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+--- Thread: Sunlife Towers | 2x 24 fl | Proposed (/showthread.php?tid=1038)
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - Momo26 - 10-31-2019
Square footage wise, those are some HUGE units (as compared to what is going up in DTK at least). Aiming for a different kind of crowd entirely? Ie. couples (not singles), maybe even 1.5 kids and more established professionals as well as down-sizers (retired)? A la 144 Park or Caroline St. Luxury Residences?
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - tomh009 - 10-31-2019
(10-31-2019, 12:44 PM)Momo26 Wrote: Square footage wise, those are some HUGE units (as compared to what is going up in DTK at least). Aiming for a different kind of crowd entirely? Ie. couples (not singles), maybe even 1.5 kids and more established professionals as well as down-sizers (retired)? A la 144 Park or Caroline St. Luxury Residences?
Less tiny.
The sizes are fairly similar to Avenue M, although that building also has some quite small 1BR units in the mix.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - MidTowner - 11-01-2019
Momo26 Wrote:Square footage wise, those are some HUGE units (as compared to what is going up in DTK at least). Aiming for a different kind of crowd entirely? Ie. couples (not singles), maybe even 1.5 kids and more established professionals as well as down-sizers (retired)? A la 144 Park or Caroline St. Luxury Residences?
It's extremely hard to manage to have that 0.5 of a child.
I know what you mean, of course. I think that Tom is right that "less tiny" is probably the better way to term it. 1,400 square feet is not tiny by any means, but 1)there probably aren't going to be many of those; 2)for better or worse, the average single family home is more than 2,000 square feet nowadays, so for the typical family that's probably a small unit.
1,400 square feet is big enough to raise any number of children, but not when it's configured as a two bedroom apartment. Hey, here's a question for everyone: how easy is it to negotiate a different floor plan when buying a condo pre-sale? I would imagine not very.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - taylortbb - 11-01-2019
(11-01-2019, 08:09 AM)MidTowner Wrote: 1,400 square feet is big enough to raise any number of children, but not when it's configured as a two bedroom apartment. Hey, here's a question for everyone: how easy is it to negotiate a different floor plan when buying a condo pre-sale? I would imagine not very.
Yeah, I don't understand why people believe such huge houses are required. I grew up in an only slightly larger (1500 sq ft) old house in Toronto, and it was plenty for a family, even smaller could have been fine.
As for your question, depends on the unit. If you're buying a cheap 1bd then customizations are pretty much just picking from the list of options (finishes, etc). If you're buying a penthouse unit they're willing to go pretty custom to make the sale.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - tomh009 - 11-01-2019
(11-01-2019, 08:09 AM)MidTowner Wrote: I think that Tom is right that "less tiny" is probably the better way to term it. 1,400 square feet is not tiny by any means, but 1)there probably aren't going to be many of those; 2)for better or worse, the average single family home is more than 2,000 square feet nowadays, so for the typical family that's probably a small unit.
More than 2000 sqft -- probably for new-build single-family homes. But most of the existing housing stock is significantly smaller than that.
One thing to consider is that a 1400 sqft condo/apartment may actually have as much usable space as a 2000 sqft two-storey single-family home. You lose space to stairs and cathedral ceilings with no usable floor space. (The condo/apartment won't have as much storage, but that's a whole other discussion.)
(11-01-2019, 08:09 AM)MidTowner Wrote: 1,400 square feet is big enough to raise any number of children, but not when it's configured as a two bedroom apartment. Hey, here's a question for everyone: how easy is it to negotiate a different floor plan when buying a condo pre-sale? I would imagine not very.
How easy? Not easy at all. Most builders will be reluctant to move walls.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - robdrimmie - 11-01-2019
(11-01-2019, 08:43 AM)taylortbb Wrote: Yeah, I don't understand why people believe such huge houses are required.
Because success in our culture is correlated with consumption, not conservation.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - MidTowner - 11-01-2019
Yes, when I was writing "more than 2000 square feet," I had new single family home's in mind. The majority of Canadian households live in single family homes, and it's a big majority for families with children. I've read different figures for that, but they're never less than 2,000 square feet- the actual average might be a lot larger by now.
That's a good point about usable floor space and a more efficient space with a single-level floor plan. By the same token, you can absolutely fit three bedrooms in 1,400 square feet. Plenty of houses are smaller with three bedrooms. And it can be done with two exterior walls, too. There doesn't need to be very many of them, just some number.
Vancouver has had requirements for a while, and the requirement is now 10% three-bedroom units and 25% two-bedroom units.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - tomh009 - 11-01-2019
The sizes will vary by area as well: I'm sure new houses in the prairie provinces are larger, on average, than those in southwestern Ontario.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 22 + 21 fl | Proposed - MidTowner - 11-01-2019
That has to be true, though I don't know what the differences might be.
In any case, families with any number of children get along fine with 1400 square feet, in Canada both in the past and today. But I don't think I'm reaching very far when I say that most Canadian families with two or more kids are probably looking for more than two bedrooms.
Sun Life residential project (217 King St S) | 2x 24 fl | proposed - tomh009 - 06-09-2022
Finally a serious proposal for the Sun Life property next to their office tower: two twenty-four storey residential towers (rental, by my interpretation). Story here:
https://www.therecord.com/local-waterloo/news/2022/06/08/24-storey-apartment-towers-to-be-built-next-to-sun-life-s-headquarters-in-waterloo.html
At least I don't think we have a thread for this yet ...
RE: Sun Life residential project (217 King St S) | 2x 24 fl | proposed - clasher - 06-09-2022
How much sun are those trees really gonna get, they're kinda on the north-ish side of things? Shame about the old houses too.
RE: Sun Life residential project (217 King St S) | 2x 24 fl | proposed - taylortbb - 06-09-2022
(06-09-2022, 10:19 AM)tomh009 Wrote: At least I don't think we have a thread for this yet ...
We do, https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1038 . It's gained a little height, but still the same basic design.
RE: Sun Life residential project (217 King St S) | 2x 24 fl | proposed - tomh009 - 06-09-2022
(06-09-2022, 11:31 AM)taylortbb Wrote:(06-09-2022, 10:19 AM)tomh009 Wrote: At least I don't think we have a thread for this yet ...
We do, https://www.waterlooregionconnected.com/showthread.php?tid=1038 . It's gained a little height, but still the same basic design.
Two and a half years, and 700 threads ago! All right, will merge this in.
The house is no more in this version, instead there is a public square.
RE: Sunlife Towers | 2x 24 fl | Proposed - urbd - 06-13-2022
What's with the current obsession with black facades and bad architecture?
RE: Sunlife Towers | 2x 24 fl | Proposed - tomh009 - 06-13-2022
(06-13-2022, 12:33 AM)urbd Wrote: What's with the current obsession with black facades and bad architecture?
Black has been the recent trend for condo buildings. Hopefully not much longer. Young Condos thankfully has a mostly-white facade to provide some contrast with the other buildings.