Junction Triangle

Called the sales office the week of Oct 20th and the rep said the developer indicated construction is to start in November. I ran by the site Nov 2nd and a small wooden shed has been built just inside the fence, in the west corner of the lot, next to the Station Lofts parking entrance. More progress than I've seen in the last year...

There is not a lot to report with respect to these lands. Since acquisition in the late spring the developer has commenced an environmental clean-up of the lands. That should be completed in the early fall.
In addition the developer has been working with the City of Toronto to assist facilitate the construction of the “rail pathway”. Part of the lands are being used to facilitate construction and part are being used as a staging area for equipment.

The development of the land will proceed . The developer will of course be guided by the market conditions and by the zoning approvals in place. However at this time there are no plans or concepts to discuss.

If you wish to speak with me I may be reached at 416 483 1066 x 114.

Sincerely

D R McKerron

Site preparation for the 351 Wallace development is underway. They started moving some earth this week.

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id31364

Burka Architects complete designs for Brownstones on Wallace project... 4 days ago.

I would love to see some pictures of the work in progress if anyone has the time to take them...

Thanks!

It sure would be nice if someone could supply some pictures that actually show work being conducted for the Brownstones on Wallace and not just the remediation project across the street! Does anyone have any real updates!?

Hello, anyone here buy a unit in the 200 block?

I was by the site today and they have started taking apart the forms that they would have used to pour the foundation. I call the builder but have not heard back from them.

Hey folks,
I've been as interested to what's happening there as I live in the Wallace Station lofts and I have a view of the lot.
They have not done much.
They brought in equipment late Oct-Nov '08, pumped out water from the holes they dug, stacked foundation forms, started to put a crane up in Dec-Jan '08-'09, but all the equipment has disappeared.
Every week there is a truck delivering or removing something. It seems they just delivered some rebar.
I'll try to update this when I have the time.
Good Luck.

I have a good friend who works for city permits and according to her once a partial permit is approved the construction will continue regardless of the other permits going through. Apparently it is very common to work on permits simultaneous to the work itself being done. Who knows but this did give me hope!

To anyone that is interested I have pics up of the Wallace site. I will be adding more as I get them.

I ran into one of the guys who works for the masonry company at the site today. He said they are just waiting for a date to start laying the foundation blocks.

They are the same company who did the townhomes at Lansdowne and Davenport.

Where can the pics be found? I don't see any in the image gallery.

Here is the link. Sorry about he last post of mine.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/scott.surridge?feat=email

Hello,

A good friend of mine purchased a unit in Brownstones on Wallace when they first went on sale. At the time she was concerned about the close proximity of the metal recycling yard (Solways' Metals I think?) but was told by the real estate broker, "Oh, don't worry -- that will be long gone by the time the condo is built." But now the building is started, the scrapyard is still operational and she is getting worried. When she called the sales person, they said they were "hoping" that the recycling yard would go elsewhere eventually -- no guarantees. But that's a totally different story than what she was told originally...and I don't think she would have purchased the condo had she thought the recycling facility was going to be in her back yard. It's extremely loud, and a real eyesore. When I looked up information on the scrapyard, it seems the residents in the area have had a problem with this business for the last 20 years, but still it remains. Does anyone out there have any information on this? I would really appreciate any insight you could give me.

Thanks very much,
Genie

I have talked with the people at the parent company of the paint company that owns the land and they declined a year ago to say what their plans were. The Biogenie people told me that the paint company wants to sell the land. There has been a lot of rumours that a buyer is waiting for the remediation to end and then a deal closes but nobody has ever put a name to a buyer. I have been told by a representative of Tom Fallus that it is not him.

Yes the land is in the oblique category of "employment lands". I still find the whole concept a bit vague. I also cant see anybody using that land for commercial purposes unless it has some kind of mixed use artist/creator live work spaces. I have been told by City Planners that it is a certainty that Edwin would come south and then join up with the roadway that will run through the 351 Wallace development. Obviously the the plan would then be to extend that road through to Ernest if possible. In the 1970's the City actually proposed building a 2 lane industrial service road exactly where the Railpath is being built. I think the Railpath is a better idea.

What I would like to see would be the city cut a deal to trade some of that land for density to make Railpath wider and then have the City take over the Hydro building and turn it into a small community centre. This is way out thinking and at the rate the City does stuff I will be dead probably by then but I see real potential with this idea. First up is to look into a an historical designation for the Hydro building as part of our areas industrial heritage.

you have got to be kidding?! I'm in the Brownstones on Bloor and hope is wearing thin now. another extension?
I'm worried too about getting another delay notice. wait and see I guess...
does anyone know when they start having to pay us back for all the delays?

When did some of you actually sign on the dotted line?

This development was unpopular in the community (the Planning department dropped the ball) and some changes were made. After it got the go ahead people said well lets move on and get that giant ugly hole filled. People thought that the development would be up 2 years ago. I cant imagine how frustrating it must be for people actually moving there. I find the completion date of next March a bit odd.

I contacted Tarion Jan 31, 2009 about termination rights and delays. Below is their answer.

"Unfortunately, Condominium Purchasers (who signed their APS prior to July 1/08) do not have Termination Rights. Check the first page of your Agreement – see if it says anything about the maximum time permitted before a Confirmed Occupancy Date is to be set. Once you have received your confirmed date, your builder can delay you twice – one Major Delay of up to 120 days (with 65 days notice) and one Minor Delay of up to 15 days (with 35 days notice) to a maximum of 135 days. If he fails to give you proper notice of a delay or if he goes over the 135 day maximum – you will be entitled to make a claim for Delayed Closing compensation once you take occupancy of your condominium (up to $5,000.00). Your deposit is protected up to $20,000.00 by Tarion, in the event that your builder is legally declared bankrupt."

.

Just curious if the website ever gets updated, I have been on once and the only thing there was pictures from mid-march.

Also, has anyone received their letter to choose colours as we were told we would get within the month of our last letter we got.

just spoke to robert falus and he said that the contracts are being made with the kitchen cabinet suppliers and the tiling suppliers and are waiting for the flooring suppliers before they send out letters for colour selections. i guess things like that happen when you are delayed for so long, the original finishes become non-existent and you have to choose new materials and finishes

Walked by the site on Wallace a couple times last week.
Silent...
Excavation has began, the underground garage perimeter wall seems been worked on up the ground level, and now it's silent again.
Does anyone heard any news regarding 'colour selection' yet ?

I haven't been over there in a while... any progress on the Bloor site?!

I know this might be asking a lot, but I live kind of far to actually come and see the site. Is there anyone who has some recent photos they can post?

Tick Tock

My husband and I walked by to check out the site today. From the front it does not look like much has been done but if you go to the walking path and look behind the wallace station lofts building there is a large area where the underground parking pad has already been poured and it looks like quite a bit of work has been done back there. We took a picture but it's a crappy one because we only had a cell phone with us. I will try to post it later....

I was by the Brownstones on Wallace site and shot some video of what is there so far. Definitely some progress. It looks like they even have a few people working on the weekends.

I posted the video on Youtube that show the progress as of July 19, 2009.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6qToKnpHXY

What about BOB (Brownstones on Bloor!)
It is so frustrating !

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has been by lately that can update on some progress...

cheers

Thanks to all of you for posting this information. Your feedback was helpful in making a decision on whether or not to purchase Brownstones in Davenport Village, which are going up at Davenport and Lansdowne. The move in date for this is supposedly Fall 2010 and they are the same developers for Brownstones on Wallace and Bloor. I wish the best all of you, I can only imagine how fustrating this is, I noticed the posts go back to early 2008.

Was by on the weekend and there were some workers milling about and doing some jobs here and there... in no way did it look like they were actively trying to get work down to meet the March 30th timeline. So then I went home to my contract and letters I have received and understood that the date is set at March 30, 2010 as the occupancy date and there is reference as to two more possible extensions allowed of up to 120 days and 15 days as long as appropriate notice is given. With these extensions it puts the date of closing to as late as middle of August 2010 for final completion and occupancy.

Thankfully we are further along then BOB, but I am highly doubting moving in before the snow melts and trees have the odd leaf or two. For example, the sewers have yet to be done as well as water hook ups along the main road...

Perhaps we can receive a truthful letter or some correspondence that outlines the facts and the real timelines and not reverting to these flash in the pan attempts to regain purchasers hopes in a finished product. It will be a full three years since date of purchase likely before these are ready...a far cry from the original Sept 2008 closing on date of purchase. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...

I have been inquiring as well to see if the March 30th deadline is realistic. I agree, I expect another delay beyond March. After it is confirmed, I hope the occupancy period won't be too long.

Hello,

I was by the BOW site this weekend. Things seem to be really coming together. It looks like they just finished the last portion of underground garage and will probably start the last two blocks soon. My unit is in Block G so it will be nice to see it finally being built. The other 5 blocks are up and 4 of them are bricked.

I doubt it will be finished by March 31 but it looks like we should be in there by late spring / early summer. I'm guessing we will be getting delay letters soon.

Has anyone heard anything else?

Got the letter in the mail today stating that they are extending our closing date to July 26, 2010.

I have been patient with the buildier thus far but have lost all my respect for them. They can rest assured that everyone I talk to will hear how they are unable to keep any deadlines and are terrible to do business with. No respect, no communication and little to know interest in us as buyers.

DO NOT BUY FROM MONTAVELLO DEVELOPMENTS!!!!!!

Hello All,

The information you have provided on the builders is quite useful. I went by the salesoffice this week and was told that the Wallace project wouldbe available late July, maybe even August. The sales person wasn't very assuring of the exact date. i am a first time home buyer with a young family and do not want to go through these issues with the new development Brownstones on the Park. So far I have been told September 2011 but now I am skeptical. Also, I do believe that the sales agents are not confident in the builder themselves.
When anyone has purchased did you receive the by-laws of the townhome in your contract? I am concerned with their policies regarding the townhomes and need more info before I decide to make a decision.
Any information would be a great help.
Thanks

EDIT: I created a forum for Brownstones on the Park. --Vic

So I received the first letter yesterday from the builder advising us that the occupancy date of October 2010 has now been moved to December 10, 2010. I believe that BOB and BOW purchasers have a delay of around a year and 6 months from the initial occupany date should your final occupany date be July 2010.

Are there any updates on the Solways metal situation? Is there a date yet for them to vacate? How noisy is the scrapyard?

As I recall there will be approx 14 visitor parking spots within the the 351 Wallace area. No street permits for overnight will be issued for additional parking for those residing at 351 .During the day there generally is room on the surrounding streets until about 6pm.

Currently, if you behave, you can park in the church parking lot overnight as long as they don't have activities. Because of the church street parking on Friday nights and Saturday is a nightmare in the Perth Wallace area.I suspect that this may effect visitor parking at 351.

For the record the community was concerned about too many units and not enough visitor parking and brought this up at many meetings. When Railpath section 2 gets completed some visitors will have a great bike option.

Dont you all get a info sheet with this kind of stuff listed when you buy?

Great, why don't you drop me a line at mcnojulie@hotmail.com and we can hopefully arrange to meet up before we move in (fingers crossed in 3 months)

Thanks for the additional information Irmina. This is very helpful!

has anyone been by BOB to see how it is doing?

Has anyone gotten their pre-approval together yet? I don't want to do it too early since I don't know how long we'll be paying rent before the condo board is set. I was told that you shouldn't get pre-approved too many times or it looks bad on your credit so I want to avoid doing it twice. Bank of Canada is saying that mortgage rates may be going up a few percent in June....

I went by the site on April 28 and took some photos, see links below. For context, I was standing on Wallace Ave. when they were taken.

photo 1: Front view of the north-west building (I think building A / 1)

photo 2: Side view of the north-west building (I think building A / 1) and in the background is a smaller building in the south-west corner (I think this would be building B / 2)

photo 3: Shows the building closest to the street at the north-east corner (I think units 57-67) and the three buildings behind it. The one with the insulation is units 46-56, the one with the scaffolding can't (just edge of building is visible, they were still putting bricks up) is units 38-45 and the last one with the bricks in the background are units 26-29

photo 4: Another view of the building closest to the street at the north-east corner (I think units 57-67)

(Editor's note: Moved this here from the Brownstones on Bloor forum)

I was reading over my BOW contract and it specifically states that prior to occupancy purchasers must provide written confirmation from a lender that sufficient financing is in place for final closing. I'm not sure how strictly that will be enforced but it looks like, despite my original comment, it's best to have a formal pre-approval done before you move in.

So, it will be two months tomorrow that we are to occupy the townhomes...

Is anyone in the same boat where they are needing to give notice to a current rental property and are on the fence as to what they need to do? Do I give my 60days notice and risk the possibility of another delay or do I wait and see and then end up having two places at once to pay for? Right now I am leaning to giving my 60days notice at the end of May and if things don't pan out and they are delayed, again, then I will make alternate arrangements for the brief time period.

I don't know if I am misunderstanding but on page 14 of the contract it lists that they only need to give us 35 days notice for the extra delay. The 65 days notice was for the last delay that we got in march.

If I am understanding properly my assumption is that they are offering for us to extend our occupancy date or the alternative is to get our deposit back and opt out. That seems like what is stipulated in the contract. Let us know after you speak with Rob about this.

I have been reading the threads for while now and like everyone I have been waiting to finally move into my house which we purchased 2007. I have spoken to Falus quite a few times and all I can say is that he has never told me any factual information he has just permantley lied. I called him while I was heavily pregnant in 2009 as myself and my husband were anxious to be in our house before our baby was born. He told me that we could expect to move in by christmas, a week later I received a letter saying that it had been pushed back to March, he would have known this when I spoke to him yet he obviuosly decided to take the easy route and not tell me the truth. I called him again in March as we received another letter pushing the date back to July, he told me that he had no idea that he could push back again until his lawyer told him. Now I obviously do not work in the housing industry but I do find it extremley hard to believe that he had no idea that he could push back again!

I have been patient with him I have never got angry I have just accepted that this is the way it is. However, I spoke to Falus last week and he told me that he expects us to move in July and yet again we receive another letter pushing back. I have bit my tounge for 3 years and now I no longer can read this website without getting this off my chest. If you ever call Falus please just take what he says with a pinch of salt because my experience is that he is unable to provide truthful information and he just tells you what you want to hear then sends the bad news in writing.

I now have a 7 month old son in a one bedroom apartment and because Falus told us we would be moving we missed our oppurtunity to move into a 2 bedroom. I would imagine a lot of you are in similar situations like us and I'm also sure a lot of patience has run out.

I do not think that anything I have writen has any impact on people or probably Falus but after 3 long years of having our lives on hold it feels good to voice my opinion.

Good luck everyone and hopefully we will be in our houses by Christmas this year!!!!!!!

I think I am going to take my documents to the lawyer and find out what he says regarding my rights and such for delayed occupancy compensation...

As for the call with Rob, I'll let you know what I find out!

Got my letter via email as well. Some questions & feedback:

1. My letter starts with "we believe that your unit itself will be ready for occupancy by July 26, 2010".....I'm guessing that is a lie and all letters started that way. Am I right? Did anyone get a letter that doesn't have that written or that states their unit will not be ready by July 26?

2. I haven't confirmed the dates of when we needed to receive notice by, etc. but what it means is that if the builder has not met the date requirements for when we need to receive notice by, then I don't believe that they can delay.

3. The Sept 30th date is beyond what the builder is entitled to delay until (they only have 15 more days past the July 26 date) therefore, if the unit cannot be occupied by about Aug 10th (assuming proper notice of this datei s provided), then yes the builder is in breech of the contract.

4. Please note the above $100 max $5,000 if not a penalty - it is compensation for expenses. Therefore, if you are living rent free / haven't given your landlord notice / etc. and this change doesn't have any additional cost to you, then you won't be getting the $100 /day. Granted, if you have a good lawyer and/or builder is in breech (#3 above)....then your lawyer may be able to assist in getting you some damages / compensation.

PS. Please note that the $5000 max is 50 days x $100. Therefore, if you do need to live temporarily (hotel?) where this would be applicable.....at $100 day the 50 days would hit about Sept 15. Assuming you had $100/day in expenses, then each day after Sept 15 that you incur expenses you are losing money out of your pocket that is not covered by the standard Tarion damages. You also have to make a claim with Tarion AFTER occupancy to seek these damages and dealing with Tarion isn't a quick process.

5. To those who think there is no advantage for the builder to delay....think again. These units are estimated to be worth $60-80k more than they were sold for 3 years ago. If the builder delays past July 26 (or Aug 10) purchasers have the ability to walk away from their unit and will only get their deposit + interest (say 3% on $20-30k for 3 years this is about $2-3k in interest). So the builder could re-sell your unit at $60-80k more and only lose the $2-3k in interest they have to pay you.......are you certain the builder has no reason to delay! :)

Hi I came across an interesting article about all of of this. Food for thought.

http://www.aaron.ca/columns/2007-02-10.htm

Hi everyone,

My wife, daughter and I are in a situation where we were counting on the July 26th deadline. We bought in Block A and if it is not ready we will have to move our stuff into storage and look for a place to rent. I of course am going to call Rob, but if anyone has already spoken to him did he say when he will know by? I am guessing that it is a matter of the inspectors coming and giving him the green light or not for occupancy and I'm hoping that he at least knows when that will happen so we can know for sure.

I have to be honest, I would live in that place with a bulldozer in the living room if I had too and if I can't I'm hoping someone out there knows someone or somewhere we can rent for the short term.

Sincerely
Getting desperate

Hey there, I would try talking to them at the sales center. When my husband and I were expecting a baby and debating moving into a two bedroom they sales woman told us that they owned the townhomes across from the sales center and that she could find us a two bedroom at a good price until our unit was done. If they have one available, perhaps they will let you rent it out for a few months.

how is everyone assigning their townhouse/condos? did you get permission/consent from the building? was that in your contract or was I a fool not knowing to add that in?!

In reading another blog, I have come to read that the crane is down... could this be one step closer to completion!

I take it everyone got the Rogers call for the freebies... 3 months of free TV, home phone and internet... date of install needs to be confirmed 30 days before occupancy... of course, date of occupancy is to be determined...