Toronto Star

Life at the city’s highest home address

Penthouses at Aura at College Park make the claim to fame of being the tallest of the tall

- ELAINE SMITH

On foggy nights, the lights atop downtown Toronto skyscraper condo Aura seem to hover in space like extra-terrestria­l visitors.

The distinctiv­e pattern, using 1.24 kilometres of LED lights that shine through the night’s dark hours, ensures that North America’s tallest residentia­l tower is recognizab­le from the edges of the GTA. And further.

“I’ve had friends call me from Victoria Park to say, ‘Hey, I can see your building from here,’ ” said Nicolas Lin, 33, who bought his 870-square-foot condo on the ninth floor for $570,000.

Aura is the final building in the College Park developmen­t, at the northwest corner of Gerrard and Yonge Sts., and the last of its 994 condos — the 79th-floor penthouses — are now for sale, ranging in price up to $3.7 million. The building’s record height was not part of the original planning, said Berardo Graziani, principal at Graziani + Corazza Architects Inc. of Mississaug­a. The site was initially slated to be home to two towers, but after examining the feasibilit­y, the impact and the marketing of two towers, the architects and developers, Canderel Residentia­l, decided that a single tower would have less impact

“It’s exciting to have the tallest residentia­l building, but I’m most satisfied by the positive things it has done for the city by opening up Yonge St.,” Graziani said. “Now, Yonge St. is full of developmen­t and is being revitalize­d. Who knows how long this will be the tallest residentia­l building?”

The projects have also brought new retail life to a failing stretch of what was once listed as the world’s longest street (until 1999, when it was separated from Hwy. 11 at Barrie) with shops and cafés, plus an additional supermarke­t to meet the needs of the influx of new residents.

Canderel, the building’s developer, broke ground for the project in 2010, and the five-storey retail podium opened in 2012. The first residents moved into the building in August 2013. Aura’s 994 units, covering a million square feet of living space, touch all sectors of the market, Graziani said, with studios, lofts and twostorey units among the other offerings.

The constructi­on of the building, the fourth tallest building in Canada — with only First Canadian Place, Trump Internatio­nal Hotel and Tower, and Scotia Plaza ahead of it — was an exercise in problem-solving since it was done in three phases. Essentiall­y, Aura is three buildings stacked one on top of another. The retail podium was built first, followed by floors six to 58; the upper stories formed the third building. Each phase has separate elevators.

“It was interestin­g, exciting and challengin­g,” said Julie Robinson, the director of project management and constructi­on for Canderel’s residentia­l group.

“The retail podium had a different end user than the residentia­l floors, and the commercial tenants were very sensitive to the need for the storefront­s to appear open during constructi­on. Instead of ground-level hoardings, we had overhead protection to achieve that open-for-business look.

“We had many structural challenges, including rebuilding and maintainin­g a ramp to service the entire block and providing 24-hour access and using a transfer slab eight-feet deep that allowed us to continue constructi­on despite the podium being open. We were essentiall­y building a vertical world.”

Graziani said the team was regularly breaking new ground, figurative­ly speaking.

“What had been done in the past had to be thrown out the window,” Graziani said. “Everything was reinvented and rethought.”

The effort has paid off, if satisfied residents are any measuring stick. Lorraine Manryk, who lives on the 28th floor, and Lin each bought condominiu­m units at Aura before constructi­on began.

Lin was among the first occupants of the building, while Manryk had to wait 12 months, since her unit was located near an elevator.

“I’m a second-time buyer with Canderel,” Manryk said. “I lived in College Park II previously and buying here is the best thing I ever did.”

While she enjoyed the views from the model penthouse suite during an open house late last year, she’s very happy with her home’s view.

Both owners were drawn to the building largely because of its location.

“It’s five minutes to the subway, and I work at Ryerson University, which is also five minutes away,” Lin said. “Living on Yonge St. also means we get to see all the action there.”

Also nearby is Barbara Ann Scott Park, a forgotten expanse of green space between buildings that line Yonge, Gerrard, Bay and College Sts. The three-acre park is the focus of a $3-million re-make by the developer.

Aura connects to the TTC’s subway system. “I’ve worn heels in a snowstorm to go to a concert at Roy Thomson Hall,” Manryk said, refer- ring to the building’s undergroun­d connection to College subway station, which allows residents to take the TTC without walking outdoors.

But a proposed link to the city’s undergroun­d PATH system is in dispute and a lawsuit has been launched after retail condo owners in the lower level say they were misled by promises of a PATH connection that would give them access to shoppers. The allegation­s have not been proven in court.

Aura’s five-storey podium includes retailers Marshall’s, Bed Bath & Beyond. As well, it has the largest location of Madonna’s Hard Candy Fitness chain where all Aura residents receive free membership­s.

“I love the fitness centre,” Lin said. “It’s amazing.”

Manryk agreed. “The equipment is amazing and there’s anything you want: a Booster Juice bar, hot yoga, and it’s all included.”

Aura’s own amenities appeal to buyers and owners: a cyber café; a mini-theatre that can be rented for private events; party rooms; guest suites; and a fifth-floor outdoor patio with barbecues and a waterfall.

Online forums allow Aura residents to leave notes for the concierge and report repairs online; as well it’s a marketplac­e to sell unwanted possession­s. Residents’ key fobs give them access to common areas and their own residentia­l floors — an added layer of security.

“The amenities make a big difference, a very prestigiou­s difference,” Manryk said. “I like the luxury, too.”

 ?? RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR ?? A sweeping view of the city skyline and Lake Ontario is among the highlights of the penthouses at Aura. Left, Julie Robinson, director of project management and constructi­on for the building’s developer, Canderel Residentia­l, and Aura condo owner...
RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR A sweeping view of the city skyline and Lake Ontario is among the highlights of the penthouses at Aura. Left, Julie Robinson, director of project management and constructi­on for the building’s developer, Canderel Residentia­l, and Aura condo owner...
 ??  ?? North America’s tallest residentia­l building, Aura, is recognizab­le from the edges of the GTA and further due to its LED lights that shine through the night’s dark hours.
North America’s tallest residentia­l building, Aura, is recognizab­le from the edges of the GTA and further due to its LED lights that shine through the night’s dark hours.
 ?? BRETT BUNDLOCK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO ?? It took developer Canderel Residentia­l close to five years to build the Aura condominiu­m tower at Yonge and Gerrard Sts.
BRETT BUNDLOCK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO It took developer Canderel Residentia­l close to five years to build the Aura condominiu­m tower at Yonge and Gerrard Sts.

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