Claridge Icon [505 Preston St] | 143m | 45 fl | Completed

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rakerman

$310,000 for 615 square feet
~$504/sqft

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/homes/story.html?id=8360938

I liked this sentence of the "article": "There are no studio units and the condos on the top five floors are all penthouses, increasing in size the higher you go."

No, actually only the top floor is penthouses. The four floors below are real estate babble.

[rakerman]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I liked this sentence of the "article": "There are no studio units and the condos on the top five floors are all penthouses, increasing in size the higher you go."

No, actually only the top floor is penthouses. The four floors below are real estate babble.

"with 21st-century towers, there tend to be multiple penthouse floors toward a building’s apex. (Why offer a single penthouse when, by sleight of design and description, developers can market half a dozen?)"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/realestate/paying-a-premium-for-sky-high-apartments.html

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by rakerman

"with 21st-century towers, there tend to be multiple penthouse floors toward a building’s apex. (Why offer a single penthouse when, by sleight of design and description, developers can market half a dozen?)"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/realestate/paying-a-premium-for-sky-high-apartments.html

I call bull... A penthouse is on the top floor of a building. Period. Everything else is marketing.

[Davis137]

No No....the units from the 6th floor to the 43rd or 44th are all going to be "Executive Suites"...

[McC]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I call bull... A penthouse is on the top floor of a building. Period. Everything else is marketing.

you shilling for Big Dictionary?

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Apparently, this building was designed by the same architects as One Bloor. I wish it was more like that building, the undulations are more elegant and the podium is in keeping with the rest. In fact, One Bloor would look better here facing Dows Lake than in Toronto!

Agreed. I've been to the One Bloor sales office in TO and the building (although not my personal taste) is a beautifully designed building and the podium seamlessly ties into the tower. Plus the interior kicks Icon's butt, and most other condos in Ottawa for that matter.

I do love that Ottawa is getting taller buildings, but I hate that this one will be one of the most notable.

[BMac01]

I heard rumors that the Pacino units are all gone... does anyone know if this is true?

[citizen j]

The Pacino units? Did they name them after actors in Glengarry Glen Ross? That would be beautiful.

[Kitchissippi]

Weird mix of names for the units. Anything smaller than 1000sqft is named after an (Oscar-nominated) actor, and everything larger is named after a famous architect/designer. Their idea of icons, I guess.

[NOWINYOW]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Weird mix of names for the units. Anything smaller than 1000sqft is named after an (Oscar-nominated) actor, and everything larger is named after a famous architect/designer. Their idea of icons, I guess.

There are lots of Canadian Icons whose names could have been used in place of Oscar winners. Such as;
D. Cardinal
G. Ford (for the Hollywood aspect)
A. Murray
R. Bondar
T. Fox

...etc etc.

[brentgaulois]

I went to visit their sales centre, and the sales lady did not help us. They didn't have a model suite set up, but had a room that showed a basic idea of what one could expect of the kitchen and bathroom appliances and counters. I wasn't that impressed, to be honest. I liked the balconies and the rooms looked okay, but they seemed expensive for what you got.

I don't know if I would buy a condo for anything other than the views, but I do like the building (though I would like to see more colour on it). The model was huge, as well. It was probably 6 or 7 feet high?


Claridge Icon, northwestern side by Shel DeF on Flickr


Claridge Icon, southern side by Shel DeF on Flickr


Claridge Icon, northeastern side by Shel DeF on Flickr

[kevinbottawa]

Not feeling those red pieces on the north side of the building at all.

[Harley613]

i like the red panels! model looks awesome, aside from the podium interaction on the south side i quite like the building.

[J.OT13]

Strictly speaking about the building as a piece of architectural design , I like it a lot. Will people get value for their money buying into this? I'm skeptical.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Harley613

i like the red panels! model looks awesome, aside from the podium interaction on the south side i quite like the building.

I think the red panels add some much needed colour to this project. It's not as interesting a design as SOHO so the interesting feature is welcome. My old condo at the Mondrian had a red pane of glass. I really liked it from the inside and people always talked about it when they came over. It may not work with every design but it looks good here.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by Harley613

i like the red panels! model looks awesome, aside from the podium interaction on the south side i quite like the building.

Please see the Mondrian...
Still like the red panels?

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Strictly speaking about the building as a piece of architectural design , I like it a lot. Will people get value for their money buying into this? I'm skeptical.

The initial pre-construction prices seem awfully high to get a lot of value from this project, I'm anxious to see what sales are like (or more likely, what creative promotions they come up with) in a few months.

From an investing stand-point, I'd only consider the lower floors, but even there the prices are relatively high.

[Oliviermtl]

I went to the sales center yesterday to get a unit as an investment and had one of the worse experience of my life. Prices are way to high, they couldn't answer properly to my questions about coming services like grocery store, drugstore, etc... They admit they have no idea of what's coming to the community. One of the sales person even said that I can take the otrain to do my grocery in South Keys. c'mon !! The display inside looks just terrible, they didn't even build a real unit. No wonder why only 15% of the units are sold. The people in the sale office were really bad selling their product. They lost my purchase

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Oliviermtl

I went to the sales center yesterday to get a unit as an investment and had one of the worse experience of my life. Prices are way to high, they couldn't answer properly to my questions about coming services like grocery store, drugstore, etc... They admit they have no idea of what's coming to the community. One of the sales person even said that I can take the otrain to do my grocery in South Keys. c'mon !! The display inside looks just terrible, they didn't even build a real unit. No wonder why only 15% of the units are sold. The people in the sale office were really bad selling their product. They lost my purchase

You would think they would put in way more effort for such a important project for both the company and the city. This is pretty embarrassing.

[Oliviermtl]

You would think they would put in way more effort for such a important project for both the company and the city. This is pretty embarrassing.

Exactly !!! I expected to be really impressed by the quality of the sales center and the product itself, but no. At this price, you expect nothing but the best. The unit display inside is crap and not appealing at all. There was nobody in the sales center either
s
I went to The Rombus and The Slater after and WOW, now you're talking !!!