Press Release: A NEW VISION FOR ST. NICHOLAS STREET
FIVE – Condos at 5 St. Joseph Restores a Historic Street

The new mixed-use development FIVE – Condos at 5 St. Joseph is gaining attention from architectural critics, the downtown business community, city planners and the condominium-buying public for its commitment to restore almost half a block of historically significant buildings on Yonge Street between Wellesley and St. Joseph Streets. This much-needed rejuvenation is being heralded as a new future for Toronto’s main street.

Five St. Joseph Developments Ltd. (a joint venture between MOD Developments Inc. and Graywood Developments Ltd.) has created a new rendering illustrating that this rejuvenation is not limited to Yonge Street, but will also encompass one of downtown’s most charming streets, St. Nicholas. The rendering of the St. Nicolas Street side of the building shows how attractive the street will be when it is completed. Running between Wellesley and St. Joseph Streets, the narrow cobble-stoned section flanking the FIVE site has always been a unique by-way in the neighbourhood. Lined by brick warehouses, it has an ambience reminiscent of older areas of New York or London.

The spirit of the past is being kept alive in the innovative design by David Pontarini of Hariri Pontarini Architects, who is melding the old with the new in a unique blend of contemporary and traditional architecture. The design incorporates components of the existing heritage architecture for both the residential lofts and retail spaces that are undergoing a restoration by ERA Architects.

5StJosephStNicholas1024.jpg



On St. Joseph Street, the 1905 Gothic-revival façade of the old Rawlinson warehouse will be meticulously restored and will serve as the front façade of the new 45-storey residential tower that will rise above it. On St. Nicolas Street, Mr. Pontarini has designed a new brick and stone façade inspired by the past, complete with large loft-style windows, some with the same Gothic-revival shapes found in the St. Joseph façade. Within this volume are three floors of unique residential lofts, with ceiling heights up to 10’ - perhaps the only loft project in central downtown Toronto. Podium choices will range from 412 sq. ft. studios to 887 sq. ft. two-bedroom designs, some with private terraces.

FIVE offers a location in the strategic hub of many of Toronto’s most exciting amenities. Sutton Place and Bistro 990 are just around the corner, and the subway is only a block away. The developers’ vision for St. Nicholas Street encompasses sensitivity to the existing buildings on site, and a commitment to the neighbourhood as a whole.

New retail is being contemplated that will animate this largely pedestrian-style section of St. Nicholas. These spaces have the flexibility to house small shops or be combined to accommodate larger retailers (about 8,300 sq. ft. of retail is planned). Potential uses being considered are art galleries; flower shops; and one-of-a-kind food uses such as cafes, bakeries and fruit stores (reminiscent of the Summerhill Shops farther north on Yonge). Combined with the new retail planned for the restored Yonge Street buildings (about 7,250 sq. ft.), the new loft office space planned for the upper floors of the Yonge Street buildings (about 9,000 sq. ft.) and the 493 units within the FIVE development, there will be a vitality on this block that will serve as a model for future developments.

The response thus far has been overwhelming from purchasers seeking something unique in downtown Toronto. Suite choices range from heritage lofts to tower suites, in sizes from 400 to 1,400 sq. ft. Prices start from the mid-$200s.

The Cecconi Simone-designed sales centre and model suite are located within the historic warehouse at 5 St. Joseph Street, just west of Yonge and are open Noon to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday, Noon to 5 p.m. weekends, closed Fridays and holidays. For information, call 416-928-0555 or visit www.fivecondos.com.
 
They sent us all a notice on this. Actually 2...just got another today. Makes you feel very proud to be a part of this. It's not seen as another klunky dismal grey box! lol.

The awards mean nothing ... the floor plans for this development should have won an award for worst floor plans and use of space EVER !!
 
The awards mean nothing ... the floor plans for this development should have won an award for worst floor plans and use of space EVER !!

http://5condos.com/floor3/floor%203%20suite%209.pdf

Case in point ... add up the interior space per room and see if you come anywhere near 855 square feet. Oh, and look at those 2 puny windows to light up that mole condo. Who knows, maybe this was marketed to overseas dyslexic investors, no ?
 
What an odd layout. No windows at all in the kitchen or bathroom. Would not be my preferred way of constructing a unit, but who knows, it might work in person.
 
I could be wrong, but is that unit in one of the reclaimed buildings? There might be existing structural limitations that they have to work with.
 
The plans in this building aren't that good, but the rest of the project rocks. I'm anxious to see the layouts for the top few floors once they're released.
 
I could be wrong, but is that unit in one of the reclaimed buildings? There might be existing structural limitations that they have to work with.

It is in the podium and is more or less a "one-off" and you are correct in the comments about structural implications for some of these units. The majority of units are in the tower and are (IMO) some of the best designed by HPA and Cecconi Simone.
 
"Structural Limitations" aside... That is no excuse for advertising an 855sq/ft unit that actually has 544 sq/ft including the closets, bathrooms, and laundry area.
 
The awards mean nothing ... the floor plans for this development should have won an award for worst floor plans and use of space EVER !!

I gotta say i'm rarely happy with the floor plans as a whole in just about any project i've taken a look at. It's very hard to find a project where there are a bunch of good plans.

Edit: I thought they got very agressive trying to fit 4 units into the 'South View'. They didn't have a lot of width to work with so i wasn't crazy about how the middle 2 units came out. But i can see their thinking as most people want a south view, so they were just trying to cater to the market.
 
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"Structural Limitations" aside... That is no excuse for advertising an 855sq/ft unit that actually has 544 sq/ft including the closets, bathrooms, and laundry area.

All condominiums in Ontario are sold under rules established by TARION, which defines how area is calculated when advertising and selling a suite. When calculating saleable area, one measures from the mid-point of demising walls of flanking suites and includes the entire corridor wall and entire exterior wall. There are obviously disadvantages when buyng a suite flanked by such large structural walls, but the suite area is calculated according to the rules.
 
All condominiums in Ontario are sold under rules established by TARION, which defines how area is calculated when advertising and selling a suite. When calculating saleable area, one measures from the mid-point of demising walls of flanking suites and includes the entire corridor wall and entire exterior wall. There are obviously disadvantages when buyng a suite flanked by such large structural walls, but the suite area is calculated according to the rules.

I've already done the math on all the walls on that one floor plan I highlighted ... I was even gracious enough to include ALL the exterior walls, not half the thickness, but ALL of the walls, including interior walls, and I can only assume that a locker's volume is being thrown in, as well as the mailbox, when calculating the square footage of this suite ... and it STILL comes up way short, at about 692 square feet. Lockers, I don't believe, weren't given away with any units.
So, would anyone want to part with $600000 for this suite and add locker and parking to to price ? If they've managed to sell this unit at that price, then of course they should be given some kind of award !!
Tarion is only as good as the size of kick-backs they receive from the developers who keep them in business and should not be taken as dogma.
 
Here's the prime tower south-west corner suite advertised as 674 square feet. But there's a problem ... it only adds up to approximately 550 square feet tops, including the thickness of ALL the exterior walls, and if you throw in the balcony, too.
How convenient that they didn't include room measurements on the floor plans, but here's a tip on how to figure out the floor plan square footage ... the queen-sized bed they display in the puny bedroom is 33.33 square feet (standard North American measurement is 60 x 80 inches) ... but I'm not sure how one would be able to get that queen-sized mattress into that bedroom on moving-in day, but calculate away everybody ;)

http://5condos.com/floor7/floor 7 suite 5.pdf <---- 674 square feet ?!? Can anybody lay out 20.25 queen-sized mattresses in this floor plan, including the balcony ? If you can, please fill me in on how to do it. Thanks.
 
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Here's the prime tower south-west corner suite advertised as 674 square feet. But there's a problem ... it only adds up to approximately 550 square feet tops, including the thickness of ALL the exterior walls, and if you throw in the balcony, too.
How convenient that they didn't include room measurements on the floor plans, but here's a tip on how to figure out the floor plan square footage ... the queen-sized bed they display in the puny bedroom is 33.33 square feet (standard North American measurement is 60 x 80 inches) ... but I'm not sure how one would be able to get that queen-sized mattress into that bedroom on moving-in day, but calculate away everybody ;)

http://5condos.com/floor7/floor 7 suite 5.pdf <---- 674 square feet ?!? Can anybody lay out 20.25 queen-sized mattresses in this floor plan, including the balcony ? If you can, please fill me in on how to do it. Thanks.


i measured 34 ft x 18 ft, and that's giving them the benefit of all structural walls as part of the sq footage. if one adds the balcony at 3ft x 18 ft, then maybe i may get 674 sqft total.
 
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Many thanks for your reply, even your generous calculations are alarming.
The developers and their hangers-on managed to sell these units to overseas investors using exterior wall calculations + balconies + mailboxes + who knows what else ... at inflated square footage ... because we all know nowadays that condos are being sold by price/square foot, i.e., 'ONLY $700 per square foot', implied that one can sell them later for much more ... but if your square footage is already inflated, multiplied by the inflated dogmatic price per square foot ... Tarion is going to have one hell of a headache pretty soon when people start wondering why they can't fit their queen-sized bed past the sharp corners in the entry into the unit and then into the bedroom, and how the hell did the developers manage to do it on their floor plans ?!?
Bubble and suckers and lots of dyslexic overseas 'investors'.
 

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