[JayBee]

Friend of mine lives in the Matrix building. I think it's pretty good. Seems well built (I've never heard his neighbours) and finishes aren't bad either. Amenities are very nice in his building.

I think most of the Cityplace "hate" comes from the newer towers west of Spadina which seem to have a number of quality issues.

What someone said about resale is true. All the units look the exact same, and there are a lot on the market. If you've seen one, you've seen them all...so people will pick the unit with the cheapest price.

Cityplace gets a bad wrap, but a good amount of the negativity is warranted, IMO.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

To me it's more about the crap that they threw up in the first four or five years, how the area is so cold and disconnected (City planners anywhere?) and the high investor/renter ratio in these buildings. That park didn't help their cause either.

 

[Torontovibe]

For me, Cityplace is bad because it feels like suburbia in downtown and the buildings look too much alike. It does not feel like a part of downtown. It kinda feels like a typical towers in the park development because the streets are so empty of people, yet filled with cars. It's not my idea of a good urban neighbourhood. The place lacks any kind of charm or character. (even the newer parts) They missed a great opportunity to line Bremner with retail (outdoor cafes & restaurants) and turn that area into a destination, instead of a dead zone. You don't put a dead zone in a thriving city. FAIL!

 

[jn_12]

I'd argue the area south of Bremner along Spadina is actually the worst. Spadina is incredibly wide at that point and there's absolutely no store front until you get to the TD bank at the corner.

However, I think the Sobeys and the two new banks have helped add people to the streets. Whenever we go get groceries on Saturday, there are people out and about. I think the area can support more, so hopefully the new Cityplace buildings will be filled with more commercial opportunities.

 

[gei]

I live in the buildings north of the tracks, on the south side of front street (apex/matrix), and I can't imagine living anywhere else. The location is excellent, and the amenities are FAR superior to anything in the area. The views are also far better than anything you'd get in the area. I've made a lot of friends in the building too over the years.

Despite popular belief, I have no quality issues at all. Our condo management (Brookfield) is also pretty vigilant... which I suppose helps.

You'll find much of the hatred/complaining about cityplace comes from random people on forums who have probably never been inside or even near a cityplace building in their lives. But this of course is the internet and everyone must have an opinion anyway. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone living in my building who doesn't love it. Over the years I know people who have started families and decided to move out into bigger places and it was always very difficult for them to leave.

Also, I always get a kick out of people who say cityplace buildings are in a terrible location.. and then those same people say that tridel's element, which is DIRECTLY across the street from me, is in a "great location". Just goes to show you how seriously you should take peoples' opinions.

 

[okayoner]

- no food shopping in a very large radius
- crappy convenient stores (rabba sucks)
- CityPlace condos have a terrible reputation (www.badcondo.ca)
- there are constant traffic problems with shut-downs for the SkyDome and the seemingly constant bottle neck of traffic at Spadina and Lakeshore
- parking is a horror story (having to get a parking pass in any of the CityPlace buildings is terrible, there is not enough parking, and your car could possibly get towed if you park in a wrong spot..without any information passing security in any of the buildings)

 

[jn_12]

uhh no food shopping? There's a sobeys at the corner of Fort York Blvd and Spadina.

 

[wyliepoon]

While I would say that the planning of Cityplace was bad a few years ago when development first started there, I'm starting to see some signs of improvement in the area. One sign is the number of pedestrians you see at Spadina and Front, and Spadina and Bremner/Fort York intersection around rush hour. It's a good sign that people are breaking down the barriers between the city and Cityplace by walking or taking the Spadina LRT between work and Cityplace.

They missed a great opportunity to line Bremner with retail (outdoor cafes & restaurants) and turn that area into a destination, instead of a dead zone.

All along street level at HVE on the south side of Bremner, there is retail and restaurant. The last time I checked (this week) there's a St. Louis (with people lining up outside before the Bills game), a Japanese restaurant, and Spot Coffee (the only Canadian location of the Buffalo-based coffee shop chain). They did take the opportunity. Whether it works or not is not only the responsibility of Cityplace, but of the tenants too, since I can't see how businesses can fail in such a prominent location (across from SkyDome) and with so many potential customers living upstairs.

 

[Torontovibe]

While I would say that the planning of Cityplace was bad a few years ago when development first started there, I'm starting to see some signs of improvement in the area. One sign is the number of pedestrians you see at Spadina and Front, and Spadina and Bremner/Fort York intersection around rush hour. It's a good sign that people are breaking down the barriers between the city and Cityplace by walking or taking the Spadina LRT between work and Cityplace.



All along street level at HVE on the south side of Bremner, there is retail and restaurant. The last time I checked (this week) there's a St. Louis (with people lining up outside before the Bills game), a Japanese restaurant, and Spot Coffee (the only Canadian location of the Buffalo-based coffee shop chain). They did take the opportunity. Whether it works or not is not only the responsibility of Cityplace, but of the tenants too, since I can't see how businesses can fail in such a prominent location (across from SkyDome) and with so many potential customers living upstairs.

But all the buildings west of Sobey's are going to have no retail as far as I can tell. That is a big mistake, especially across from the park. That would be a perfect place for a cafe or nice outdoor restaurant patio, overlooking the park.

The east side does have some cafes/restaurants but it still doesn't feel urban. Maybe when they develop the north side, if they add some nice retail it might liven things up a bit. I almost never see people walking around there.

 

[buildup]

I like Cityplace, and I enjoy walking around it. I think the newer buildings especially West of Spadina are dramatic and agree the project is not complete and its premature to draw final conclusions.

But, lets put this in context - can anyone come up with examples of private-sector funded high-rise communities that are superior? Lets face it, this was always destined to be high-rise.

I just looked at CityCenter in Vegas - doesn't look much better even though significantly more expensive.

 

[mk39920]

- no food shopping in a very large radius
- crappy convenient stores (rabba sucks)
- CityPlace condos have a terrible reputation (www.badcondo.ca)
- there are constant traffic problems with shut-downs for the SkyDome and the seemingly constant bottle neck of traffic at Spadina and Lakeshore
- parking is a horror story (having to get a parking pass in any of the CityPlace buildings is terrible, there is not enough parking, and your car could possibly get towed if you park in a wrong spot..without any information passing security in any of the buildings)

I think the site you are referring to is a .com domain
http://www.badcondo.com/