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

[BuildTO]

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!

Excellent idea! And it would probably only take them 10 years to complete it! Well... I say "10 years", but then I'm an optimist...

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

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!

Huh? You want Yonge & Bloor to be like Yonge & Sheppard? Yonge & Sheppard have movie theatre in Sheppard Centre,... Yonge & Sheppard have Wolfgang Puck restaurant,.... Oh wait,... that's rignt Yonge & Sheppard doesn't have any virgins.

 

[prosperegal]

A little off topic: I recall a project which took like 10 years to build. I went to elementary school at Blessed Trinity, which is on Bayview and Finch. When I was in Grade 3ish (this would be 1987-1988), they tore down the trees on that corner to make room for a condo. I don't believe the condos actually went up until the late 90s, at the earliest. My family had long moved out by the time the project was complete.

 

[AKS]

Aren't the purchasers suppose to get letters telling them to wait or get their deposits by now? It's past July 15.

 

[Tuscani01]

Aren't the purchasers suppose to get letters telling them to wait or get their deposits by now? It's past July 15.

Letters have been sent out to people in the top floors who no longer have units due to the height reduction. For everyone else, its still a go.

 

[Solaris]

thank you for everyone's update (with credit to The Star and Globe & Mail too)

I'm happy to FINALLY hear some real news on 1BE ... and I'm happy that my negative thoughts about Bazis are true ... so it appears its confirmed that floors 68-80 are gone, but I question if Bazis will be able to build the base 67 storeys given their 'financing bank' is facing litigation (if I understand correctly)

My wish ... the 67s 1BE not get built, a local reputatable builder takes over and builds a tower similar to the 80s range using a BRAND NEW DESIGN ... I totally hate the current box look of 1BE

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

The article from The Star seems a bit fishy if you ask me. The part about it being reduced to 68 floors seems like it just pops up out of nowhere, and Gold isn't even quoted about that, or says anything regarding 68 floors. Seems like regurgitation of what has been said elsewhere.
Then Gold goes on to mention he says it's going to be built as planned.

Also; not really important, just a lack of knowledge probably, they used an old rendering.

Originally Posted by dt_toronto_geek
From the Star article:

..."Buyers who entered into agreements for units from floor 68 to 80, were told this week they will get their money back. Gold's development team has decided to cut the size of the project to 67 floors to reduce construction costs estimated originally at $542 million. No construction has taken place, but the site has been cleared. The move-in date was to be sometime in 2011."

You didn't read what I wrote. Gold is not quoted as saying that it has been shrunk at all. They are simply stating what has been said by realtors already. This letter has not been seen by anyone here. Nothing official about a height decrease has been said anywhere besides these articles which don't quote anyone in particular about a height decrease.

I responded directly to the thrust of your "regurgitated" & "...being reduced to 68 floors seems like it just pops up out of nowhere" statements.

For what it's worth, the article states "Gold's development team has decided to cut the size of the project to 67 floors to reduce construction costs estimated originally at $542 million."

Gold himself makes two statements in this story which contradict his "development team", whoever they may be:

1) "Michael Gold, the Canadian face of the Kazakh project, fired back late yesterday, telling the Star he will fight the lender "vigorously" and the project will go ahead." (somewhat vague)

2) "Bazis International Inc. is vigorously opposing the receivership proceedings and fully intends to honour all agreements and to complete the development as planned on schedule," Gold said in a written response to a request for an interview. (not so vague). How they could get this built for "sometime in 2011" is obviously not possible.

Finally, on the page preceding The Star article is the piece from The Globe & Mail which, in part, reads: "Garth Juriansz, a real estate agent who bought a south-facing unit on the 39th floor, and sold numerous others, said he had clients who bought on the 70th and 71st floors. He said the developer, Kazakhstan-based Bazis International Inc., has promised to return his clients' deposits with an offer to buy at a discount on lower floors."

So until the media digs a little deeper on this or Bazis offers an official statement regarding 1BE (which should be soon), as usual it's anyone's guess as to what is really going on here.

 

[luxome]

wow, 1BE situation is one big mess right now. i wonder if the developer can pull it off and still be able to build it. heh.

 

[khris]

So until the media digs a little deeper on this or Bazis offers an official statement regarding 1BE (which should be soon), as usual it's anyone's guess as to what is really going on here.

Well that's exactly it. They didn't dig deeply at all. If you want to believe real estate agents, then yes, this project is only 67 or 68 storeys now.
However, if you want official information from the city or Bazis, you'll have to wait.
I, for one, am choosing to wait for official information.

 

[Ore]

Bazis should have financed by some banks from China to complete this project.

 

[Eastside]

How didn't Bazis have their ducks in a row? They had financing and the building was mostly sold. They have another tower under construction practically across the street. There was no reason to believe that the development wouldn't go ahead.

This project's financing has included:
a) a company whose risk management practices were so awful that the company no longer exists,
b) a French bank that saw this loan as such a toxic investment that it was sold to:
c) a consortium of local businesses who are now attempting to force the land into receivership and will likely succeed unless the day can be saved by:
d) a nationalized Kazakh bank who are currently under investigation for a massive money laundering scheme and who are said to likely be unable to even come up with the money needed in order for this project to move forward.

Please correct me if I'm wrong (and apologies if I am) but I don't believe there have been any confirmed hotel or retail partners for this project. I'm sure it's not for lack of effort on Bazis' part. I believe at one point Apple was rumoured to be interested, but it seems that any company with a solid reputation to protect and a financial headache to avoid wants absolutely nothing to do with this project. For comparison's sake, we all knew who the hotel and retail partners were for MLS before the shovels hit the ground.

There has been a succession of excuses from Bazis executives over the past year or so with regards to the lack of progress, including slow permit processing time, lane closures and road construction issues on Bloor, the Lehman Bros issue (which they initially attempted to play off as a technicality regarding the name on the property's deed). The problems did not start with the financial meltdown, but the recent economic troubles seem to be doing a good job of exposing the dirt on this one.

I really don't know if the moderately-sized and, if those weird artistic cutouts on the podium's concrete make it to the final product, potentially hilariously ugly building across the street is a good indicator that this is a secure project either. We could just as easily point to their project up in North York that seems to be having a bit of a rough ride as an example of their work, and I really don't think that shows them as being overly competent either. I really do hope something gets done at this corner, as it's a damned shame what has happened there, but I think that the sooner the project is out of Bazis' hands at this point, the better.

 

[vegeta_skyline]

What an unmitigated disaster, I hope Bazis goes bankrupt or something soon so that they won't be able feign being legitimate anymore. The only thing going for this project was its height and now thats gone.

Toronto condo buyers will now think twice before buying into a project run by foreign developers.

They should have thought twice about that before when some no-name brand suddenly appears with something that clearly they are not capable of pulling off.

Anyways I just hope nothing happens to Aura as that was always my fav of the new super talls(600ft+).

 

[Cast_Member]

For sure, Toronto condo buyers will now think twice before buying into a project run by foreign developers.

Or anything relating to Borat.

 

[gregdavismail]

I will also not buy anything from anyone resembling bruno or austria.

 

[Observer Walt]

Here we go again with the cheap comments about Borat, or is it Bruno now? Are comments in that tone necessary? Do we make snarky comments about the ethnic origins of people at Minto because they cancelled a project several months ago (King and Bathurst), or Brad Lamb because his project on Broadview wasn't approved? Or Cresford ...

A bit more class is needed here.

In any case, the project isn't cancelled. For those whose focus is on the "supertalls", it's disappointing to see the loss of several floors off the top of this building. But it's a business decision, and a sensible one in the circumstances. They got caught in the financial meltdown, and they weren't the only ones. My best guess is that this will be built, although maybe not by Bazis.