Toronto 199 Church | 124.5m | 39s | CentreCourt | Arcadis

Grid has no balconies
 
GreenCity said:
Yes, sorry, typical skin play
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The snaking black and white design is typical? Anything but: the building can be made out from miles away for its unique treatment.

If you're talking "just a box fancied up", then be real: there are economic forces at play, and not everything can be a Mirvish+Gehry, most buildings need to fit a budget. Grid was designed to house Ryerson students, and by that measure you have to weigh it against the execrable pile recently erected on College east of Spadina: thank goodness Grid is far better. In its short time, CentreCourt has managed to build mostly better-than-average looking buildings on modest budgets.

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interchange42 said:
The snaking black and white design is typical? Anything but: the building can be made out from miles away for its unique treatment.

If you're talking "just a box fancied up", then be real: there are economic forces at play, and not everything can be a Mirvish+Gehry, most buildings need to fit a budget. Grid was designed to house Ryerson students, and by that measure you have to weigh it against the execrable pile recently erected on College east of Spadina: thank goodness Grid is far better. In its short time, CentreCourt has managed to build mostly better-than-average looking buildings on modest budgets.

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While I agree with you about the fact that at the end of the day this is basically a privately owned Ryerson student residence, great design doesn't have to mean throwing money at it.
 
It’s easy for CentreCourt to make a reasonably okay looking building for GRID but you have to take in mind what made that possible - units that are a ridiculous excuse for condos (they’re cheap dorms with tight dimensions). Its podium is a travesty. And yes, it’s a simple tower motif but it still looks cheap from up close.

Their Church/Carlton project is looking great but I think it’s a mistake to praise CentreCourt for the cheap money-grab known as GRID. I’m sorry but we’ve sunk very low if we look at a building like GRID and based on its appearance pretend it’s an example of positive or responsible development. It’s not good housing and it makes minimal effort. And don’t pretend the profit margin from it wasn’t very very sweet; they could have done better.
 
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.dwg said:
It’s easy for CentreCourt to make a reasonably okay looking building for GRID but you have to take in mind what made that possible - units that are a ridiculous excuse for condos (they’re cheap dorms with tight dimensions). Its podium is a travesty. And yes, it’s a simple tower motif but it still looks cheap from up close.

Their Church/Carlton project is looking great but I think it’s a mistake to praise CentreCourt for the cheap money-grab known as GRID. I’m sorry but we’ve sunk very low if we look at a building like GRID and based on its appearance pretend it’s an example of positive or responsible development. It’s not good housing and it makes minimal effort. And don’t pretend the profit margin from it wasn’t very very sweet; they could have done better.
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I couldn't agree more. There are some developers whose main purpose is to build great buildings, and they will obviously seek to profit to continue to do business. And there are the others who are conversely building because it's a means of making money, and with that approach any attempt at design or construction quality is going to be half-hearted at best.
 
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Centercourt is for the investors - their buildings are investor-grade and builder-grade. Actual residents are the ones who have to live with consequences - crooked windows, light leaking in door jambs, sliding doors that don't fully close because of baseboards, kitchen cabinets not lined up with wall/ceiling, no ceiling lights in all bedrooms, 39 cent white tiles in foyer, and more. Lots of lipstick. Confer with residents, they are the best source before deciding.
 
GreenCity said:
While I agree with you about the fact that at the end of the day this is basically a privately owned Ryerson student residence, great design doesn't have to mean throwing money at it.
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Don't believe Grid is owned by Ryerson. Its a Centercourt development - project in private sector. Not sure why you say "privately owned Ryerson"?
 
Dan R said:
Don't believe Grid is owned by Ryerson. Its a Centercourt development - project in private sector. Not sure why you say "privately owned Ryerson"?
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I think you misunderstood my point, I meant that the building so geared to investors buying units and renting them to students, that it's virtually a Ryerson students residence. Not literally.
 
Dan R said:
Centercourt is for the investors - their buildings are investor-grade and builder-grade. Actual residents are the ones who have to live with consequences - crooked windows, light leaking in door jambs, sliding doors that don't fully close because of baseboards, kitchen cabinets not lined up with wall/ceiling, no ceiling lights in all bedrooms, 39 cent white tiles in foyer, and more. Lots of lipstick. Confer with residents, they are the best source before deciding.
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You're spot on. The real consumers are the best source. Only problem is most of the actual people who live in these kind of condos are the people renting from the buyer, and they're less likely to speak out about their experience, as opposed to someone who's bought a condo as a home to live in themselves.
 
GreenCity said:
I think you misunderstood my point, I meant that the building so geared to investors buying units and renting them to students, that it's virtually a Ryerson students residence. Not literally.
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Got it. Yes geared towards students.
 
GreenCity said:
You're spot on. The real consumers are the best source. Only problem is most of the actual people who live in these kind of condos are the people renting from the buyer, and they're less likely to speak out about their experience, as opposed to someone who's bought a condo as a home to live in themselves.
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Most builders here are for investors though. We don't hear much feedback because the owners don't even live in the damn things. Just from past experience though, there are some very poorly built condos out there. I'd list some...but I'm invested in them so....;)

There's a long list of builders I will not buy from though. This is what happens though when the end user isn't going to live in the unit and the builder knows it. This is what happens when you have "Tarion" which works for the builder's best interest. This is what happens when there are so many hands in the pot making money. This is what happens when the building code simply is not good enough. And lastly this is what happens when there is so much construction going on, there simply are not enough skilled trades to do the work. Not to mention the deadlines as we all know builders tend to be late and rush to meet them. We all have the choice though....not to buy pre-con. And after buying enough pre-con I'm done for good.
 
TheKingEast said:
Most builders here are for investors though. We don't hear much feedback because the owners don't even live in the damn things. Just from past experience though, there are some very poorly built condos out there. I'd list some...but I'm invested in them so....;)

There's a long list of builders I will not buy from though. This is what happens though when the end user isn't going to live in the unit and the builder knows it. This is what happens when you have "Tarion" which works for the builder's best interest. This is what happens when there are so many hands in the pot making money. This is what happens when the building code simply is not good enough. And lastly this is what happens when there is so much construction going on, there simply are not enough skilled trades to do the work. Not to mention the deadlines as we all know builders tend to be late and rush to meet them. We all have the choice though....not to buy pre-con. And after buying enough pre-con I'm done for good.
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All excellent points. Though there are several great builders who are building for end-users. And hopefully with more industry and buyer awareness that list will grow, and the other larger list of developers milking the system will either have to step up or be marginalized.
I know it sounds almost too good to be true, but this trend has started to happen already a bit, and so I'm hopeful!
 
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