Are there any non-glass-and-steel condos anymore?

[rbt]

Originally Posted by monkeyronin

I dunno about that, they don't seem any more expensive than other condos. A few for sale right now:

Average price is $400,000 for a 1 bedroom? It's not insane but there is a premium compared to a 5 to 20 year old building.

[Taller, Better]

I say rent, and invest your $$$ elsewhere! Then, when the market settles you will have had enough time to thoroughly scour the city for your dream condo. There are a plethora of gorgeous old apartments in this city that you can rent. Here is just a smattering, ranging from low end to high end (a few of these might actually be condos now). I just grabbed a bunch, so no doubt repeated myself a few times:











































this one is totally Manhattan:























this one is quite London:







































Glenn Gould lived in an Art Deco beauty on St Clair Avenue:

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by rbt

Average price is $400,000 for a 1 bedroom? It's not insane but there is a premium compared to a 5 to 20 year old building.

Yeah, the locations aren't too great either. Out of all the condos you folks have posted on this thread, I like the 120 Bedford Rd and the 633 Bay St the most. I suppose the reason the loft units are in less central neighbourhoods , and are more expensive than your run of the mill condo, is because the "urban renewal" of the '60s affected Toronto's core harder, so the historic buildings would be less concentrated there. Am I correct?

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

I say rent, and invest your $$$ elsewhere! Then, when the market settles you will have had enough time to thoroughly scour the city for your dream condo. There are a plethora of gorgeous old apartments in this city that you can rent. Here is just a smattering, ranging from low end to high end (a few of these might actually be condos now). I just grabbed a bunch, so no doubt repeated myself a few times:

Wow, those buildings are gorgeous! I suppose renting wouldn't hurt for the time being. I understand Toronto is experiencing the largest condo boom in Canada right now, so buying a place that I would deem "perfect" would be on the difficult side. Would ~$2000 a month be enough to rent a place in some of the more ornate buildings? I'm not too familiar with the rental rates in Toronto, but I would imagine they are rather high.

[monkeyronin]

Originally Posted by 1234567891011

Wow, those buildings are gorgeous! I suppose renting wouldn't hurt for the time being. I understand Toronto is experiencing the largest condo boom in Canada right now, so buying a place that I would deem "perfect" would be on the difficult side. Would ~$2000 a month be enough to rent a place in some of the more ornate buildings? I'm not too familiar with the rental rates in Toronto, but I would imagine they are rather high.

I found the site for the Fleetwood Apartments (the one Glenn Gould lived in): http://cherishome.com/64-St-Clair-Ave-West/Floorplans, prices range from $1,000 a month for a bachelor to $1,600+ for a 2-bedroom.

Or here's a 1-bedroom in the Claridge (this one) for $1,500: http://www.therentables.com/ontario/...ent-in-toronto

I also found a couple 2-bedroom units in the same building that ranged from $2,500 a month to over $4,000!

[doady]

There are still lots of non-glass-and-steel condo townhouses being built throughout the GTA.

[Taller, Better]

150 St Clair Avenue West (fifth and sixth photos up from the bottom) is sort of like a condo; I believe it is a co-operative where the units are all privately owned.
I'd love to live in the Claridge.. it is so 1920's chic.

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

150 St Clair Avenue West (fifth and sixth photos up from the bottom) is sort of like a condo; I believe it is a co-operative where the units are all privately owned.
I'd love to live in the Claridge.. it is so 1920's chic.

So it's like an apartment building, minus the landlord/landlady?

[Taller, Better]

It is very much like a condominium.... slightly different. Board of directors, etc.... and all units are privately owned. I think it is similar to that type of "cooperative" in New York City. If you are interested send me a pm and I can find out for you exactly what it is.

One thing I can tell you is that the flats inside are incredibly beautiful, and it is maintained with a very high standard.

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

It is very much like a condominium.... slightly different. Board of directors, etc.... and all units are privately owned. I think it is similar to that type of "cooperative" in New York City. If you are interested send me a pm and I can find out for you exactly what it is.

One thing I can tell you is that the flats inside are incredibly beautiful, and it is maintained with a very high standard.

Well, sounds great to me. I appreciate all the info you folks have given me. It will help a lot when I do move to Toronto. Thank you very much.

[Taller, Better]

In any case, a warm welcome to the group and I hope you stay active so that you can keep your finger on the pulse of this city!

[AndrewJM3D]

Avenue Road has the best stock of old apartment buildings in the city. I wish we had more areas like this in the city. More in the core at 15-20 storeys would have been amazing. Parkdale has an amazing stock of old apartment buildings if you enjoy a grittier side of life in the city. The area is changing fast and has a lot to offer and really great prices compared to other areas in the same proximity to the core.

[Taller, Better]

Pretty much every neighbourhood downtown has the odd gem of an old apartment building. Apartments were not as common in Canada as in NYC.. but they started to make an appearance in the very late 1800's. This one is a little over 100 years old and was built to house MPP's of the Ontario Legislature when they were sitting. Still has the original oak wainscotting in the public areas, but the original generous flats have long since been subdivided. The interior layout of the building hadn't changed much from the way the Romans built their apartment buildings: central staircase, skylight to allow natural light in to the halls, and clerestory windows above each apartment door to allow light into the unit (well, that is the theory, anyway).




After WW1 there was a push to build apartments in Canadian cities to accommodate a rapidly burgeoning population. Apartments were considered déclassé, in principle, so builders
tried to make them as spectacularly posh as possible. By the early 20's those breathtaking ones on Avenue Road appeared; a well known New York architect was hired to design the
Claridge, for example. I think the push worked, and people began to take to apartments. Between 1905 and 1925, three gorgeous ones popped up on Sherbrooke Street (roughly across from the Ritz Carleton) in Montreal.
After WW2, there was again a major campaign to popularize the apartment building; this time following the lead of Corbusier's modernist plans to house the masses returning to normalcy after the war. In 1955, a very stylish Modernist apartment building was built up atop the hill on Avenue Road (a very prestigious location indeed). Called The Benvenuto, it housed some of Toronto's smart society, and paved the way for acceptance of the modernist template for apartment living here:

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by AndrewJM3D

Avenue Road has the best stock of old apartment buildings in the city. I wish we had more areas like this in the city. More in the core at 15-20 storeys would have been amazing. Parkdale has an amazing stock of old apartment buildings if you enjoy a grittier side of life in the city. The area is changing fast and has a lot to offer and really great prices compared to other areas in the same proximity to the core.

I'm definitely not going to move to Parkdale. That's been a working class neighbourhood for decades and it should stay that way. The last thing the people already living there need is to be indirectly evicted from their homes because of rising rents to accommodate people like me.

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

This one is a little over 100 years old and was built to house MPP's of the Ontario Legislature when they were sitting. Still has the original oak wainscotting in the public areas, but the original generous flats have long since been subdivided. The interior layout of the building hadn't changed much from the way the Romans built their apartment buildings: central staircase, skylight to allow natural light in to the halls, and clerestory windows above each apartment door to allow light into the unit (well, that is the theory, anyway).

That's a great building. What neighbourhood is it in? You said the MPPs lived there, is it near Queen's Park?

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

After WW1 there was a push to build apartments in Canadian cities to accommodate a rapidly burgeoning population. Apartments were considered déclassé, in principle, so builders
tried to make them as spectacularly posh as possible. By the early 20's those breathtaking ones on Avenue Road appeared; a well known New York architect was hired to design the
Claridge, for example. I think the push worked, and people began to take to apartments. Between 1905 and 1925, three gorgeous ones popped up on Sherbrooke Street (roughly across from the Ritz Carleton) in Montreal.
After WW2, there was again a major campaign to popularize the apartment building; this time following the lead of Corbusier's modernist plans to house the masses returning to normalcy after the war. In 1955, a very stylish Modernist apartment building was built up atop the hill on Avenue Road (a very prestigious location indeed). Called The Benvenuto, it housed some of Toronto's smart society, and paved the way for acceptance of the modernist template for apartment living here:

You sure know a lot of about the historic of urban Canada, my goodness. Where did you learn all of these interesting things?

[Taller, Better]

Thanks, 123! I studied Urban Studies, Art History and Architectural History years ago as part of a Degree and I have learned a great deal about my city through photography. I do research on many of the buildings I photograph.
That last apartment building is on Maitland Street, half way between Yonge and Church Street. It is, I suppose, part of what is called the gay Village. It is also within walking distance of Queen's Park. It has a twin, just to the east of it that is about ten years older; built in the late 1880's if I remember correctly. That one is very similar, but slightly different in style and unfortunately had its beautiful cornice removed at some point.

[1234567891011]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

Thanks, 123! I studied Urban Studies, Art History and Architectural History years ago as part of a Degree and I have learned a great deal about my city through photography. I do research on many of the buildings I photograph.
That last apartment building is on Maitland Street, half way between Yonge and Church Street. It is, I suppose, part of what is called the gay Village. It is also within walking distance of Queen's Park. It has a twin, just to the east of it that is about ten years older; built in the late 1880's if I remember correctly. That one is very similar, but slightly different in style and unfortunately had its beautiful cornice removed at some point.

A wonderful course to study, I would imagine. I am very interested in architectural history myself. I would love to spend some time in Toronto walking along the streets looking at buildings the next time I visit. Are there many buildings in Toronto in the Beaux-Arts architectural style? I can think of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Royal Alexandra Theatre but I am not familiar with any residential buildings besides the ones already mentioned in this thread. I love buildings with sculpture on the facade, personally. The more elaborate, the better. It's a shame most builders these days value function and cost over form.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I would love to see something like this in Toronto - this development is in Montreal

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


The original building

image hosted on flickr

[Taller, Better]

It is a nice renovation and urban renewal project, but it is a bit too big and impersonal for my residential tastes...each unit is really chock-a-block up across from other units. The advantage of these old loft conversions (and there are plenty around) is that they usually have very high ceilings. If anyone is interested in a conversion, Andrew posted an example here in Toronto:

Originally Posted by AndrewJM3D

I love it, though I'd hate a unit at the end of one of the interior sections. This will easily be the largest industrial conversion when complete. I believe that the Merchandise Lofts currently hold that title.
The Merchandise Building at over 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) is one of the largest buildings by floor area in downtown Toronto.

From toronto-house-condos.com

[monkeyronin]

Originally Posted by ChesterCopperpot

I would love to see something like this in Toronto - this development is in Montreal

Its in Quebec City. And we've already got plenty of warehouse to loft conversions/expansions here (as has been previously mentioned).

[ChesterCopperpot]

It's in Montreal mon ami