[Smileycelia]

Hi there,

I am interested in purchasing a condo at CityPlace. There is a lot of hype surrounding this master planned community. I had a few questions about it and wondered if anyone could help.

Does anyone live there now and enjoy it?
Does anyone live there now and does not like it?
Which building in CityPlace do you think is the best in your opinion?

Any feedback or guidance would be much appreciated.

Take care.

 

[AKS]

There's positives and negatives of CP I think. I've seen some other condos around and notice they have a fairly large area for visitors parking. Some have very few to none. Also the underground parking is wide so it's easier to turn. Some condos downtown have small plots of land so parking is a nightmare. Also I find their amenities and hallway spacious. I've seen a few and some seemed kind of cramped, tight or half bare. The elevators are a nice size as well. The buildings have elevator security.
There's also great views from various units.

Some negatives you might encounter is bad management. That could be changed by the board of directors if they are pressured by residents or choose themselves to hire a different management. Some problems you might find also are pets. If you hate pets, it might not be the best place to be. There seems to be many pet lovers in the area especially on the west side near the park. Some issues with pets is dirty carpets in the hallway. So dark coloured carpet is better.

I haven't been to all the CP buildings so I can't comment which ones are good or bad. I live at West One and it's not so bad except for the hallway carpets. The management isn't so great either. Maintenance fees seem under control though. It hasn't gone up much. I like the hallways of West compared to N because N seems to be narrower. Also the furnishings for some units doesn't seem so great. White instead of stainless steel appliances. I saw Neo too which is similar to N I found. White appliances and a lightly narrower living room. Maybe I got that feeling cuz the kitchen was straight and not an L or C shape. Their amenities are not bad. I can't comment on Montage since I haven't been inside.

 

[carturo15]

positive things: excellent location, low maintenance fees and great amenities.

negative things: very bad management, mostly tenanted (which is not bad in all the cases, but for Cityplace is horrible, young people that do not care about the buildings' maintenance), noisy, bad layouts, small kitchens, poor quality finishes, too many buildings.

personally, I would not recommed buying a condo at Cityplace, I think there are better options in downtown, maybe you will be paying a little bit more but you will get a better product for the long term.

 

[AKS]

negative things: very bad management, mostly tenanted (which is not bad in all the cases, but for Cityplace is horrible, young people that do not care about the buildings' maintenance), noisy, bad layouts, small kitchens, poor quality finishes, too many buildings.

Well, I think that's a bit harsh to say all layouts are bad and it's noisy. My neighbours have been alright. Though someone took a document a friend left for me in front of my door. Not sure if they thought it was garbage left around..
Anyhow my unit has a C shaped kitchen which isn't often found these days. I have a 1+1 and my bedroom has a window. I face west so I don't have to turn on lights until dark. Also the living room is a comfortable size. I can't complain about the closet either. It has glass doors so I can check my clothes are neat before I leave. And there's enough storage space for cleaning products in my laundry room.

 

[carturo15]

Well, I think that's a bit harsh to say all layouts are bad and it's noisy. My neighbours have been alright. Though someone took a document a friend left for me in front of my door. Not sure if they thought it was garbage left around..
Anyhow my unit has a C shaped kitchen which isn't often found these days. I have a 1+1 and my bedroom has a window. I face west so I don't have to turn on lights until dark. Also the living room is a comfortable size. I can't complain about the closet either. It has glass doors so I can check my clothes are neat before I leave. And there's enough storage space for cleaning products in my laundry room.

You are lucky, you should have a look to N1/N2, Neo, Montage, all of them have linear kitchens, they don't even have full appliances, not even for larger units.

 

[Smileycelia]

Thanks

Thanks very much everyone, I really appreciate your feedback. Although, still confused. The renter aspect bothers me. I could be selling this unit in two years -- will the fact that the condo has a high degree of tenants hinder the resale value in your opinion? Or will the continuous expansion and development of the area increase the value of living in that neighbourhood?

What other buildings are there that are a good alternative? I heard Element was good, but wasn't sure.

 

[AKS]

My sister had a unit at N and she sold it. You are right, I didn't like the build there. The scenery was great. However the layout wasn't to my taste. They screwed up on the laundry room and fridge location. I couldn't open the fridge past 90 degree because of the wall and had trouble pulling the lower cabinets out due to that reason. I'm careful now about having fridges beside the wall. The washer and dryer was in a position that couldn't be moved due to plumbing location and I lost space for storage because it wasn't accessible. I also felt their hallway was a bit more narrow. Though the dark carpets was a good call.

I have been to Neo but not Montage. Neo gave me the same feeling as N building. The living room there felt a bit narrow and I didn't like the straight kitchen. You could always add an island I guess for more storage in N building, but it might be harder in Neo because I think it connects with the living room?

 

[AKS]

Thanks very much everyone, I really appreciate your feedback. Although, still confused. The renter aspect bothers me. I could be selling this unit in two years -- will the fact that the condo has a high degree of tenants hinder the resale value in your opinion? Or will the continuous expansion and development of the area increase the value of living in that neighbourhood?

What other buildings are there that are a good alternative? I heard Element was good, but wasn't sure.

If you have visitors I don't recommend Element. Last time I was there, the party room felt a bit cheap? Also I think there's only 3 visitors parking spaces.

As for the high degree of tenants. I can't say how many are tenants and how many are owners. I have no idea. As for the resale value, from looking at prices, the resale seems pretty good. I'm quite surprised how much my unit is worth from the prices posted on MLS (course I also bought back in 2003). As for the expansion, they need density in order to justify a school and day care. If there wasn't many people living around, they wouldn't need any schools or day care around. It's the density that creates a neighbourhood. They just need to add more restaurants and cafes to give people a reason to stay in the area. Right now it's kind of bare. The only place with life is Sobey's currently. I think later they'll add in restaurants and cafes. They seem to be considering having a doctor's office for the area. There are no doctors nearby. Only a dentist at Harbour Estates.

 

[Smileycelia]

Great to know about Element.

Does CityPlace offer a lot of visitor parking? That's the impression I'm getting.

Which building is the best to purchase in? There are so many to choose from, I have no idea where to start.

Any thoughts? I heard they don't have enough elevators in one of the buildings, I forget which one. Besides that though, just in general, was curious to know the thoughts out there on which building is the best.

 

[AKS]

yes, CP has a lot of visitors parking. Usually there are several buildings sharing the amenities and parking so maintenance fees are fairly low. At West One I think there's around 50 parking spaces or so? Not too sure. You can probably ask to see the visitors parking if you're looking at buildings.

As for elevators, I think there should be enough? There's 4 in each building. However there may be issues with elevators breaking down. It's due to people using the elevators. They aren't suppose to keep it open by holding onto the door but rather use the "open door" button. However, not everyone obeys that rule so elevators might break down. It might not even be the tenants but the fast food delivery guys or something trying to catch the elevator up or down. Sometimes it may be due to water damage. Pipes do burst sometimes in the locker rooms or parking areas.

I don't know which are the best to purchase in since I haven't seen all the CP buildings around. You'll have to go take a look to see which you feel comfortable in. Just be aware of little things like placements of fridge and the washer/dryer room. Also it would be better to buy higher than lower levels I think. Lower levels might turn to rentals because they're cheaper to buy so investors might be buying to rent them. Low level has it's plus and minus. Like when water is turned off, the bottom will get their water first when it's back on but you have to wait until it reaches up to you. You also have less chance of garbage shute getting clogged maybe? However I think there's also more risk of having people leak water to you since you're at the bottom.

Don't buy near suites connected to elevators. I notice they got smarter with the garbage and elevator location at Parade. It doesn't touch any units. Having a unit near the garbage shute is okay if you don't mind the occasional metal bumping sounds but with elevators, they go up and down a lot daily. So there maybe swishing sounds?

Anyhow, I think if you should try visiting many condos before deciding. Then you will realize what is available and what you prefer. The pros and cons. Take your time. It's not like buying vegetables. The only thing you won't be able to get a feel of is the management. Unless you live in the building, you won't know how the management is like unless its word of mouth. But that could be changed if you put pressure on the board of directors to change them. Or get elected and change them yourself.

 

[Smileycelia]

Interesting. So where should the fridge and the washer/dryer be? Or should I ask, where should they not be?

Is the area noisy as far as the streetcar/train/highway goes? Can you hear it from your unit?

I will definitely watch for the garbage shute. Thanks for all the great tips.

 

[probey]

Just checked out some layouts from CP, not all of them are bad, some of them are pretty decent. But how come only total square footage is given and there are no measurements on the layouts? Are buyers expected to 'guess' approx. dimensions for bedrooms/kitchens/living areas?

 

[AKS]

The fridge shouldn't be beside the wall. If it is, make sure the fridge door is flat so you can pull the drawers out without having to open it past 90 degree. If it kind of sticks out on the door and you can only get it opened 90 degree, it might be a hassle to open the drawers in the fridge.

You want to maximize storage area. So all spaces must be usable. For example one of the N unit, the washer and dryer is right in front of the door. That's fine. But on the right side, there's a space there. However you can't use the space because holding the door up on the right side is a wall. It's hard to access that space because it's blocked by the wall. Just make sure spaces are well used or else it ends up being a wasted area. With condos, space is precious. That's why good layouts are important. You want to have enough cabinetry space too to store food.

Regarding the square footage of exact rooms. I think some builders put them in and some don't. CP used to put measurements for each room but I notice they stopped. I think it's to protect themselves from complaints. If buyers measure their rooms and it isn't exactly as specified, they will complain to have it fixed. That won't be happening since it will cost a lot to remove and put walls back in. For example, I notice someone posted awhile back that the den was suppose to be 2" further away from the door or something.

One thing I notice too was my den size seems to be a bit smaller than expected from the original floor plan. I think it might have been occupied either by the bedroom or the washroom. Maybe the contractors didn't measure it exactly before putting up the wall? I'm not sure. Or the architects who did the floor plan didn't estimate the size properly?

 

[Monaco]

What are you going to do for transportation? Is this important to you?

For me, CityPlace is not an especially good location. However, my definition of "convenient transportation" is quite narrow. I do not own a car, and mostly walk and take ttc. Close to the subway line is better, close to two lines is great, and my dream location is at Bay/Bloor which is close to three subway lines.....yes, I'm really that lazy.

In general, I personally prefer being close to the subway vs. streetcar line (which is why the King West area and King East/St. Lawrence Market are a little less attractive in my eyes compared to most people, although they are very nice areas). I tend to be chronically late, so one less transfers can shave important minutes off my time. Most of my work sites are close to the subway.

Most people I know who have purchased at CityPlace have done so mainly because it was cheaper than other places downtown, including lower maintenance fees. I don't know how CP compares now though in terms of pricing.

 

[Smileycelia]

You raise a good point about transportation. I do prefer being connected at least to the path so I don't freeze during the winter walking to work. It's something to really think about. It's a gorgeous area, but in the winter, it might be tough.