1 Bloor East, DEAD AND BURIED (Bazis, -2s, Varacalli)

[Redroom Studios]

wow, this is the most popular thread ever!

I was one of the negative voices early on when all the hype of Bazi's marketing campaign blew into town, and then the spectacle of the line ups to purchase units. The speed of the whole thing seemed troubling at the time. I wonder if they knew that the hot economic climate was about to cool off dramatically and were rushing to beat the downturn? When demolition proceeded so quickly it looked like there was no turning back. In any case while I was cautious about this project I certainly did not want it to fail. I generally liked the proposal and of course the height. What a shame this current situation is... what a pain for people who bought and put down deposits, and then waited, and waited. I guess thats all we can continue to do until there is some solid news rather than speculation. All I would say is that hopefully there is a resolution sooner rather than later for this very visible empty lot.

 

[Eastside]

Bazis should be forced to rebuild Roy Square and apologize to all the small business owners whose lives they turned upside down for no reason.

 

[Build Up]

This is discusting its going to look like a stump and we already have bay adelaide for that. i would honestly rather have nothing there and wait 2 years for something elce. hahaha we and all send a letter to bazis and say we want our money back because there's not as much value in it anymore.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

why don't they just build as planned? they should start building what they have the money for. by the time they start reaching the higher floors, either the economy will be in a better condition or people's confidence in the project will be alot greater and they will sell those units. that's say that by the time they build to the 60th floor, if they haven't sold enough units above that, they can always top off the tower there. but i doubt that by the time they get that high up they would not have sold everything that was left.

if you build it, they will come. tearing down roy's square gave people confidence to buy in, starting construction will probably give enough people confidence to allow the sell off all or most of the remaining units.

 

[jks]

Well, I definitely agree with most people here, build the thing as planned, or get lost and sell the land to a more reputable developer like Lanterra (ICE, MLS), or Tridel (Hullmark Centre, 300 Front).

 

[Johnzz]

if you build it, they will come.

I agree... But the problem is, they have no money to build.

In fact, they can't even make the payments on the loan used to buy the land.

Unfortunately, financing is the life blood for any business venture.

 

[jks]

Wow, some people have anger issues!! Listen to this hilarious post in the Star's comments section. It doesn't even have anything to do with 1 Bloor.

With Mayor Green-Bin and the band of Council we have Toronto could become the next DETROIT

hall and Toronto could very well become thKeep re-electing the crew we have at citye next Detroit. They are pissing off enough tax-payers and PUNISHING the constituents they are supposed to represent that people are looking to move out of Toronto to the burbs again. Keep ignoring us Dave and supporting YOUR OWN PET PROJECTS and you'll ruin this city. It won't happen overnight - but just about everything he does is taking the incentive out of staying here. Heed this too - once the exodus starts - it will be near impossible to stop. 2010 buh-bye Davie

OOOOOH, We're turning into Detroit..

 

[Big Daddy]

Well, let’s pray the unholy trinity (Tricon Capital Group, the Minto Group and KingSett Capital) doesn’t get its mitts on this project. This site is far too important to allow just any dumb-ass development to be built. If they want to build “a more modest project†(i.e. just another apartment building) go get some land in the suburbs and blow your brains out. But not at Yonge and Bloor. These jerks just want to build the units that have already sold and not have to spend another dime on marketing or construction – Build just enough to get by.

Hey, sounds a lot like a hockey team I know – MLSE isn’t involved are they?

 

[Automation Gallery]

why don't they just build as planned? they should start building what they have the money for. by the time they start reaching the higher floors, either the economy will be in a better condition or people's confidence in the project will be alot greater and they will sell those units. that's say that by the time they build to the 60th floor, if they haven't sold enough units above that, they can always top off the tower there. but i doubt that by the time they get that high up they would not have sold everything that was left.

if you build it, they will come. tearing down roy's square gave people confidence to buy in, starting construction will probably give enough people confidence to allow the sell off all or most of the remaining units.

Good point.

 

[Tuscani01]

PenEquity should purchase the land. Maybe they can build an entertainment centre that would attract thousands to Yonge and Bloor! It can have a movie theatre, Wolfgang Puck, Virgin store and so much more!

 

[DaninToronto]

The only good news to come out of this is that at least now we actually have an answer to all the questions we have been having for so long.

I hope some other developer comes along and re-envisions this site with something truly deserving. The biggest loss is the site is now a wasteland and is a bigger eyesore than it was before. This is almost as big a blunder as Stinson's Sapphire tower. Our version of Chicago's Shangri-la and Spire tower.

My hope is they cancel the purchasers agreements and free them from this mess so they can go and purchase the home they have been wanting for so long. They deserve better than this.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

why don't they just build as planned? they should start building what they have the money for. by the time they start reaching the higher floors, either the economy will be in a better condition or people's confidence in the project will be alot greater and they will sell those units. that's say that by the time they build to the 60th floor, if they haven't sold enough units above that, they can always top off the tower there. but i doubt that by the time they get that high up they would not have sold everything that was left.

if you build it, they will come. tearing down roy's square gave people confidence to buy in, starting construction will probably give enough people confidence to allow the sell off all or most of the remaining units.

To build,... a developer (Bazis,... and I'm using that developer word quite generously here) would need a building permit,.... and they don't even have a building permit for 1 Bloor East,.... nor a building permit for Emerald Park,... heck, they don't even own all the land for Emerald Park.

 

[Automation Gallery]

To build,... a developer (Bazis,... and I'm using that developer word quite generously here) would need a building permit,.... and they don't even have a building permit for 1 Bloor East,.... nor a building permit for Emerald Park,... heck, they don't even own all the land for Emerald Park.

Heck ...even if they held a building permit and owned the land they arent capable of building anything over 30 stories.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

To build,... a developer (Bazis,... and I'm using that developer word quite generously here) would need a building permit,.... and they don't even have a building permit for 1 Bloor East,.... nor a building permit for Emerald Park,... heck, they don't even own all the land for Emerald Park.

As noted in post #3899 they don't even have foundation or shoring permits yet (which I don't understand)

 

[wyliepoon]

Time to update my "evolution of 1BE"...

Hate to see 1BE having turned out this way, but I think architecture/RE fans in Toronto had fun watching this project, from the speculations over how it was going to look, the infamous height race with the Trump, etc. Now it joins a list of unbuilt Toronto supertalls: Eaton's College Street, John Maryon Tower, the Weston Skyscraper, the Bay Adelaides, etc. It's got good company!

I don't know how this will impact real estate in Toronto, but such a prestigious project tanking cannot be good news for this city, especially in such economic conditions. For sure, Toronto condo buyers will now think twice before buying into a project run by foreign developers.

*****

As for the future, what I want to see is the land getting back to municipal control, and then the city holds a "Design and Development" competition (like San Francisco's Transbay Terminal competition, where bidding developers partner with architects). The winner of the competition will be allowed to develop the land.

Since the busiest subway station in Toronto is located at the intersection, the TTC should be involved in the development. It could develop a partnership with the developer (like Hong Kong's MTR) in the project so that it would be able to receive some of the profits from the project. At least, the developer should be required to help refurbish Bloor-Yonge and provide adequate linkages between it and whatever is going to be built.