Old East Development (Ph1 24s & Ph2 21s Complete)(Ph 3 21s u/c)

sparky212 · #1 Posted **Apr 12, 2009, 11:30 PM**

Old East Development 24/21s. proposed

ldoto · #2 Posted **Apr 13, 2009, 2:35 AM**

I got this pic from the paper two months a go!!!!!

MolsonExport · #3 Posted **Apr 13, 2009, 5:22 PM**

any further activity?

ldoto · #4 Posted **May 13, 2009, 2:35 AM**

Wrong Thread
Thanks QuantumLeap!!!

QuantumLeap · #5 Posted **May 13, 2009, 5:22 PM**

^this belongs in the Terrasan thread. There are two different projects proposed in Old East, Medallion (24s/21s 600 units) and Terrasan (9s 150 units)

sparky212 · #6 Posted **May 16, 2009, 4:31 AM**

Fire crews battle another blaze

Fri, May 15, 2009
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By KATE DUBINSKI , SUN MEDIA

Fire crews battle a blaze in an abandoned house at 372 Lyle Street tonight.

Fire crews are at at the scene tonight of a house fire that filled the neighbourhood just east of Adelaide with heavy black smoke for the second time in a week.

At about 9:20 p.m., a passerby called 911 after seeing flames shooting from an abandoned house at 372 Lyle Street at King Street, said Sgt. Bruce Charteris.

At 10:45 p.m., firefighters were still trying to tame the blaze.

Heavy smoke filled the area and police kept curious onlookers back as fire crews used aerial trucks to subdue the blaze.

Just a half block away from the police barricade on Lyle Street was the police barricade guarding the scene of the storied Embassy Hotel, which burned on Tuesday.

Earlier today, firefighters were kept busy at an Old South fire from which they had to rescue tenants.

Officials didn't know the cause of the Lyle Street fire, the estimated damages or any injuries

Looks like their at it again only across the street. I think somone dosnt want new development in old east and thinks this will stop development of the site.

ldoto · #7 Posted **May 16, 2009, 4:47 PM**

What is going on in the Old East end!!!!

ForestryW · #8 Posted **May 18, 2009, 7:25 PM**

Squatters.

LondnPlanr · #9 Posted **Jul 14, 2009, 2:18 PM**

Just a quick update:

It appears that the properties involved in this very large development have been 'fenced' off, at least on the King Street side. I drive by every morning on my way to work, and it appears as though the buildings are largely vacant, and that some 'clean-up' work is going on inside the buildings. Mostly salvaging, I suspect.

Progress is being made. Excited to see such large towers in this area of town. I am still VERY hopeful that this stretch of Dundas will one day become trendy again... it's on its way.

sparky212 · #10 Posted **Jul 14, 2009, 2:46 PM**

They've started fencing? when this happen? This is GREAT

That meens that both old east developments are going forword...so far

sparky212 · #11 Posted **Aug 12, 2009, 2:48 PM**

hey guys dundas is closed pretty much from hewit to english does anybody got any new on whats happenin? Oh and they ripped downn the old bingo hall on site

GreatTallNorth2 · #12 Posted **Aug 15, 2009, 3:49 PM**

Hopes for a modest turnaround in London's slumping construction market got some support from the city's July building permit report.

The city's building division issued 77 permits for single-family homes in July, just shy of 81 permits in the same month last year.

"We are cautiously optimistic that we are seeing some signs of rebound," said George Kotsifas, London city hall's director of building controls.

The housing sector was also boosted last month by a permit for Tricar's Residences of Hyde Park, a 182-unit apartment condo project.

Kotsifas said he expects other apartment developments before the end of the year.

Medallion Development of Toronto is expected to soon take out a permit for a 600-unit complex in Old East London.

Tricar's $20 million Hyde Park building is by far the largest multi-family project launched this year.

Tricar spokesperson Adam Carapella said the firm has completed two large rental buildings, Richmond Hill in North London and the downtown Renaissance building.

Carapella said the Renaissance has been filling up quickly, with 160 of the 270 units already rented.

"We had phenomenal success with our last two rental buildings but a lot of people were asking if they could buy," he said.

Carapella said the Hyde Park project, just south of Gainsborough Road, will have the same luxury finishes available in the Richmond Hill project.

"We built to the demand we were seeing in the marketplace," he said.

Work has begun on the 14-storey building and it should be completed by the fall of next year.

Despite hopes for a turnaround, the total value of building permits is still far behind the construction boom seen in the last five years.

The value of all building permits to the end of July was $245.5 million, just more than half of the $580 million issued in the first seven months of 2008.

"There is a still a lot of volume in permit but many are renovations and we aren't getting as many high value projects," said Kotsifas

The value of single detached permits from January to July totalled $68.5 million, compared to $120 million for the same period in 2008.

Only $28 million in permits for multi-family housing has been issued so far this year, compared to $103 million last year.

The institutional sector is far below levels set last year. Last year the sector was boosted by a single, $100-million project at the London Health Sciences Centre.

Kotsifas said the numbers aren't as dismal as they appear because the city is coming off a prolonged building boom that saw records tumble year-after-year.

hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca

MolsonExport · #13 Posted **Aug 17, 2009, 3:19 AM**

This is good news, but with all the unemployment in London, the city might be shrinking in size (certainly, economically-wise). The question begs, who will buy?

ldoto · #14 Posted **Aug 22, 2009, 2:31 PM**

Sat, August 22, 2009

With as much as $200 million in investment from business -- large and small -- and government, a long-troubled London neighbourhood is finally on the road to recovery.

By this time next year, London's Old East Village will look a lot different.

The large rubble-filled craters you see today where crumbling buildings once stood will be replaced by the foundations and skeletons of what will be major condominium and apartment building developments -- expected to bring up to 1,500 new residents to the area -- when they're completed.

Nearby, Queen's Park, the inconspicuous piece of green space by the Western Fair grounds, will have more trees, more shrubs and the beginnings of a pavilion, walkways and entranceways.

Across the street from the park, two old red-brick duplexes will be buffed, polished, refurbished into upscale loft apartments.

What's going on is a blend of investment, development and personal touch from large corporations, small businesses and the city that, by one estimate, will pump as much as $200 million in investment into the area along Dundas St. east of Adelaide St. to Quebec St.

Already, cheap rent in the traditionally rough neighbourhood has meant artists' co-operatives, shops and studios are springing up among the more established stores and in between the dilapidated empty storefronts, giving the area a new buzz.

"As soon as you can get past the stigma of Old East London, you see that there's a lot of character but it's much more affordable than Old South or Old North," says Jamie Tedesco, who invests in properties with his friend Leo Parra, who renovates and restores them to their former glory.

The two, with their families, live in Old East -- Tedesco says they have a "vested interest" to upgrade the area -- and have just bought the two red brick duplexes they plan to make into eight upscale lofts after gutting the insides and renovating the outside.

"By next spring, the exterior should be done and they'll look renovated," Tedesco says.

The lofts will also feature two ground-floor residential office apartments, adding to the curb appeal of the area.

Just east of the duplexes, Queen's Park, already in the first stages of redevelopment, will offer much needed green space to the Old East Village, says Julie Michaud, the city's parks project co-ordinator.

When it's finished, the city will have put $3.2 million into the park over several years. This year, there's $400,000 set aside for the first phase of upgrades, from putting up more trees, flowers and shrubs to building walkways. There are already new benches, flags and a sign to let people know the space is a city park.

"There's only a little piece of green space left as a public park, and a couple of years ago people didn't even know that's what it was. It is public land," Michaud says.

"The park is a priority because this project is really at the heart of the Old East Village, and what we have done so far is only the beginning."

With the farmer's market at the Western Fair right next to the park, the area has already attracted more people.

Vafiades Landscape Architects and Stantec Consulting are "looking to capture the Dundas Street frontage so people driving and walking by are seeing the park," says Jim Vafiades, who is now working on drawings of the park so the work can be tendered.

Eventually, the park will have an entrance at Quebec street with an entry feature similar to the one in Victoria Park, with a seating wall and perhaps an art installation. The finished product will include a reconfigured parking lot close beside Ontario Street, a water feature, and a main entrance plaza.

It's an essential part of what will soon be the new Old East Village, with an eight-storey condo building, built by Toronto-based Terrasan Development on the site of the burned-down Embassy Hotel and adjacent buildings. There will be 150 residential units.

That development will change Dundas and English streets and will include retail and business space at street level.

Across the street, two apartment towers -- one 24 storeys and the other 21 storeys -- with access from King and Hewitt streets will pop up, with foundations being laid as early as this fall and the buildings taking shape around this time next year. The towers are being built by Medallion Development, also from Toronto.

"This was my father's vision, to introduce a property that could revitalize the area and would be good for the residents and businesses," says Aaron Bleeman of Medallion.

Neither the Medallion or Terrasan developers have applied for building permits yet.

Terrasan will open a sales office this fall or in the spring, depending on the condo market, says Jeff Usher, the company's vice-president of land development.

"We understand the Old East Village community is eagerly anticipating our development and others in the community and they will come. We believe in the village as an emerging, revitalized part of London's future and an important part of London's history," he said.

The buildings could add as many as 1,500 residents to the Old East Village -- it'll add up to about $200 million worth of development -- and foot traffic that will be welcomed by shop owners lured to the area by cheap rents and promises of revitalization.

"Hopefully it'll become more family oriented in this neighbourhood," says Brenda Hoing, who in March moved her ceramic business into a building that will face the Terrasan condos, at English and Dundas streets. DJR Ceramic Studio officially opened in June.

Since then, there have been some problems with prostitution and drug deals in front of her store, but Hoing is bullish on the neighbourhood's future.

"There's a lot of nice people around here, and we've had a lot of positive feedback, but I think there's a lot of young families around here and the new buildings are going to add to that and be a big improvement," Hoing says.

She's also excited about the London Potters Guild moving in down the street in September.

Buildings coming down and development taking place is exactly what the Old East Village business improvement association has been hoping for.

"It's very exciting," says executive director Sarah Merritt.

"We've gone from talking about it to planning it, to mobilizing the community, to it actually happening now. It's great."

---

Medallion Development 600 units

Two towers: 21 and 24 storeys

Accessed from King Stre et or Hewitt Street

Also working on two businesses that face Dundas Street, just west of the two towers

Terrasan Development

150 units

8 storeys

13,000 square feet of retail or business space

Accessed from Dundas or English streets

Queen's Park improvements

(first phase)

New trees, flowers, greenery.

Will try to capture beauty and park improvements so pedestrians and drivers can see them.

Egerton Street and Ontario Street parts of the park to be improved, including new pedestrian walkways.

GreatTallNorth2 · #15 Posted **Aug 29, 2009, 2:35 AM**

I saw a high quality rendering of this development on TV tonight and I must say that it looks fantastic for London. Rogers TV did a segment on Old East and a person they interviewed said there is interest from yet another Toronto developer to build another large condo tower (not the Terrassan developer). Do we finally have some momentum in London and something to cheer about with some nice, quality towers going up and Old East turning from dump to chic?

sparky212 · #16 Posted **Aug 29, 2009, 3:58 AM**

any idea who the other T.O develeper is? Is it Tridel?

GreatTallNorth2 · #17 Posted **Aug 29, 2009, 12:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparky212

any idea who the other T.O develeper is? Is it Tridel?

No clue..they just said a major Toronto developer looking to build a large apartment tower.

QuantumLeap · #18 Posted **Aug 29, 2009, 5:28 PM**

"Interest" from investors is one of those murky words that is hard to decipher. Investors, such as developers, are in the business of poking their heads around looking for opportunities, and they look at many more opportunities than they invest in. Recall that, apart from a small local development (about 15 units), funded by affordable housing money, that just got a building permit, there has been no other actual development in the Old East. There are still 750 units outstanding from Medallion and Terrasan, it is unclear if/when they will be built. Lets not get ahead of ourselves.

MolsonExport · #19 Posted **Aug 31, 2009, 1:33 AM**

great news, but with the current climate...why would anybody want to live in a new tower in Old East, when so much is available (or going up) on the cheap (e.g., Hyde park tower) elsewhere?

GreatTallNorth2 · #20 Posted **Aug 31, 2009, 4:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

great news, but with the current climate...why would anybody want to live in a new tower in Old East, when so much is available (or going up) on the cheap (e.g., Hyde park tower) elsewhere?

Probably for the same reason someone would rather live in an up and coming area of Midtown Toronto vs. living in Brampton. If people see potential that Old East will turn into a Queen West type of area, they will invest there. Hyde Park is just suburbia with no soul.