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Originally Posted by gentlepuppies
Young architect in his 20's here looking to buy in Toronto... hoping to to drop 20% down on a 700-800sf place when the bubble bursts. Unfortunately I find very few buildings and locations appealing. If Brant Park or Rivercity 1 or 3 (not 2) were located around Allan Gardens or Cabbagetown, I'd go for it in a heartbeat.
Any recommendations based on this "ideal" scenario above? I'm a fan of floor-to-ceiling glass w/o horizontal mullions, huge hater of spandrel. Hater of boxes dressed up in wavy balconies (ie Stanley/1 Bloor/Wellesley on park/etc). Preference towards angular "masculine" designs. No thin wrap-around balconies. Love large terraces and greenery, particularly water features.
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You might like the Merchandise Building down near Ryerson just east of Church. It used to be the old Sears warehouse. No floor to ceiling glass but it's a great building. My architect friend lives in there.
Btw, go for quality over shiny objects. A general rule of thumb (but not always true) is that buildings built before 1990 were built solidly using quality materials. They may not appeal to 20something tastes but you get far more condo for your money. Those all glass condo buildings: 90% of them are utter garbage and start falling apart as soon as they put them up.
Another issue a 1st time home buyer might not consider. All glass is boiling hot like a greenhouse in summer, and hard to heat in the winter. A lot of them leak too so when its raining prepare for a puddles on your living room floor. Like I said, beware of shiny objects. You want something built well first, aesthetics should come second to that ALWAYS!