Torontovibe said:
I remember when my family in NYC took me to Katz's Deli and said, this place is going to blow your mind. After waiting over 20 minutes, to get take out, my mind was NOT blown. I found it just like the delis I grew up with in Toronto. Anyway, I don't worship anything American, like some people do.
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Katz's and NYC Deli in general has history, just like Schwartz's in Montreal, and they have become tourist spots. I personally think both are great. Having said that, Caplansky's to me is probably as good as those. Toronto had a lot of Jewish people move here from Montreal, bringing some of their culture & food.

There is a book about the history and current state of Jewish Deli (and Jewish people) around North America written by Torontonian David Sax, with a chapter on Deli in Toronto.
 
CN Tower said:
It is when you pay $51,000,000 for a piece of land!

Sounds like they grossly miscalculated the strength of the condo market and can afford to take the huge hit. No 2-storey restaurant row is going to begin to even cover costs on a $51,000,000 land purchase for a lot this small.
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Developers buy land all the time that they sit on for years until they develop it. Prime piece of land that Lifetime can put aside for decades and still make a major return on at some point. Nothing miscalculated.
 
Conrad Black said:
Developers buy land all the time that they sit on for years until they develop it. Prime piece of land that Lifetime can put aside for decades and still make a major return on at some point. Nothing miscalculated.
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Not for that kind of price tag. This site needed to get going immediately to justify the huge cost.

I'm not prepared to go through the exercise of a detailed investment analysis here but needless to say there are risk and return factors that make up the economics of a condominium project that are closely tied to a project timeline horizon. Otherwise you're better off taking your money into other investments that carry far less risk. I have clients who have invested in these kinds of projects. Needless to say the numbers don't work when you pay high density prices for low density development. Not that Lifetime doesn't appear to have the financial strength to wait it out but it certainly looks as though they vastly overpaid for this site.
 
Torontovibe said:
What's so great about The Cheesecake Factory? Why is it, so many people on here want everything America has? [...]

I would prefer some decent Canadian restaurants, including some independent restaurants, to go along with a Mandarin. I think we are way too Americanized as it is. I want Toronto to develop its own style and not try to be a second rate Chicago or New York. But then again, I'm not a conformist, so I'm probably a rarity on this site.
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Do you think people here are taking you a little too literally? Jewish delis and such? :)

Anyhow, I think it's largely because America is such a cultural incubator and innovator, a great melting pot of cultures and diversity, whether it be music, the arts in general, all things consumer... and sure even cuisine. It isn't just Canada that recognizes this or admires it from the sidelines - and covets the output - the whole world does (to one degree or another).

I agree that we should be developing our own 'flavour' here, our own cultural approach that reflects what is unique about our collective experience... and sure enough when we do, some yankee entrepreneur with deep pockets will buy it out, repackage it, and present it to the world as a new American innovation... and so ever is it thus!
 
CN Tower said:
Not for that kind of price tag. This site needed to get going immediately to justify the huge cost.

I'm not prepared to go through the exercise of a detailed investment analysis here but needless to say there are risk and return factors that make up the economics of a condominium project that are closely tied to a project timeline horizon. Otherwise you're better off taking your money into other investments that carry far less risk. I have clients who have invested in these kinds of projects. Needless to say the numbers don't work when you pay high density prices for low density development. Not that Lifetime doesn't appear to have the financial strength to wait it out but it certainly looks as though they vastly overpaid for this site.
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I call BS. If you're not prepared then don't mention it.

As a bunch of us have mentioned (including myself) the time horizon of going through rezoning approvals, the sales cycle etc... may take 5 years. These restos will have a demo clause and when Lifetime thinks the market is ready they can build. The whole area is undergoing a bit of a (residential) renaissance, the Price Per Square Foot that Lifetime can charge today versus 5 years from now may be dramatically different. If you can only eek out $550 PSF today, but can charge $750 in 2020 when Yonge street has been additionally "sanitized" its a block away from Nordstrom and the Atrium has been redeveloped - it makes sense to wait.
 
^ Exactly. This area is going to improve significantly in the next decade so I see no reason why the can't wait if they don't want to. Lifetime has other projects to work on and seemingly the money to just sit and wait. How long did Brookfield sit on the Bay Adelaide site until they were ready to build?
 
A little joke if I may...100% true.
We had two Chinese, Canadian raised brothers, contractors in our condo. My wife, West Indian, would occasionally show them a Chinese artifact, or ask them what their favorite Chinese restaurant was. One of them, very politely and diplomatically, pointed out that he was raised in Canada, gently implying these questions were inappropriate. A couple of weeks later my wife asked where they lived. Answer Spadina and Beverly or something. Shortly after one of them took a break, as he went back to China to get a bride or something. It was humorous, identify is complex. I still think the questions were off-side, but well intentioned.
 
Edward Skira said:
^ Exactly. This area is going to improve significantly in the next decade so I see no reason why the can't wait if they don't want to. Lifetime has other projects to work on and seemingly the money to just sit and wait. How long did Brookfield sit on the Bay Adelaide site until they were ready to build?
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Ed, do you mind lending me your crystal ball please? Maybe I can retire earlier. All I see in this area is more gang related violence.

ROI. Look it up guys. GG bought 1 Bloor in 2009 for $50,000,000. Look at it now, not 5 years later. That's how do you develop condos. My last word on the subject. Much luck to Lifetime on this project!
 
CN Tower said:
All I see in this area is more gang related violence.
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picard-double-facepalm.jpg
 
CN Tower said:
Ed, do you mind lending me your crystal ball please? Maybe I can retire earlier. All I see in this area is more gang related violence.

ROI. Look it up guys. GG bought 1 Bloor in 2009 for $50,000,000. Look at it now, not 5 years later. That's how do you develop condos. My last word on the subject. Much luck to Lifetime on this project!
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Hopefully it is
 
ehlow said:
Thank you for at least including midtown in your habitable area by saying "north of Lawrence" (NoLaw using NYC naming convention) instead of "north of Bloor" (NoBlo).
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I knew you would make a comment on those lines as I was scrolling down. And if you didn't, I would've! ;) :p

I haven't been to the Mandarin at Yonge+Eg in years, but this talk is making crave it.

The past few years I've been getting my Chinese food from this place in Flemingdon Park. I have no idea if its authentic (it is a family-owned place at least) but damn is it good, and quite cheap too.
 
WislaHD said:
I knew you would make a comment on those lines as I was scrolling down. And if you didn't, I would've! ;) :p

I haven't been to the Mandarin at Yonge+Eg in years, but this talk is making crave it.

The past few years I've been getting my Chinese food from this place in Flemingdon Park. I have no idea if its authentic (it is a family-owned place at least) but damn is it good, and quite cheap too.
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LOL. Try Congee Star near on Don Mills just north of Eglinton. Probably best to go before Eglinton & Leslie is half shut down due to TBM launch shaft construction, if that hasn't happened already :).
 
What about C'est Bon? Both are on Yonge, one south of Eglinton station and the other at Blythwood, both locations being south of Lawrence.
 
Johnny Au said:
What about C'est Bon? Both are on Yonge, one south of Eglinton station and the other at Blythwood, both locations being south of Lawrence.
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I personally thought it was not bad, but I've been told by people who claim to have authority on Chinese food taste that it isn't "authentic". It's also kind of funny that it has a French name.

Since I was born & raised in Canada, I guess I don't have any authority to judge lol.
 
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