[jer1961]

Photos taken today, Friday (Sept. 5). Since I posted a week ago, the only visible movement at the very top of the tower is now that both elevators have been installed to the 84th floor. Will it go up to 85 once they have something there? We shall see. But all the corners are presumably complete so maybe we'll soon see some work on the crown - maybe time for some drone shots to see what's going on with the corners and the core at top? In terms of the installation of the skin, the west Rail Climbing System (RCS) has joined the east and north RCSs at level 67, up one level from last week, and the south mini-RCS is also up a level to 66. And the first visible set of level 67 skin has now been installed, on the south face.

The usual pile of photos, starting with the view from the south at Yonge and Dundas, moving to around Yonge and Charles, with a Pizza Nova truck nicely framing the shot, and some tighter shots showing the south face around the RCSs, and the view from the alley off Balmuto looking straight up the external elevator and crane. Then, a look from below off Balmuto, from Bloor by the Holt Renfrew, and then from Cumberland east of Bay including a tighter shot showing the north and west RCSs even at level 67. Then, the view from the corner of Yonge and Bloor, from across the street on Yonge, then from Church and Wellesley to the SE, from College and Queen's Park to the SW, from Harbord near St George, then from Bloor east of Spadina, finally from Bloor and Perth in the west end.

One Bloor West (The One) "time-lapse"

From October, 2020, as above-ground construction started in earnest at The One (1 Bloor W.) in Toronto. More or less a weekly photo usually taken on a Friday, with some gaps during early-on construction hiatuses. The initial photographs are from 2015, during demolition at the site, 2018, during...

www.flickr.com

 

[skycandy]

Bright lights, big city, pretty sunset.

 

[CanadianNational]

 

[HousingNowTO]

“Lenders behind troubled luxury condo One Bloor West (formerly The One) are suing paving tycoon Jenny Coco and real estate mogul Sam Mizrahi over allegations that they have defaulted as guarantors of the project's loans.

KEB Hana Bank, acting as trustee of two South Korean private real estate funds, is demanding that Coco and Mizrahi repay $1.5 billion in outstanding principal, interest and fees, according to a notice of application filed in court on Aug. 19.

The filing states that Coco and Mizrahi are guarantors on the loans in a personal capacity, meaning their personal assets — including homes, incomes and bank accounts — could be on the hook if KEB Hana Bank's application succeeds, according to real estate lawyers who read the document at the Star's request.“

Senior lenders behind luxury condo The One sue Sam Mizrahi and Jenny Coco for $1.5 billion

Mizrahi Developments was ousted as developer of the iconic Toronto skyscraper, now called One Bloor West, in February 2024, after the project was placed into receivership.

www.thestar.com

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

^...when the Devil comes to collect his dues.

 

[Jonny5]

“Lenders behind troubled luxury condo One Bloor West (formerly The One) are suing paving tycoon Jenny Coco and real estate mogul Sam Mizrahi over allegations that they have defaulted as guarantors of the project's loans.

KEB Hana Bank, acting as trustee of two South Korean private real estate funds, is demanding that Coco and Mizrahi repay $1.5 billion in outstanding principal, interest and fees, according to a notice of application filed in court on Aug. 19.

The filing states that Coco and Mizrahi are guarantors on the loans in a personal capacity, meaning their personal assets — including homes, incomes and bank accounts — could be on the hook if KEB Hana Bank's application succeeds, according to real estate lawyers who read the document at the Star's request.“

Senior lenders behind luxury condo The One sue Sam Mizrahi and Jenny Coco for $1.5 billion

Mizrahi Developments was ousted as developer of the iconic Toronto skyscraper, now called One Bloor West, in February 2024, after the project was placed into receivership.

www.thestar.com

Jenny Coco was also involved in the collapse of the private debt investment firm Bridging Finance, where many of the loans were floated to businesses that immediately paid back "consulting fees" directly to the owners, not the investors, and many of the loans were allegedly kept at book value in the fund's accounting records even though they knew they would never be recovered.

Bridging Finance owners Jenny and Rocky Coco sued for alleged roles in the private lender’s collapse

Two separate lawsuits allege negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and breaches of fiduciary duty

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[SkylineHorizons]

View attachment 679241

Never thought I'd see the day when the view of a some part of the city from the CN tower would be blocked by a skyscraper. Mizrahi may be getting his ass sued today but I still thank him for helping to turn that fantasy into a reality.

 

[BloorMan]

From today:

 

[ryanbruins17]

From Niagara on the lake

 

[Start Fox]

The filing states that Coco and Mizrahi are guarantors on the loans in a personal capacity, meaning their personal assets — including homes, incomes and bank accounts — could be on the hook if KEB Hana Bank's application succeeds, according to real estate lawyers who read the document at the Star's request.“

Senior lenders behind luxury condo The One sue Sam Mizrahi and Jenny Coco for $1.5 billion

Mizrahi Developments was ousted as developer of the iconic Toronto skyscraper, now called One Bloor West, in February 2024, after the project was placed into receivership.

www.thestar.com

Maybe this is too in the weeds but I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable with the real estate / development sector can speak to this: I've never quite understood why people who have certainly "made it" in life (Mizrahi presumably had millions of dollars in personal assets before embarking on The One) would personally guarantee something related to their corporation (in this case a $1.5 billion real estate development loan). Why take on that risk? Why remove a main benefit of the corporation structure that real estate development usually uses (a separate legal entity for each project)?

Are all the lenders requiring this as a condition and there's no other way to get the funding? Or is it just to reduce the interest rate?

For context, my understanding is that a personal guarantee is often (always?) required when signing a retail lease for say a coffee shop or restaurant, but that makes a bit more sense to me because at least in the case of someone trying to open a small restaurant they probably haven't "made it" yet with significant personal assets at risk, so they're perhaps more willing to roll the dice. But still, I see small retail shops in the new buildings around me close down and I think about how if the owner personally guaranteed a 5 year lease, they might be out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is that really the case?

 

[OpenClosed]

From Niagara on the lake View attachment 679322

This confirms my thought that once Pinnacle actually tops out, One bloor west will still be more prominent on the skyline, or have about the same prominence. It just looks insanely tall against the rest of the city, I could be wrong though

 

[Jonny5]

Maybe this is too in the weeds but I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable with the real estate / development sector can speak to this: I've never quite understood why people who have certainly "made it" in life (Mizrahi presumably had millions of dollars in personal assets before embarking on The One) would personally guarantee something related to their corporation (in this case a $1.5 billion real estate development loan). Why take on that risk? Why remove a main benefit of the corporation structure that real estate development usually uses (a separate legal entity for each project)?

Are all the lenders requiring this as a condition and there's no other way to get the funding? Or is it just to reduce the interest rate?

For context, my understanding is that a personal guarantee is often (always?) required when signing a retail lease for say a coffee shop or restaurant, but that makes a bit more sense to me because at least in the case of someone trying to open a small restaurant they probably haven't "made it" yet with significant personal assets at risk, so they're perhaps more willing to roll the dice. But still, I see small retail shops in the new buildings around me close down and I think about how if the owner personally guaranteed a 5 year lease, they might be out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is that really the case?

In the good times when money is flowing into private debt financiers that cascades down to projects like this, there's far fewer questions asked by the lenders or any kind due diligence look-through from those funding the loans.

You can also find these individuals know about the personal guarantee and have set it up so that if things blow up they nominally "own" nothing. Everything they have is leased or borrowed from someone else so it can't be added into a claim on their assets. Extend that into conveniently not having any cash because all the cash they've made is mysteriously gone.

You can also simply declare bankruptcy, which is kind of becoming more in the public consciousness as not a big deal. People think if you file for bankruptcy your life is over, in reality you give it 18 months and you're right back in it, probably with most of what you had before.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

From Niagara on the lake View attachment 679322

I can least be sympathetic with Flat Earthers that from this vantage point this would have been a spectacular shot of the lake shore as well if their nonsense was true...

 

[Civdis]

Maybe this is too in the weeds but I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable with the real estate / development sector can speak to this: I've never quite understood why people who have certainly "made it" in life (Mizrahi presumably had millions of dollars in personal assets before embarking on The One) would personally guarantee something related to their corporation (in this case a $1.5 billion real estate development loan). Why take on that risk? Why remove a main benefit of the corporation structure that real estate development usually uses (a separate legal entity for each project)?

Are all the lenders requiring this as a condition and there's no other way to get the funding? Or is it just to reduce the interest rate?

For context, my understanding is that a personal guarantee is often (always?) required when signing a retail lease for say a coffee shop or restaurant, but that makes a bit more sense to me because at least in the case of someone trying to open a small restaurant they probably haven't "made it" yet with significant personal assets at risk, so they're perhaps more willing to roll the dice. But still, I see small retail shops in the new buildings around me close down and I think about how if the owner personally guaranteed a 5 year lease, they might be out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is that really the case?

Mizrahi was not big enough to find financing for a project of this size without putting all of his assets up for recourse purposes. Very large developers like Tridel can finance their projects on the basis of their corporate covenant alone.

 

[Johnny Au]

In 1894, the Toronto skyline was visible from Buffalo:

Fata Morgana (mirage) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

If the Fata Morgana were to happen again, then One Bloor West would be very easily visible from Buffalo.