I also feel sorry for the folks in the small loft (forget what it's called) on the south side of King just west of where Minto King is being built. Unless I'm crazy, that's the only window some of those units have. The impact on resale (and general livability must just suck).
It's actually not as bad as it seems.
I recently purchased a unit at Gotham Lofts (the building next door to Minto775) being fully aware of the new development.
The selling agent did fully disclose the development next door at their open house and had the Minto renderings on display.
I had access to floorplans and building elevations of the Minto building as my office worked on that project, so I could determine the impact on the light and views. While the new building will block the east views, the east facing units of Gotham will still get some direct sunlight and will infact gain western light from the reflections from the new glass building.
I also heard that Gotham's condo association was very vocal on Minto's original design which they manged to get Minto to redesign the west side of the development, which delayed the development somewhat.
From the street it looks like the Minto building butts right against the Gotham, but the Gotham building is T-shaped in plan (wider on King Street) and the Minto building has a section carved out on the west side of the property, creating a courtyard between the two buildings. The design of the courtyard is very nice and will serve as a nice view below, especially at night. Minto is also adding lots of guest bicycle parking and a Bixi station near the entrance before the courtyard which will also serve my building well.
Dispite the obvious construction next door, there were lots of interested people at the open house weekend and I had to compete with 5 other offers in the end. During the open house the agent was curious to see me unfold drawings and examining the views from the window at various angles. I didn't want to share much information to jepordize my chances in getting the place from the competing offers.
Back to resale values, I actually saw excellent resale potential here because:
1. Location:
Right on King West, but away from the chaos of the bars and clubs east of Bathurst, and steps to Stanley Park and Trinity-Bellwoods which is great for dog owners and joggers.
2. Building:
This is a true loft with post & beam construction which is rarity. It is also a boutique building with less than 50 units and based on the condo documents has only two renters currently in the entire building, which is great for pride of ownership and less wear and tear of the common elements. It also has a gym, a few meeting/party rooms, and a shared concierge which is extremely rare for such a small building.
Also being a building almost a 100 years old you can't find any other condo with so much character and history.
3. Unit features:
The 10-foot high ceiling is a great plus, the room sizes are very generous (the bedroom is twice the size of most bedrooms in new condo construction), the bedroom also has a window, real solid hardwood floors which could be refinished, and the unit I bought had a gas stove which is a huge plus for me.
4. Sales history:
Units rarely come on the market and when they do they sell extremely fast.
