[Surrey] Park Place | 2*36fl Phase 1 | Completed

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Not unusual at all, many new downtown condos do not have any visitor parking period. Heck some don't even provide parking for all owners.

really?? im surprised. what large new developments dont have any? (I could maybe see smaller ones not having any but not a large scale development)

[jlousa]

Woodwards doesn't have a single stall of vistor parking and it's well over 500units. That's the biggest one I'm aware of, there are numerous others as well.
Remember that the cost of providing that guest parking is ultimately paid for by the owners so it's not really a bad thing not having it. The city is also no longer pushing for guest parking as they want to do everything they can to keep costs down, plus be seen as green.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Not unusual at all, many new downtown condos do not have any visitor parking period. Heck some don't even provide parking for all owners.

Some buildings use a few of the parking spaces for the eco-green cars that tenants can share.

Quite useful when you have to get to Ikea for that one piece of StiGma that you have room for now that you're in the new condo.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by jlousa

The city is also no longer pushing for guest parking as they want to do everything they can to keep costs done, plus be seen as green.

Ugh, of course. Im so sick of "green" BS

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Woodwards doesn't have a single stall of vistor parking and it's well over 500units. That's the biggest one I'm aware of, there are numerous others as well.
Remember that the cost of providing that guest parking is ultimately paid for by the owners so it's not really a bad thing not having it. The city is also no longer pushing for guest parking as they want to do everything they can to keep costs down, plus be seen as green.

That's a special situation though, as parking for the complex is supposed to be provided the City-owned *cough*-*conflict* across the street, linked by skybridge.

Olympic Village buildings have visitor parking.

[Diet Butcher]

Any word on when they plan to start on the next phases?

[GMasterAres]

Old Sky Towers project first as it has a development permit. Not sure if they are 1) waiting for the remaining units to be sold in Park Place (they have 35-40 left to sell) or 2) working out the details to get it on the market before the 46 storey tower behind them goes on sale.

Both the old Sky Towers (Park Avenue by Concord) and the 1 behind them (not sure the name) now have development permits and could start construction basically tomorrow.

My best guess, you'll see movement May -> July.

[Track]

Was the plan to build another tower in the space between the current park place buildings and the skytrain track? I seem to remember that being proposed, but i'm not quite sure

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by Track

Was the plan to build another tower in the space between the current park place buildings and the skytrain track? I seem to remember that being proposed, but i'm not quite sure

Two more towers are planned by Concord in the location provided, called Park Avenue towers. There are no presale openings for these towers as of yet, particularly because Park Avenue is anticipated for construction in mid-2012 with completion by mid-2014.

[Track]

That certainly makes the development make more sense; I always thought that it was odd that there was such a large gap between the Park Place towers and the skytrain itself that seem to not be in use.

[GMasterAres]

So far that's the only thing the sales personel at Concord seem to agree on. The Sky Towers towers (across the street from current Park Place) will be phase 1 of Park Avenue and done first (2012 - 2014 was was said above) followed by Phase 2 which will be the remaining 2 towers in that gap between park place and the skytrain.

So if I were guessing you'll see those go on sale in 2013/2014 with completion by 2016/2017. When I moved in here (Park Place) I was told the 2 last towers between here and Sky Train were 4 to 5 years away. That would line up then.

[CoryHolmes]

Originally Posted by jhausner

So far that's the only thing the sales personel at Concord seem to agree on. The Sky Towers towers (across the street from current Park Place) will be phase 1 of Park Avenue and done first (2012 - 2014 was was said above) followed by Phase 2 which will be the remaining 2 towers in that gap between park place and the skytrain.

Has anything been said about the layout or floor plans yet? The last time I walked through the Park Place show room, I asked about larger suites and the Sales Lady told me that they were looking into that. Personally, I would love to have more (and larger) 2 bedroom, 2 room+den suites to choose from.

Honestly, I can't see that much demand for 4-500 sqft. spaces given the state of the economy. Not many students or first-timers willing/able to spluge.

When I moved in here (Park Place) I was told the 2 last towers between here and Sky Train were 4 to 5 years away. That would line up then.

How is Park Place? I remember a post in the Infinity thread giving a scathing review of the living conditions and/or neighbours to contend with. Also, how is that giant amenity building working out? I walked through the site a few days ago and was quite impressed with what I saw

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by CoryHolmes

Has anything been said about the layout or floor plans yet? The last time I walked through the Park Place show room, I asked about larger suites and the Sales Lady told me that they were looking into that. Personally, I would love to have more (and larger) 2 bedroom, 2 room+den suites to choose from.

Honestly, I can't see that much demand for 4-500 sqft. spaces given the state of the economy. Not many students or first-timers willing/able to spluge.

Seems to be lots of demand for renting.

Only thing I've been told is that Concord had no options with Park Place as they were already 50% completed in construction. For the former SkyTowers buildings, they will most likely largely stay the same too seeing as permits are already in place.

For the final 2 towers, seeing as nothing has gone to council yet Concord can do whatever they want so they could be very much different from all the others and from the original Infinity Phase 3 plans.

I'd bank on that myself.

How is Park Place? I remember a post in the Infinity thread giving a scathing review of the living conditions and/or neighbours to contend with. Also, how is that giant amenity building working out? I walked through the site a few days ago and was quite impressed with what I saw

So far so good. My opinion though, as an owner, is that I can tell who rents and who owns in the building already.

Delicate balance though. If the Strata along with the concierge and building management keep on renters to follow the bylaws and not be complete prats then things will be fine. I've also heard that Infinity 1 (first tower) has improved quite a bit over the last year. They've put in concierge service now too and are getting more agressive with problem occupants.

There will always be issues in a project this size, but for the most part things are good. The units are fairly quiet and I can only rarely hear my neighbors. The management company is on people though when there are complaints which is a good sign. Means things won't slip through the cracks. I've even received a notice myself for my car leaking a bit of oil. Didn't even know. Went down and looked and went "Oh what do you know" so have been cleaning it up.

It's a good thing.

As for the ammenity space, there are still some quirks being worked out. I rented out the second floor space last Sunday and it was a bit of a pain ferrying people from the ground floor up. They don't enable your own fob for the duration so you need a lent one. They are working on it though so that eventually when you rent out the space, people calling your buzzer # will allow them through to the 2nd floor space too.

Also the visitor parking is a bit problematic. It's nice to have it but right now you need to fill out a form, put it on the dash, and then run down and use the lent key-fob (your own personal one doesn't work) to get into the visitor space. When your guests want to leave you have to run down with them to let them through the gate so they can get out. The visitor parking really shouldn't be in the Infinity section and/or there should be a second gate blocking their parking so our key fobs will let us in and out.

I know they don't want people parking in the visitors all the time causing issues but right now it is way easier just to tell my guests to pay the $3 on evenings and weekends to park rather than the pain in the arseness to run around.

Other issue I've heard complaints about are the elevators and the door buzzer. When your guest buzzes in, it allows them to your floor only for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately OFTEN if an elevator is already at the main floor, it won't get told electronically so when the guest gets into it, they press your floor, nothing happens. Tis causes a huge amount of confusion and I've had to been buzzed 2 or 3 times then eventually had to go down to get my guest a few times when that happens. Also often with all the moving and such, the front doors are open, so guests will just walk in and jump in an elevator thinking they can go up. They press your floor, nothing again. More confusion.

Most of the issues surround the elevators just not working 100% right yet.

All stuff that will need to be tweaked and adjusted as time goes on. They need to do some tweaking there. But if those are my only real complaints so far, I think things are good. I really like my unit.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by jhausner

Seems to be lots of demand for renting.

So far so good. My opinion though, as an owner, is that I can tell who rents and who owns in the building already.

Delicate balance though. If the Strata along with the concierge and building management keep on renters to follow the bylaws and not be complete prats then things will be fine. I've also heard that Infinity 1 (first tower) has improved quite a bit over the last year. They've put in concierge service now too and are getting more agressive with problem occupants.

There will always be issues in a project this size, but for the most part things are good. The units are fairly quiet and I can only rarely hear my neighbors. The management company is on people though when there are complaints which is a good sign. Means things won't slip through the cracks. I've even received a notice myself for my car leaking a bit of oil. Didn't even know. Went down and looked and went "Oh what do you know" so have been cleaning it up.

It's a good thing.

As for the ammenity space, there are still some quirks being worked out. I rented out the second floor space last Sunday and it was a bit of a pain ferrying people from the ground floor up. They don't enable your own fob for the duration so you need a lent one. They are working on it though so that eventually when you rent out the space, people calling your buzzer # will allow them through to the 2nd floor space too.

Also the visitor parking is a bit problematic. It's nice to have it but right now you need to fill out a form, put it on the dash, and then run down and use the lent key-fob (your own personal one doesn't work) to get into the visitor space. When your guests want to leave you have to run down with them to let them through the gate so they can get out. The visitor parking really shouldn't be in the Infinity section and/or there should be a second gate blocking their parking so our key fobs will let us in and out.

I know they don't want people parking in the visitors all the time causing issues but right now it is way easier just to tell my guests to pay the $3 on evenings and weekends to park rather than the pain in the arseness to run around.

Other issue I've heard complaints about are the elevators and the door buzzer. When your guest buzzes in, it allows them to your floor only for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately OFTEN if an elevator is already at the main floor, it won't get told electronically so when the guest gets into it, they press your floor, nothing happens. Tis causes a huge amount of confusion and I've had to been buzzed 2 or 3 times then eventually had to go down to get my guest a few times when that happens. Also often with all the moving and such, the front doors are open, so guests will just walk in and jump in an elevator thinking they can go up. They press your floor, nothing again. More confusion.

Most of the issues surround the elevators just not working 100% right yet.

All stuff that will need to be tweaked and adjusted as time goes on. They need to do some tweaking there. But if those are my only real complaints so far, I think things are good. I really like my unit.

I was talking to a co-worker about his unit and he said that it was a big surprise when he moved in versus what he thought he was getting in the presale. This was stemming from 34 deficiencies he noted in his own unit which have are being remedied by the developer in slow succession. He also said he has to contend with renters above him who are stomping on the floor all night long. He is adamant that the developer did not install sound proof underlay in between the concrete floor and laminate flooring. He is looking to sell his unit but admitted he bought high and the market has not appreciated enough to walk away unscathed. So he is holding. However, he did say the Strata is doing a good job weeding out those bad seeds that you usually see in brand new buildings.

I actually was interested in Park Place since units are still available, but your post and his polarizing view makes me hesitant to the extent that I might as well wait for Holland Point.

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

I was talking to a co-worker about his unit and he said that it was a big surprise when he moved in versus what he thought he was getting in the presale. This was stemming from 34 deficiencies he noted in his own unit which have are being remedied by the developer in slow succession. He also said he has to contend with renters above him who are stomping on the floor all night long. He is adamant that the developer did not install sound proof underlay in between the concrete floor and laminate flooring. He is looking to sell his unit but admitted he bought high and the market has not appreciated enough to walk away unscathed. So he is holding. However, he did say the Strata is doing a good job weeding out those bad seeds that you usually see in brand new buildings.

I actually was interested in Park Place since units are still available, but your post and his polarizing view makes me hesitant to the extent that I might as well wait for Holland Point.

Holland Point will be no different. That's the life in a large scale high-rise building unfortunately.

As for the stomping above, not sure about that in his case. I have only a few times heard things from people above me and they were extremely faint bumps. I've also asked my neighbors about sound from my place and they don't hear my music or TV and I tend to have it loud.

When things are completely quiet aka you're coming to sleep and everything is off, then you can hear some sounds if people are jumping around, have their TV up very loud, or are yelling. I _have_ heard my neighbors yelling a few times but not loud enough that I could make any words out and it was only when everything in my place was completely quiet.

Having grown up in townhouses, I can say the units are WAY quietter than a townhouse with wood frame construction. Your friend is either used to detached homes, or his neighbors are extremely crazy and making a lot of noise.

My beefs are minor. For my unit, there were 3 minor defficiencies and it was mainly grout clean up when I went through my inspection. They were all fixed by the time I moved in. I had my washer break, something was wrong with my dish washer after 3 uses, and my microwave burned a hole in the side afrer about 5 uses. All were fixed by Trail Appliances within a week and I can't really fault the developer for those issues.

I don't know your friend but 34 defficiencies seems a bit high. Either he got extremely unlucky or he is extremely picky. I've spoken to about 50 owners so far off and on in the building and all have shared the same opinion as me. Units are great, elevators are a bit problematic but improving, overall everything is good and the issues are minor and being looked into which is comforting.

My opinion though may be tempered by the fact that I purchased my unit back when they originally went on sale as Infinity Phase 2. After discounts from Concord and a whole slew of things thrown in, I ended up paying imo next to nothing for my unit. It is already assessed $80,000 higher than what I paid. With 20% down on it too that may be why my opinion is a bit more tempered than your friend. If you friend paid the max amount then I probably would be as picky as they are.

Noisy neighbors though regardless should and from what I can see, are being dealt with. Takes time though. Not like the strata or management company can go in and put them in hand cuffs.

Like I said though, life in a high-rise tower. I have friends who live in towers in Burnaby and downtown, some old, and some new in Yaletown. All experience exactly the same issues.

[tybuilding]

I didn't realize until this week that the commercial building has a green roof. I see there are some small grass plants growing in the soil and there is a sprinkler system. I suggested to the Infinity developers back in 2005 that there should be a green roof on that building as there is a lot of hard surfaces in the development by the look of the models in the presentation centre back then.

[GMasterAres]

Yah. It's quite nice actually. It will be even nicer when retail/commercial starts to finally move in.

[hollywoodnorth]

can someone take a few photos of it for us Downtowner's please?????

[whalley13]

any rumours on commercial tenants and timelines for them moving in?

[CoryHolmes]

Originally Posted by jhausner

It is already assessed $80,000 higher than what I paid.

Aaaaand this is the comment that made me cross you off my Christmas Card List Seriously, congradulations.

I'm happy that your living conditions are much better than the previous post I'd heard about. That gives me hope for looking at a Sky Tower suite