Living large in Upper Canada
Market jitters will not affect high-end project, developer insists
All the chatter about a Toronto condominium market cool-down doesn’t faze Ian Zagdanski.
Amid reports of slowing sales and dipping prices, the vice-president of State Building Group has forged ahead with the launch a luxury project, The Upper Canada, an 18-storey tower on Avenue Rd., south of Lonsdale Rd.
The Upper Canada will have 93 condos, all of them two-bedroom-plus-den suites that range from 1,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Each unit will have a balcony or terrace. Prices start in the $800,000s and go up to more than $2 million — “affordable luxury,” the developer says. (One parking spot is included in the purchase price.)
“This is a different product in a different location,” Zagdanski explains. “We’re not going after the investor here. We’re going after an end-user market that really hasn’t been addressed, to a large extent, in this size range,” he says.
“I don’t know of another project that has this profile in terms of suite sizes.”
As the project name suggests, The Upper Canada’s target group is wealthy buyers seeking to downsize from highend homes but not wanting to sacrifice their luxurious lifestyles. “This project is not for every location, but we feel this location can handle it,” says Zagdanski. “This building fits what people are looking for in this marketplace.”
The Upper Canada is priced such that move-down buyers can sell their stately homes, bank a fair portion of the proceeds, and still afford a roomy suite.
“When people are moving into a condo from a house, they want to put some money away,” Zagdanski says. “They don’t want to spend every penny they made from their house on a condo.”
The Upper Canada is being developed as a joint venture between the State Building Group and Madison Homes.
State Building Group is a division of Forest Hill Homes, a family-run developer that has been in business for nearly 40 years.
The Upper Canada, designed by E.I. Richmond Architects, will feature a classic-looking facade of pre- cast, brick and tinted glass.
The residences, by Tomas Pearce Interior Design Consultants, will have nine- and 10-foot ceilings and pre-engineered hardwood flooring. Kitchens come with Miele appliances, quartz or granite countertops with matching backsplash and under-mount sinks.
Bathrooms will feature doublesink vanities, marble countertops and porcelain flooring. The shared amenities include a party room and lounge with kitchen and dining facilities, which open onto a landscaped terrace that runs the entire width of the back of the building. The Upper Canada will have a swimming pool as well as a hot tub, fitness area, saunas, men’s and women’s change rooms, a guest suite and concierge. Several years back another condo project had been planned for this site, at 609 Avenue Rd. The Wentworth was a 16-storey development that included 53 units ranging from 1,600 square feet to 6,000 square feet. The project was a victim of poor timing, though, launching just before the global economic collapse. “For a variety of reasons, namely because of the financial downturn, (the developer) decided to close the project,” explains Zagdanski. “So we purchased the land from them.” The Upper Canada launched in September and so far, Zagdanski says, the response has been “very good,” with interest from high-end buyers hailing from Forest Hill, North York and Thornhill. “We’re getting people that want to move into more of an urban envi- ronment but they won’t go south of St. Clair. They’re moving from a suburban environment but they’re not prepared to go into the city.”
While The Upper Canada has garnered a great deal of interest, Zagdanski stresses that prospective purchasers at this project aren’t rushing to snap up suites like one might expect at a typical downtown condo.
“It’s not like they come in and the unit is 600 square feet and they buy it immediately,” he says. “That’s not the way this thing works. These are real purchasers. They come back, they ask questions.
“It’s a lifestyle change for them,” he adds, “so they’re taking their time. They want to make sure all their ducks are lined up before they make the purchase.”
Go to uppercanadacondo.com for more information.