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

[kevinbottawa]

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

I actually had a decent experience at the Claridge Icon sales centre. While I agree one of the sales people couldn't answer one of my questions about the floor plans and I wasn't sure they knew a lot about condos in general, I found the sales people to be very personable. The touch screen TV that lets you see views and floor plans was a nice touch.

When you say they had no idea what's coming to the community, do you mean the retail tenant or what services are coming to the area in general?

[brentgaulois]

Originally Posted by Oliviermtl

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 !!!

I agree, The Rhombus and The Slater had amazing sales centres, complete with beautiful information packages and model suites. Of all the condo sales centres I've visited, the best have model suites. Tribeca and Claridge Icon's sales centres were disappointing, other than their models. Even the couple who were selling Tribeca seemed confused and all over the place.

If I could make some suggestions to Claridge: always provide a model suite of one of your projects so prospective buyers can get an actual visual of what they're looking it, use good materials, hire people more knowledgeable about the projects and make both the units and sales centres seem not cheap. I got the impression they wanted to cut corners to make more money...

[McC]

Originally Posted by Oliviermtl

I went to The Rombus and The Slater after and WOW, now you're talking !!!

Not much for groceries near either of those places either (the north end of Parkdale is by far the worst served for any goods or services of the major developments in the works around Ottawa right now), although there is no shortage of pharmacies.

[Oliviermtl]

When you say they had no idea what's coming to the community, do you mean the retail tenant or what services are coming to the area in general?

Yes like grocey store, Coffee Shops, drugstore or even an LCBO, you know, the type of retail you wanna have access by a walking distance so you don't use the car.

As for the WOW effect of Rombus and Slater, I was referring to the sales center where they actually built a unit.

I love condo towers and I am more than thrilled to see them rising up in Ottawa but for the Claridge Icon, they need to change their approach first (and prices) cause it won't go up in a slower market like right now.

[J.OT13]

Too be fair, they can't really know what's coming in terms of retail. Most buildings are either planned or just released. I don't know if the Domicile building on Champagne will have retail (I forget the name, all of their buildings look the same to me, so I can't associate the which is which) and SoHo Champagne, if it has retail, likely hasn't secured anyone yet.

But it is no excuse for mostly poor service and the lack of a model suite.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

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.

Why would you think that?
If it was almost any other builder in the city, I would have that anticipation and expectation. But after um-teen condo projects that ultimately turned out the same, that started with sales offices with the same kitchen "vignettes" and colour boards and staffed with a limited-knowledge sales staff, why would the Icon be any different?
Compare Tribeca, with Claridge Plaza, with York St. Plaza to the Icon - and aside from location, height and completion date, they are all very, very similar. Virtually the same type of construction materials, same amenities, same interior finishes and, unsurprisingly, the same end product.
I have visited almost all of the sales offices (townhome, high rise, etc...) in Ottawa and I can honestly say my experience that the Claridge offices has never been positive - Neutral, maybe. Negative, absolutely. I'm just happy Ottawans are picking up on this and expecting a little more from their local builders.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Too be fair, they can't really know what's coming in terms of retail. Most buildings are either planned or just released. I don't know if the Domicile building on Champagne will have retail (I forget the name, all of their buildings look the same to me, so I can't associate the which is which) and SoHo Champagne, if it has retail, likely hasn't secured anyone yet.

But it is no excuse for mostly poor service and the lack of a model suite.

I'm not going to speak for the other contributors on here, but my experience wasn't just that the Icon sales staff didn't know what commercial was coming into the area (as you say, no one would really know that at this point) but they didn't even know their direct competition (their heights, builders, specs, etc...) - ie I asked about Soho Italia, literally across the street, it was almost as if it was the first time they had heard that projects name.

As for the commercial spaces, Domicile's Hom doesn't have any, Soho Champagne will, but it's limited, and the parking lots at the corner of Champagne and Carling are owned by Arnon, who is primarily a commercial builder.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

I'm not going to speak for the other contributors on here, but my experience wasn't just that the Icon sales staff didn't know what commercial was coming into the area (as you say, no one would really know that at this point) but they didn't even know their direct competition (their heights, builders, specs, etc...) - ie I asked about Soho Italia, literally across the street, it was almost as if it was the first time they had heard that projects name.

As for the commercial spaces, Domicile's Hom doesn't have any, Soho Champagne will, but it's limited, and the parking lots at the corner of Champagne and Carling are owned by Arnon, who is primarily a commercial builder.

There sales people should know the competition, for sure, and they should have some idea as to what kind of retail Icon might have.

[canabiz]

I don't have any experience with condos but Claridge is definitely on the lower rung when it comes to houses. They have a small presence in Barrhaven (Strandherd Meadows area) and while prices are attractive, the delays and quality issues are well-documented in another forum (also from acquaintances/friends who built with Claridge).

[JackBauer24]

Now that it's been about a month, anyone know what their sales are like? A few weeks ago when I visited there were at 20-22 sales, anyone know if anything's changed?

[JackBauer24]

We'll, if my source is correct - the Icon is no more. Project is cancelled due to slow sales. I believe they sold less than 10% since May and almost all of one style - the Pacino or DeNiro, a 1bdrm that faced Dow's lake.

So, that's the Rhombus and Icon cancelled. Next is probably 99 Parkdale, if it hasn't been axed already.

[S-Man]

Wow.

First of all, I'm not surprised - I had heard rumours to that effect, and from the get-go I felt there could not be sufficient demand to purchase the units at the price Claridge was asking. Nice going, Claridge - you held out for the maximum profit after being allowed an unprecedented height for the postage stamp lot, and it blew up in your face.

Oh yeah - no way a studio in a 42-storey building going for less than $350-400K could ever turn a profit...

I also feel the city will be lucky to see even 99 Parkdale go forward - it was the first to be proposed/approved and there's no activity on site or word on construction.

For that matter, I don't doubt that the Dow Honda site is in question, as is the 1040 (?) Somerset proposal Claridge wants by the O-Train.

If Soho Italia goes ahead, I'd be pleasantly surprised.

[JackBauer24]

Based on the sales at other competing buildings in the same area (Soho Champagne, Soho Parkway, 131 Holland, etc...) I don't think it's as much the demand as it is the product and marketing used to promote their product that was the weak point. Both Rhombus and Icon simply oped their doors for sales - very little advertising (aside from the free publicity Icon got from being the highest proposed building), very poor designs, and nothing to differentiate them from their competitors. I also think both projects were caught between selling to Gen Y or Baby Boomers, and got stuck in the middle. For instance at the Icon, their upper floors were at prices only Baby Boomers could afford, but the size and life style that comes with some of those smaller suites is catered towards a Gen Yer.

If you look at the projects that have sold well, they've targeted a specific demographic and have succeeded. Domicile traditionally brings in Baby Boomers, and the characteristic of their product at Hom appealed to them perfectly. Soho Champagne did a similar thing - larger 2 bdrms and amenities geared to Baby Boomers.

If you price your project right and put a good mix of features and amenities that appeal to your tragedy market, you'll sell. Gone are the days of bland, boring, over simplified and over priced condos. Time to get creative, builders!

Originally Posted by S-Man

Wow.

First of all, I'm not surprised - I had heard rumours to that effect, and from the get-go I felt there could not be sufficient demand to purchase the units at the price Claridge was asking. Nice going, Claridge - you held out for the maximum profit after being allowed an unprecedented height for the postage stamp lot, and it blew up in your face.

Oh yeah - no way a studio in a 42-storey building going for less than $350-400K could ever turn a profit...

I also feel the city will be lucky to see even 99 Parkdale go forward - it was the first to be proposed/approved and there's no activity on site or word on construction.

For that matter, I don't doubt that the Dow Honda site is in question, as is the 1040 (?) Somerset proposal Claridge wants by the O-Train.

If Soho Italia goes ahead, I'd be pleasantly surprised.

[J.OT13]

If anything, this could be the beneficial to SoHo Italia. With less competition and Mastercraft-Starwood's reputation as a good, high quality builder with fair prices (as far as I know), it might make it that much more desirable for them to launch sooner than what they might have planned. And as mentioned before, they usually have a much better marketing strategy than Claridge.

I don't expect Richcraft to launch the Dow Honda proposal anytime soon.

[Rob64]

This makes me incredibly sad.

[citizen j]

It's okay. Maybe by the time Claridge decides to resubmit a proposal for this site, they'll have figured out how to build better condos.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

If you price your project right and put a good mix of features and amenities that appeal to your tragedy market

Ironically accurate slip-of-the-spellchecker?

[ars]

Originally Posted by Rob64

This makes me incredibly sad.

Me as well

This city's stuck in a rut.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Ironically accurate slip-of-the-spellchecker?

Auto-correct, like $hit, happens.

But I would hardly call the cancellation of the Icon a tragic event. I call it a wake-up call to Claridge - try something innovative for once, try changing your marketing and product, try not solely relying on your locations to sell your sites.

[ars]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

Auto-correct, like $hit, happens.

But I would hardly call the cancellation of the Icon a tragic event. I call it a wake-up call to Claridge - try something innovative for once, try changing your marketing and product, try not solely relying on your locations to sell your sites.

I have a feeling that the only thing developers will conclude from this is that "Ottawa doesn't want tall unique buildings, but rather short stubby boring ugly beige buildings"