. “That would be amazing.”
The pair are slated to move into their condo in early May, just days after McNamee’s 30th birthday, she points out.
And they’re already dreaming of drinks on their balcony. “We talk about that every day.”