[McC]

I think it looks better than its immediate surroundings, but that doesn't take much. It does look as though it is supposed to be about exactly twice the height, which would put it closer to being on par with the office towers behind it, and I can't see having any real negative effects in that area.

"behind it" is Mechanicsville, the front of the building is on Parkdale.

If the building was aiming for twice the height (and twice the number of units), they'd honestly still be blasting and digging the hole for the parking lot.

[Ottawan]

:previous:

Point taken, the blasting would suck for those residents. But long-term, the shadowing, considering the small footprint of the building, wouldn't be much of an issue, nor in my mind would be parking if we're assuming extra blasting for new underground floors, and considering the walkability and transit-friendliness of the area.

[McC]

:previous:

Point taken, the blasting would suck for those residents. But long-term...

"In the long term we're all dead"
-- J.M. Keynes

[waterloowarrior]

also.. minor variance to reduce the number of visitor parking spaces
http://blog.westwellington.ca/news/applications-going-to-the-committee-of-adjustment-on-august-17/

appealed to the OMB http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/ecs/CaseDetail.aspx?n=PL110969

cash-in-lieu of parking application

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__8OFRD7

[jboss]

http://reinventingottawa.blogspot.com/2011/11/twenty-eight-storey-condo-planned-for.html

Twenty-eight storey condo planned for Mechanicsville

------
Local builder Urbandale has submitted a new application for a 28-storey condo tower on Parkdale Avenue. If approved the tower, designed by local architect, Barry Hobin, will be located across from the employment node at Tunney's Pasture and is within walking distance of the Transitway and soon-to-be LRT station.

The project would replace these three houses at 99-107 Parkdale Avenue
----------

[gjhall]

http://reinventingottawa.blogspot.com/2011/11/twenty-eight-storey-condo-planned-for.html

Twenty-eight storey condo planned for Mechanicsville

------
Local builder Urbandale has submitted a new application for a 28-storey condo tower on Parkdale Avenue. If approved the tower, designed by local architect, Barry Hobin, will be located across from the employment node at Tunney's Pasture and is within walking distance of the Transitway and soon-to-be LRT station.

The project would replace these three houses at 99-107 Parkdale Avenue
----------

There's a post for this: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=195329

[Rokko]

Interim occupancy has begun. Any comments from those who have moved in? Any photos to share? Overall - happy?

[condo_dreams]

Kijiji is flooded with Soho Parkway condos for rent. Are there any resident-owners checking this forum that can comment on this?

[JackBauer24]

Kijiji is flooded with Soho Parkway condos for rent. Are there any resident-owners checking this forum that can comment on this?

Only a few people/floor have acutally moved in; on my floor all of the suites have closed, but aside from my next-door neighbour and I, the rest of the floor is vacant. Being Christmas and not the most convenient time to move, I suspect that many people are waiting to the new year to move.

There are some suites for rent, but the ones I've seen on Kijiji and Craigslist seem to all be from the same 3-4 owners. Like all new condos, you're going to have investors looing to rent out their properties, I don't think Parkway has any more or less than other new condos.

[basemonkey]

I moved into one of the units. I was impressed with the craftsmanship in the unit as it was very good. The layout is functional and the appliances are great with the exception of a small fridge. The choice of plumbing fixtures is also well done. Despite having a small kitchen, it is still functional for 2 people.

The amenities are still under construction on the second floor and the roof. The units did not come with window coverings. It took 2 weeks to get the blinds installed and had quotes ranging from $600 to $1500. Although I'm very handy, it was worth the extra cost to get them professionally measured and installed from Blinds To Go.

There is currently one elevator operating until the building is complete. Residents must take the elevator due to stairwell liability reasons according to the builder. The elevator is given priority to residents over contractors so it has not been an issue for myself.

My only complaint is the shower. SoHo installed a single glass pane which covers 60% of the shower wall opening. It is designed after a bad European style and is not meant to have a shower curtain. Although it looked good when buying the condo, it is not functional. When taking a shower, water spills onto the bathroom floor and onto the wood floor even when the door is closed. It also gets cold as the opening allows hot air to escape and cold air to enter. I have alleviated the problem by installing a temporary shower curtain but plan to entirely replace the glass pane with a glass sliding door. When I visited the new SoHo Champagne showroom, I was disappointed to see that they are still using a single pane for the shower for their 4th building in Ottawa. In my humble opinion, this design is a failure and expensive to replace.

Overall, I would buy from Mastercraft builder again and plan to. They delivered 1-2 months late from their original date which is impressive for construction projects.

[basemonkey]

My advice to investors who are planning to rent their unit is that they will need to supply their tenants with window coverings. I recommend translucent white rollers as they look good and are the mid-range option. The cheapest option from the quotes I received are to get vertical blinds.

The units come painted white so a neutral colour paint job might make the unit more attractive.

[Davis137]

I like that this building is visable from the North End of Booth, and the Ottawa River Parkway...it's height and scale are great for that location, and it's added a fresh new addition to the Tunney's/Hintonburg/Mechanicsville Skyline.

[waterloowarrior]

from the HCA

201 Parkdale
Cash-in-lieu of Parking for 10 visitor parking spaces was approved. The 10 parking spaces will be used for resident parking and 8 visitor parking spaces remain. The City requested a study of on-street parking availability during evening and weekend hours which indicated that 40% of the available parking was utilized at these times.
The City indicates that “As the on-site parking deficiency can be accommodated by the availablilty of on-street parking on the surrounding streets, it is not anticipated that the adjacent residential areas will be negatively impacted”.

The HCA will ask Councillor Hobbs to request a review of the parking restrictions on Parkdale Avenue between Emmerson and Scott Street both day-time and evenings, week-days and weekends with a view to increasing the number of on-street parking spaces. This is particularly important because of proposed development at 99 Parkdale and the potential for at least 2 other developments on this part of the street.

[ebrie014]

Anyone that bought in SOHO Parkway want to share the length of time they had to be in interim Occupancy and had to pay Occupancy fees until it could actually be registered to your name with a mortgage? How fast was SOHO at this process?

I bought in SOHO Lisgar and wanted to lock in a mortgage rate for a year, tentative Occupancy was pushed back to Dec. 31st 2012 wich I assume is for the first floors, I will be on the 9th and was told by end February to likely Occupy which I assumed that by May of next year it could be registered.

[ThaLoveDocta]

Anyone that bought in SOHO Parkway want to share the length of time they had to be in interim Occupancy and had to pay Occupancy fees until it could actually be registered to your name with a mortgage? How fast was SOHO at this process?

I bought in SOHO Lisgar and wanted to lock in a mortgage rate for a year, tentative Occupancy was pushed back to Dec. 31st 2012 wich I assume is for the first floors, I will be on the 9th and was told by end February to likely Occupy which I assumed that by May of next year it could be registered.

As a general rule of thumb, try and get a guarantee for 6 months past your expected date.
Nothing burns more than losing a great rate because of extensions.

:tup:

[allysontremblay]

As a general rule of thumb, try and get a guarantee for 6 months past your expected date.
Nothing burns more than losing a great rate because of extensions.

:tup:

Yup, he's right. Extensions can kill your guaranteed rate, but the good news is most banks offer a capped-rate at lengthy terms (24-36 months) so you should be able to secure a very good rate even is the final registration is over a year away.

At Soho Parkway the first people moved in in Dec and the building is going through its final closings now (roughly a 5 months interim occupancy period on a 15 story building). I believe Soho Lisgar is about the same height but there are more suites, so the interim occupancy period would probably be 2-3 months longer.

Hope that helps...

[brentgaulois]

Although this thread is dead, I thought I'd share this image of Soho Parkway

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/8717787967_e1a9924dae_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheldef/8717787967/in/photostream)
Soho Parkway (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheldef/8717787967/in/photostream) by Shel DeF (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheldef/), on Flickr

[Ottawan]

Although this thread is dead, I thought I'd share this image of Soho Parkway

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/8717787967_e1a9924dae_b.jpg

No thread is ever dead - they're just resting.

Nice pic btw. Is this from a Holland Cross balcony?

[brentgaulois]

No thread is ever dead - they're just resting.

Nice pic btw. Is this from a Holland Cross balcony?

Haha, resting then. Yes, it was taken from Holland Cross. Good eye!

[JackBauer24]

Haha, resting then. Yes, it was taken from Holland Cross. Good eye!

One does not simply kill a thread.