What do you think of this project?

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Are the Donair shop and check casher still in operation? One could surmise that the closure of these businesses the quicker the next phase starts
 
David A said:
IMO, it is not a bad thing to have some nicer, newer rental buildings which seems to be a more profitable thing these days, but at some point economics and/or preferences will change.

Some of us have been around long enough to remember all the rental building built in the early 1980's here and then the conversions to condos of a number of them in the early to mid 1990's.
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Basement dweller here. Can someone please explain how purpose-built rental units are designed differently from condos? I've wondered what it would be like to buy a property built as a "rental" (like in The Parks) but instead of renting it out, you just up and make it your primary residence. I mean, if you don't share any living or kitchen space and have in-suite laundry, what's the difference versus a condo at that point?
 
yeggator said:
Basement dweller here. Can someone please explain how purpose-built rental units are designed differently from condos? I've wondered what it would be like to buy a property built as a "rental" (like in The Parks) but instead of renting it out, you just up and make it your primary residence. I mean, if you don't share any living or kitchen space and have in-suite laundry, what's the difference versus a condo at that point?
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This is a good question—I also wonder what exactly a conversion to condos entails. But to be clear (and I'm not sure if this is part of your question or not) you couldn't buy just one unit in The Parks unless it goes condo at some point in the future. In a rental building like The Parks, the whole building is typically owned and managed by one company. In condos, individuals can buy units and either live in them or rent them out.
 
I agree the difference was bigger in the past and can see how some people, especially younger ones, will find new stylish rentals more appealing than the mostly older condos downtown here.

Ultimately the real difference is more permanence and a sense of ownership. People who own their places can upgrade and customize them and will likely take good care of them.

Some of those new rentals buildings may not look so shiny in 5 or 10 years when styles change and they have wear and tear from some tenants who don't take care of them and move out after their one year lease is up.
 
My fiancé and I had the chance to tour the Parks over the long weekend, thought I'd share some photos of their remarkable views from the rooftop amenity space!

The leasing agent also provided some nuggets of information along the way. They're current occupancy is sitting around 22%, expected to rise to 50-70% by the Fall when students return to the classrooms. A typical 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom will cost anywhere from $2,500 - $3,000 depending on the direction you face, the floor you're on, and of course the floorplan. They have a temporary amenity room on the 13th floor that will eventually be the walkway to the connector tower. I asked when the connector tower and second tower would be built, he said 5+ years at minimum. The temporary gym will be relocated to this connector tower and will feature a full-sized basketball court, and other high-end gym features. Other than that they're really leaning on the O'Day Min Park as being a key selling feature of this building, with outdoor events being hosted by the Parks and the in-suite views of course. Very excited this building lease up!

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That's what I'm thinking as well, maybe they will wait and see what happens with the general perception of downtown in a few years with the hopes that a new city council will actually do something about the state of downtown..
Friendmonton said:
Ouch, surely when Warehouse Park is done, leasing will shore up. I feel their pricing might be a tad high compared to the competition, hence the student incentive.

On the other hand, if true, “5 years” might be a nice way to say never
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I am not surprised at all, the building itself looks to be complete, by itself. I'm not sure how serious the developer is in building the second phase but it does look like they set it up to walk away if necessary.
From my experience, this is never a good sign in the Edmonton market.
 
northlands said:
Which is very possibly true, but it's in the leasing agents best interest to go with longer predicted timelines, rather than saying "Please rent in this building! Oh btw starting next year there's going to be years of 6-7 days a week, 7 AM to 10 PM construction literally 20' away from you"
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That was exactly my guess, as well. A lot of prospective tenants are not going to be thrilled at the prospect of having to live near a noisy construction site, or to have their views be blocked by another tower, etc. For all we know, the leasing agent could be right on the money, but I wouldn't trust someone who is essentially in a sales or promotional role to give the totally unvarnished truth here.
 
A few months ago, I had a quick chat with the selling agent. My understanding is he was told the entire project build-out would take about 5 years. However, based on leasing progress, he doubts that timeline will hold. Instead, he predicts it might take up to 5 years just to break ground, meaning completion would be even further out. Not sure if his correct or not but only time will tell.
Logged in specifically to share this update. Heading back to lurker mode now! 😄
 
You're not off the hook yet...lol. "5 years just to break ground..." refers to "what" exactly?
 
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