If you've got the bread, someone's got the spread.
New super-luxury condominium projects were once few and far between in Toronto, with one launched every couple of years. That seemed to change in 2004 with the launch of the 70-storey Trump Hotel and Tower in the heart of the Bay Street financial district. The Trump site has languished unbuilt since then, with rumours swirling around the development industry that low sales have doomed it.
No matter. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences on Wellington and Simcoe Streets is now under construction, with over 70 per cent of suites sold, as is 100 Yorkville and the Hazelton Hotel and Private Residences in Yorkville. All were launched in 2004 and struck a chord with high-end buyers that secured enough sales in the $1-million-minimum category to forge ahead with construction.
It turns out that was just an appetizer. This year, eight new super-luxury projects are scheduled to launch, with five located in the gilded and glam Yorkville neighbourhood northwest of Bloor and Yonge Streets.
The Four Seasons Private Residences at Bay and Yorkville (Menkes Developments)
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Two of the more anticipated projects are condominium-hotel combinations; the Shangri-La set for Richmond Street and University Avenue, and the Four Seasons Private Residences, at Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue. Both will soar to 65- and 55-storeys respectively, and the smallest, most basic suite will cost $1.2-million, or $1,400 a square foot — approximately 3-1/2 times the Greater Toronto average suite price.
Eight new projects with million-dollar price tags may sound like a lot of new Taj Mahals in the sky, but while many of these new buildings will be among Toronto's tallest, there'll be relatively few suites, all very large by condo standards. The Hazelton only has 77 suites, and the Four Seasons will have 200 residences in two separate towers.
"Building size is a big factor for this market," said Jeanhy Shim, president and editor of Urbanation, a high-rise trade publication. "Intimacy is a very important selling point for these buyers."
The Four Seasons Private Residences will also include 253 five-star hotel rooms, and it's the first super-luxury for Menkes Developments in Toronto. Menkes is aiming for a late April launch.
"It's not every day that you get to work on a project that will have such a huge impact on the city," said Mimi Ng, marketing director for Menkes.
The suites start at just over 1,000 square feet in size, with the largest unit being a 9,000 square foot penthouse, available for $16-million.
A model suite is currently under construction on the site, but planned features include a separate lobby for suite owners, a 28,000 square foot spa and health club, direct private access from elevators, 10- to 12-foot ceiling heights and interior design by Brian Gluckstein.
The Shangri-La is also a hotel-residence combination, and is synonymous with over-the-top luxury to anyone who has ever stayed in one of the Asian hotels owned by the Hong Kong-based chain. A Vancouver developer, Westbank Projects Corp., is at the helm for the Toronto project.
Shangri-La's 352 suites will accompany 220 hotel rooms on the building's first 17 floors (where it will be expected that a night's lodging will cost $500). The most expensive suites will likely cost over $10-million, and the builder has estimated that it will cost around $750,000 on average just to build each suite.
Some analysts feel that super-luxury condominiums should not be considered an elitist product, since a good portion of Toronto's resale housing is in the million-dollar range. The logic suggests that there are thousands of Torontonians in the empty-nester or downsizing market who live in paid-off homes that can easily fetch seven figures, so why wouldn't they reinvest the sale proceeds in a super-luxury product, with all the space to handle a lifetime's worth of trinkets, but also the freedom to take advantage of five-star amenities and take off to Florida or wherever without worry? The sales activity suggests this logic holds water.
"Luxury or super-luxury high rise products should be seen in relation to the million-dollar housing market overall, because they are connected," said Barry Lyon, a veteran high-rise marketing consultant.
"This is a market that's been untapped for some time, and the recent demand particularly reflects the high value of many Toronto homes," he said. "The upper end of the market has its own demands. Developers have been on a steep learning curve to appeal to these buyers," he said, adding that it's been challenging for some builders to adjust to these buyers' demands for large sizes, a sense of drama, high-end services and high-quality finishes.
Mr. Lyon is currently working with Aspen Ridge Homes in launching 77 Charles, a 50-suite super-luxury curving glass-and-crystalline high-rise just south of Yorkville to be launched imminently. The average cost of the suites will be $1,000 a square foot, with an average size of 1,600 square feet, but layouts and design have not been finalized.
