Toronto Couture The Condominium | ?m | 42s | Philmor | Graziani + Corazza

All those "Construction financing provided by BNP Paribas" signs on construction sites is a bit worrying. If the , is there a chance BNP can pull their financing from under-way projects?

I doubt BNP Paribas and the Euro-zone are going belly-up.
A bit about them...
BNP Paribas S.A. is the largest global banking group in the world, headquartered in Paris with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas in 2000. In April 2009, BNP Paribas purchased a 75 percent stake in Fortis Bank, the Belgian banking business making BNP the eurozone's largest bank by deposits held.
 
I wish this one wasn't pulled so far back from Jarvis. As it is it'll mostly be hidden by X and that apartment building to the north (when seen from the south anyway)
 
I doubt BNP Paribas and the Euro-zone are going belly-up.
A bit about them...
BNP Paribas S.A. is the largest global banking group in the world, headquartered in Paris with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas in 2000. In April 2009, BNP Paribas purchased a 75 percent stake in Fortis Bank, the Belgian banking business making BNP the eurozone's largest bank by deposits held.

LOL! Remember AIG? The LARGEST insurer in the world. They went bust and needed a bailout. Lehman Brothers? They went bust. GM? They went bankrupt. Bank of America? Haha. We saw that in 2008 and we're going to see it again. The Euro currency WILL collapse along with the rest of the Eurozone. The US will follow shortly thereafter.
 
LOL! Remember AIG? The LARGEST insurer in the world. They went bust and needed a bailout. Lehman Brothers? They went bust. GM? They went bankrupt. Bank of America? Haha. We saw that in 2008 and we're going to see it again. The Euro currency WILL collapse along with the rest of the Eurozone. The US will follow shortly thereafter.

Whoa, hold on, I was with you until the last bit.

But first, your point needs to be reiterated: the larger they are, the harder they fall - on taxpayer's dollars that provide a golden parachute, Lehman being the exception, a bone to the masses if you will.

So BNP could absolutely go under. They own a lot of the distressed assets - what do you think their 3.1 trillion IS? The entire financial system, at least within major regions (EU, US, China, Japan, etc.), are all systemically connected.

Why do you think the small countries are causing so many problems? Because they are owned - a lot of debt, mortgages, commercial loans, etc. - by the foreign banks, who invested stupidly.

But will it? This is the question. DID AIG? No. Its debt was transferred to the people, along with all the other major companies. If they were not directly bailed out, then, as in the case of GM, through new labour agreements, whereby, for instance, many are working at plants for $14 an hour instead of $25.

So why won't that happen again? Private debt will be made public again, to the detriment of growth in the "advanced industrial world"? BNP will walk away from their losses (at least to a large extent), the Euro will continue, rioting will become more commonplace, and growth will be slow to nonexistent for a decade - except for the rich, who will continue to invest in rapidly growing areas of the world, such as South America and Asia in general.

As for the US falling: China will not let it occur. Not yet, anyway. They own 1.6 trillion. But, if the US doesn't right its path soon, they could stop caring, at which point, a US fall could occur. Imagine yourself as a Communist leader: you need the US to buy your stuff so the people will have jobs and will not revolt. How long they need the US is another question, and the time frame is probably much smaller than most believe. But, the US institutions have already taken their major hits. The Europeans did not have the mass failings of their banks, save in Ireland and the UK.

Let's hope the world gets it together, responsibly - which to my mind means investing in infrastructure and education while asking the rich to pony up. Otherwise, a new global elite is forming, and will leave behind the idea of country as they take their money.

Bottom line for Canada, though: Toronto is probably one of the best assets that BNP has right now, and I think the worst that could happen would be a sale to another institution, who would continue a profitable project. Unless the world is going to hell. Then it would all be off, BNP or not.
 
From the back of the site today, forms and pouring beginning on the 5th floor. A floor a week now, weather permitting.

 
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The floors seem really short. Given that the safety fence is somewhere between 900mm and 1m, the floor height seems like it would barely be 8ft.
 
I'm pretty sure that they are indeed 8' ceilings up to a certain floor (12th, maybe 16th) then they become 9'. I remember this because even when this went on sale 9' ceilings were pretty much the standard and their ads said "9' ceilings on selected floors", or something like that.
 
Couture from the corner of Bloor E and Ted Rogers Way. You can see the setback of the suites vs. the podium.

couture-20-08-2011-1.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure that they are indeed 8' ceilings up to a certain floor (12th, maybe 16th) then they become 9'. I remember this because even when this went on sale 9' ceilings were pretty much the standard and their ads said "9' ceilings on selected floors", or something like that.

8' ceilings from 3-20, 9' ceilings 21 & up, exclusive of bulkheads.

Another shot from today facing east, this time from above

 
Weird. Lots of people in the X Condos will soon have their 'views' totally blocked, I mean, the only views they're going to have are the interiors of their neighbours' bedrooms.
 
Weird. Lots of people in the X Condos will soon have their 'views' totally blocked, I mean, the only views they're going to have are the interiors of their neighbours' bedrooms.

The weird thing is that those people in X purchased their units after the plans for Couture were publicly disclosed.
 
The weird thing is that those people in X purchased their units after the plans for Couture were publicly disclosed.

Yes, the overseas investors scored big time on that building when they sold. Anyway, with Couture blocking one exposure, and X2 blocking the other exposure, X is surrounded by bedroom views.
 
Remember that the X2 tower is setback off Jarvis at the west end of the site, the low-rise portion will face Jarvis, essentially the opposite of how X is positioned. People on the south side of X above about the 10th floor will have south views but I think they'll loose a good portion of their city views to the S/W. People on the north and south of X end of Couture are screwed. The best side of Couture will be the west side plus it will be quiet on that side (very minimal traffic noise), the east side will be OK but noisy.
 
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I wonder what impact the 8' ceilings will have on resale values. I know it was standard for a long time, but with the price points in the area and 9' being common in other buildings I'm surprised they went with the 8'.

Also, I'm a little disappointed to see how far back the tower is set from the street. I was hoping for it to match X to help create a bit of a streetwall at the north end of Jarvis. As it is the tower won't even be visible from the south end of Jarvis looking north.
 
Also, I'm a little disappointed to see how far back the tower is set from the street. I was hoping for it to match X to help create a bit of a streetwall at the north end of Jarvis. As it is the tower won't even be visible from the south end of Jarvis looking north.

Couture is pretty much in line with X and the apartment tower to the north (235 Bloor E.), give or take a couple of feet, perhaps. The back of the building extends a little past both X and 235 Bloor E.
 

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