INDX Condos (Lifetime Developments & CentreCourt Developments) - Real Estate -

[Tuscani01]

Isn't that the norm in any large building, that heating/cooling is covered through your condo fees? Are there really large / modern buildings that have individual heating/cooling systems in each

Not individual systems, just metered. Same as a normal building but you get billed individually for thermal so that those who use more end up paying more vs. including it in condo fees and having everyone pay the same amount.

I'm at River City and that's how we are set up.

 

[AHK]

Not individual systems, just metered. Same as a normal building but you get billed individually for thermal so that those who use more end up paying more vs. including it in condo fees and having everyone pay the same amount.

I'm at River City and that's how we are set up.

If I may, a further clarification. Typically condo fees are based on the size of the unit - so for example a 450 square foot unit would, on a monthly basis, pay half the amount of a 900 square foot unit. So everyone pays the same amount on a square foot basis. This is why, when comparing maintenance fees between condominium, buildings, the relative costs for the comparison are expressed on a per square foot basis.

Obviously this is not fair when it comes to energy consumption, as residents will have different behaviours, so some will be more energy intensive than others. Also the unit design and configuration will impact energy costs differently. A south or south western facing unit will have much higher air conditioning requirements than a east or north facing unit (because of the relative differences in energy costs between natural gas and electricity, over the past few years air conditioning costs have been much greater than heating costs - why air conditioning is being used as the example).

As Tuscani01 says, modern buildings now have metering systems which can measure the net energy being used in a unit, and bill the residents accordingly.

 

[MetroMan]

Is it just cooling, or is it "thermal" in general? I pay heating and cooling separate from electricity at my building, but we're not connected to Enwave. It's just a way of passing on that cost to residents instead of the condo corp covering it, as they traditionally do.

It's for cooling only. In my current building, my AC is using hydro so it affects my own hydro bill, which I pay directly. Heating at INDX is forced air (gas) which is covered in the condo fees. Cooling is metered separately.

How else would a "cooling medium" be generated building-wide and then sent to each unit, that has to be metered? I can't see it making sense to expend electricity to chill water and then send it to each unit on demand. Why not just have each unit's AC use the unit's own hydro?

Specially given its location, surrounded by office towers that do have Deep Lake Water Cooling systems in place, and given that INDX was built recently, after this system was rolled out to the financial district, this really does look like the building uses it. I guess I'll find out when I move in and can get better answers.

 

[Tuscani01]

How else would a "cooling medium" be generated building-wide and then sent to each unit, that has to be metered? I can't see it making sense to expend electricity to chill water and then send it to each unit on demand. Why not just have each unit's AC use the unit's own hydro?

But that’s exactly how condos are heated and cooled. A cooling medium is generated building wide and sent to each unit. The heating/cooling systems in condos aren’t powered by hydro. Hydro simply powers the fan that circulates the heated or chilled air. The only time hydro is used is when the developer includes an auxiliary electric heater in the system, to cover the periods where it’s cool out, but not cold enough for the building to switch on the heat yet.

The only odd thing is that you only pay for cooling separate, which could point to your building being connected to the Enwave system.

 

[MetroMan]

But that’s exactly how condos are heated and cooled. A cooling medium is generated building wide and sent to each unit. The heating/cooling systems in condos aren’t powered by hydro. Hydro simply powers the fan that circulates the heated or chilled air. The only time hydro is used is when the developer includes an auxiliary electric heater in the system, to cover the periods where it’s cool out, but not cold enough for the building to switch on the heat yet.

The only odd thing is that you only pay for cooling separate, which could point to your building being connected to the Enwave system.

My current condo in King West has an AC unit in the wall. It refrigerates the air before re-circulating it. It uses my own hydro and I do notice my hydro bill go up in the Summer. My heating is "free" as there's a communal boiler in the building that is paid for in the gas portion of our condo fees.

INDX is different. There's heating paid for in the condo fees, hydro is paid for separately by each resident directly to Toronto Hydro and "cooling" is paid to Provident/Cricket. So there's something different going on.

@Yegger you live there. Can you demystify this for us?

 

[evandyk]

For grass, without a doubt Osgoode Hall is the closest. There is a patch at the TD Centre and when Bay Adelaide North is done, the cloud garden, that are also near.

Last summer we actually spent quite a bit of time in the TD Centre courtyard with our toddler. It is normally a bustling place full of office workers, but last year it was a quiet, relaxing place. Every evening there would be families out with their kids playing on the cows or riding scooters on the pavement, and a few people walking dogs on the lawns. We live on the east side, so it was a convenient place to meet friends who live out on King West or in the Annex, etc.

 

[MoshiMoshiii]

It was time for an upgrade and I've always wanted to live amongst the financial district towers.

I'll miss the community of King West but my neighbourhood is going to be construction hell for several years. KING across the street has brought on a non stop parade of trucks and caked the streets and sidewalks in mud. Then the tower on Brant will start. And finally the streetcar track replacement and street reconstruction happening from 2023-2025. The neighbourhood I've enjoyed for the past decade is gone and won't be settled back for a while.

One thing I've learned pretty quickly is that the Financial District isn't built for residential. Very little green space — not even a patch of grass for my dog to pee on for a couple of blocks — and no grocery stores nearby. That said, Berczy Park isn't far and we might end up spending a lot of time in Osgoode Hall's parquette. For groceries, I'll head into the PATH for quick pickups but will shop at St. Lawrence Market for my weekly produce.

Having near direct access to the PATH is going to be great. In winter I'll be able go to the Eaton Centre without a coat. I can walk to Union almost entirely inside. I can glide my luggage on smooth interior floors all the way to UP Express in under 10 minutes to get to Pearson Intl almost without going outside. I'll have to check once COVID is over but I think it's possible to exit my door and right into EY Tower from Sheppard Street. That's like a 20 second hop outdoors.

King West isn't too far and I suspect I'll still be spending a lot of time there as I have business partners and friends there. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the Financial District as a resident.

And you can get your haircut at the salon I opened a year ago, we are really close to you
74 Victoria street.
Cheers