Corktown, which takes it's name from the first immigrant families that came from the County of Cork in Ireland in the 1800's, has now become one of the fastest growing and developing neighbourhoods in Toronto completely surrounded by massive multi-phase condominium developments.
To the north, you have the 69 acre redevelopment of Regent Park by the Daniels Corporation while, to the east – just across the Riverside bridge – you have the Riverside Square master planned community and New Broadview Hotel by Streetcar Developments and, directly south, there's the massive 80 acre West Don Lands development, which is an extension of the much larger Waterfront Toronto Revitalization undertaking.
Last century – as in the 1990s – Corktown wasn't a destination many people considered calling Home. This was in part because there weren't any condominiums and the existing Victorian and Edwardian working class housing stock was sizably modest and often in need of repair. However, as the infill developments were completed in the 2000s, word got out that the proximity to the St. Lawrence Market, Distillery District and downtown Financial Core was lickety split on the 504 King streetcar ride, and small local businesses and cafes began popping up, this community is quickly evolving as a destination of choice for investment and end-user Buyers alike. As first time home buyers priced out of the freehold housing market shift their focus onto condos, they're looking east where prices have been historically lower compared to neighbourhoods on the west side of downtown. Did you see Steve's blog called Why Toronto’s East Side Real Estate Has Historically Been Cheaper?
Here's five new condo projects located in the downtown central east side which will affect the growing Corktown community, further signaling it being a destination of choice for a new generation of Buyers:
The Canary District: By Dundee Kilmer Developments Ltd.
Image courtesy of BlogTO
The Canary District is a substantial 5 phase development that stretches west from Bayview Avenue to Cherry Street, and south from Old Eastern Avenue to Mill Street. It's name is derived from the iconic Canary Restaurant which served it's last meal in the summer of 2007. This project made its first claim to fame during the 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am games when the development (or at least, it's concrete shells) were made into the Athletes Village and became the homes of the competitors from all across the Americas. Of particular merit is the new Cooper Koo Family YMCA – an 82,000 square foot community center equipped with pools, studios, and gymnasiums – and the George Brown College Student Residences which will soon be home to 500 students enrolled in George Brown's two downtown campuses. Located just east of the YMCA and George Brown residences is the 'Wigwamen' and 'Fred Victor' affordable rental housing buildings. The 145-unit Wigwamen is available to families and singles while the 108-unit Fred Victor will be open for families and individuals with physical disabilities, veterans and seniors. I love the mixed use inclusive mandate of this community.
To serve this emerging community, a number of restaurants and retailers are set to open imminently in The Canary District including:
Running Room (Sporting goods and running club)
Dark Horse Espresso Bar (Cafe)
Opus Glow (Spa)
Tabule (Middle Eastern eaterie)
Pizza Pazzi (Italian eaterie)
Fuel+ (Cafe and health foods)
Think Fitness (Gym)
Gears (Bike Shop)
Tori's Bakeshop (Organic bakery)
East Side Meats (Meat shop)
Sukho Thai (Thai eaterie)
First and second of five condominiums – the 11 storey, 369 unit, Phase 1 (Canary District, 455 Front St.E) and the 12 storey, 2 tower, 435 unit, Phase 2 (Canary Park, 120 Bayview Ave) – are already built with residents taking occupancy. Right now there are just 2 live/work units left having around 1000 square feet for sale for $460,000 and $525,000 in the Canary District Condo. In the Canary Park Condo, a number of suites remain, ranging from a 2nd floor, 580 square foot 1 bedroom for $330,000 to a 2 storey townhouse having 2 beds/den in 1388 square feet for $788,000.
The developer will be starting the Phase 3 presales (located on the empty lot west of Canary Park) in the next 3 to 4 months.
River City: By Urban Capital
Phase One. Image courtesy of NewBlueEdge.ca
The black and white towers of the first two River City Condos have already become an iconic part of the Corktown skyline. I find them visually arresting. Phase 1 at 47 Lower River Street stands at 16 storeys with 340 units, while Phase 2 at 32 Trolley Crescent is 12 storeys and contains 240 units. This multi-phase LEED Gold and BILD award winning project by developer Urban Capital is far from complete, with two more towers in the early development stages. Phase 3 or “RC3” has now broken ground just south of the Eastern Avenue underpass. The current tentative occupancy date is set for Early Spring/Summer 2018. There are still many suites to choose from, including a 372 square foot pied a terre for $260,000 to the more substantial 1,545 square foot 3 bed/den family-sized residence for $910,000. When completed, RC3 will be home to 333 suites over 29 floors, and include the new “Emma Park” – a 4,000 square foot dog park in the shape of a dog bone!. Don't you love?
The RC3 Construction site which, along with Canary Park, will directly connect to the just-completed -and rather stunning – Corktown Commons park with its children's playground with slide and kiddie pool!
Richmond and Parliament: By Great Gulf Homes and Hullmark Developments Inc.
Image courtesy of UrbanToronto
The block located on 48 Power Street is about to go BIG! Developers Great Gulf Homes and Hullmark Developments Inc. are negotiating with the City of Toronto to build a substantial mixed-use 22-storey complex which will have around 530 units (10% of which will be 3 Bedrooms), 2000 square metres of amenities, and over 6000 square metres of commercial retail space. This development will cover the entire block from Richmond East to Adelaide East and from Power Street to Parliament Street. It's a bit premature to peg a pre-sales release date but I expect it will be towards the end of this year. Here's a snap of the site now:
Image courtesy of UrbanToronto
East United: By Berkshire Axis Development with Signature Communities and Andiel Homes
Image courtesy of UrbanToronto
Last summer's East United advertising campaign, which poked fun at the East side versus West side rivalry, must have paid off as the entire project sold out. The condo – located at 95 Berkeley Street between Adelaide and Richmond Streets one block west of Parliament – by joint-venture Berkshire Axis Developments, Signature Communities and Andiel Homes, will feature a 21-storey condominium tower having 279 suites perched atop a 5-storey podium of retail and office space. Ranging from 350 square foot efficiency suites to more substantial 1,400 square foot skypads, prices started at $199,000 for the micro-units, rising to over $550 a square foot for premium units. I applaud how the development team is refurbishing the heritage Christie, Brown & Co. Stables building on Berkeley Street with a pedestrian mews being home to 6 grade level townhomes. Check out the proposed rooftop patio:
Image courtesy of UrbanToronto
Riverside Square: By Streetcar
Image courtesy of Streetcar.ca
Located east of Corktown just a stone's throw across the Riverside Bridge, the new 'Riverside Square' master planned community by Streetcar Developments will contribute to Corktown's emergence as its own fully fledged neighbourhood. Spanning the East Don Roadway north to Queen Street East behind the 68 and 90 Broadview Lofts, this substantial site (currently a Toyota Dealership) will be home to five new towers having around 800 suites. The first phase consists of 3 buildings, the 'Riverside Square: Lofts on Queen' (the podium which will also be the new home of the Toyota dealership), 'The East Collection' and 'The City Collection'. The first two towers are sold out while the developer pre-sells the latter. Only three units remain, being 3 bed 1000 square foot suites for $630,000 and up. The developer also plans to include a grocery store (possibly a Metro – though there was a rumor floating around it might be a Whole Foods) into the retail space on the Phase 2 building facing Queen East. Here's the site in progress:
Image courtesy of Streetcar.ca
Also a part of the Streetcar's efforts to revitalize the neighbourhood is the New Broadview Hotel restoration which promises to turn this historic location into the east end's version of the Drake Hotel.
I have to share. I was at the Odin Cafe – a modern crisp concrete space – reading “The Corktown News” drinking an Americano, when I found myself people-watching. The mostly millennial crowd were fashionable yet friendly, chatting with their neighbours while typing away on their Macbooks. Maybe it was because Spring was in the air, but already it felt like a strong sense of community was already being established in this part of town. While I'm concerned this condo concentration might over-intensify Corktown and become like Liberty Village – which suffers for a lack of green space and places to congregate (in particular for those with dogs), based on the developments – and the extensive public spaces which are being incorporated into these master planned communities – I believe the transformation of Toronto's east side signals a bright future for our City.
Are you interested in making a move to the lower east end? Send an email to the author of this blog, Julian Soriano, at julian@urbaneer.com.
And consider checking out our Neighbourhood Page on Corktown including flavour video, city census data on the area plus past blogs, or Urbaneer's other Neighbourhood Pages!
At urbaneer.com. we're here to counsel Buyers and Sellers on the dynamics of Toronto's real estate market. With a multi-disciplinary education that includes a History Degree (with a forte on Toronto's development), an Urban Studies Degree (specializing in Toronto's Gentrification), and a Graduate Degree that analyzed the development process of Toronto's Loft Conversion Marketplace', Steve and his team are committed to exploring all the facets that shape our local domestic landscape.
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