Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[MountainView]

From the Canada thread:

Originally Posted by elly63

City of Ottawa
November 1, 2013

- Construction of the iconic wood surround – called the Veil - at the south side stands has started.
- Each of the 24 large wooden ribs are being carefully positioned and fastened. Construction of the entire Veil will take several months.
- Drywall and other fixtures continue to be installed on the three levels of the building.
- Seat installation and work on the roof at the north stands continues.
- Work on the new lower concourse concession has started.
- New floors at the upper concourse are being poured.

From Bank Street, the shape of the renovated stadium can be seen. The last portion of the parking garage, in the foreground, is being finished, while seats continue to be installed in the north stands in the background


At the west end of the south stands, work continues on the new stair case


The curving shape of the new south stands can be seen as the precast bleachers at the third level are installed


Some of the first vertical pieces of the wooden surround at the south stands, called the Veil, have been put up

[nredding]

Minto released the price list today. The Citizen article is off a bit. The town houses range from $570K to $880K (for the 2000 sq ft model). The terrace homes range from $343K (for Ash - Alt) up to $533K (for Willow). Parking is an extra $35K.

[harls]

Tried to get a shot of all the cranes while driving south on Bank. I'll have to go back with my good camera one day (and actually get out of my car).

[EdFromOttawa]

Originally Posted by harls

Tried to get a shot of all the cranes while driving south on Bank. I'll have to go back with my good camera one day (and actually get out of my car).

Please do!! While you're there get some shots of the stadium from ground level. Always nice to see some angles different from what the City posts (aka more detailed stuff like looking at individual seats, future concession stands etc...)

[Andy Zagg]

Can anyone comment on the materials that Minto uses. I attended the launch which looked to be moderately successful, but walking through their model suite it looked kind of cheap compared to others I've visited.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Andy Zagg

Can anyone comment on the materials that Minto uses. I attended the launch which looked to be moderately successful, but walking through their model suite it looked kind of cheap compared to others I've visited.

It probably varies from project to project.

I picked up a package for the "Townhomes" and the standard finishes are very much on the cheaper end. You can always upgrade to what you want and then compare to another project which includes higher end finishes.

[nredding]

I also looked at the Holmwood townhome packages. They have laminate in the living room levels and carpet on the stairs and in the bedroom levels. I'd say that's pretty cheap. You can always upgrade but that could add a lot to your purchase price.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by nredding

I also looked at the Holmwood townhome packages. They have laminate in the living room levels and carpet on the stairs and in the bedroom levels. I'd say that's pretty cheap. You can always upgrade but that could add a lot to your purchase price.

I didn't read the packet very closely but it can't be actually laminate floor? I was thinking that cheap engineered floors (e.g. what was used in East Market)

These drawings are useless of course but not at all what they show in the photo which has gorgeous wide plank hardwood.

[JackBauer24]

Not that I think Minto will use this, but there is some beautiful laminate flooring that looks almost exactly like real hardwood but it's far more durable.

If that type of laminate was installed, I wouldn't have an issue. But I suspect since the "Vibe" standard was cheap laminate that the townhomes won't differ all that much.

Originally Posted by YOWetal

I didn't read the packet very closely but it can't be actually laminate floor? I was thinking that cheap engineered floors (e.g. what was used in East Market)

These drawings are useless of course but not at all what they show in the photo which has gorgeous wide plank hardwood.

[JackBauer24]

I wasn't very impressed with the Rideau, which was supposed to be the higher end of the two Lansdowne condos. Their spec didn't differ all that much from Claridge and yet they were pricier than Soho Champagne.

I visited Minto at Beechwood and I was surprised to see the spec was much higher than Lansdowne.

Originally Posted by YOWetal

It probably varies from project to project.

I picked up a package for the "Townhomes" and the standard finishes are very much on the cheaper end. You can always upgrade to what you want and then compare to another project which includes higher end finishes.

[JackBauer24]

One issue is that Minto hasn't built a high rise since Metropole in Westboro (which is close to 10 years old now, if memory serves me correctly)

But you are right, the "premium" spec they offer at the Rideau is pretty much standard at Soho, Charlesfort and even Central 1, 2/Hideaway. I was pretty surprised to read their spec when the project was first launched. with all the hype and publicity the project had, and the landmark location, I feel they dropped the ball on the quality.

Originally Posted by Andy Zagg

Can anyone comment on the materials that Minto uses. I attended the launch which looked to be moderately successful, but walking through their model suite it looked kind of cheap compared to others I've visited.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

I wasn't very impressed with the Rideau, which was supposed to be the higher end of the two Lansdowne condos. Their spec didn't differ all that much from Claridge and yet they were pricier than Soho Champagne.

I visited Minto at Beechwood and I was surprised to see the spec was much higher than Lansdowne.

Minto at Beechwood is a whole different crowd. The target market there is moving out of New Ed and Rockcliffe houses and I think they would laugh out loud if Minto proposed Laminate flooring or 1/2 inch granite counter tops.

While you can always upgrade, standard finishes are still important because if you spend a bunch on upgrades it is hard to get it back when your neighbours without upgrades are renting or selling for much cheaper.

[YOWetal]

They now are up with a website including pricing for tickets. Anybody buy yet? I assume it is priority numbers only right now?

[JackBauer24]

I don't view the crowds and projects all that differently.

Many Rockcliffers looked at Minto @ Beechwood for down sizing, just has I'm sure many Glebites looked at Lansdowne.

Whether you've moving from your $1M home in the Glebe or from your $2M home in Rockcliffe, I think you would expect a higher spec than either Beechwood or the Rideau offered. But as you said, you can always upgrade, but you'll end up being the castle in the neighbourhood/building - which never sells for it's true value.

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Minto at Beechwood is a whole different crowd. The target market there is moving out of New Ed and Rockcliffe houses and I think they would laugh out loud if Minto proposed Laminate flooring or 1/2 inch granite counter tops.

While you can always upgrade, standard finishes are still important because if you spend a bunch on upgrades it is hard to get it back when your neighbours without upgrades are renting or selling for much cheaper.

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

They now are up with a website including pricing for tickets. Anybody buy yet? I assume it is priority numbers only right now?

I know a few people who have bought their ticket packages already. It is still those with priority numbers, but I'm sure people can jump on the list still. They may have to wait a while for seat selection until the earlier PRN holders get their choice.

[alecz_dad]

Gee imagine Minto using cheap as chips materials. Quel surprise! Anybody who has lived in or owned a Minto home in Ottawa in the last 40 years knows that like Ford, at Minto: "Quality is Job 1... No, Job 4... Job 7? Well, it's down there somewhere."

Condo buyers beware! What you think you're buying, when buying on spec, is often not what you get. Watch CBC Marketplace's "Condo Crunch" (part 1) (part 2)
CBC Ottawa reported: "Ottawa condo surplus causing prices to drop"


And because developers have been building condos wherever they can, and the feds have been slashing and burning the Public Service, and continue to threaten to, the condo market in Ottawa is pretty soft right now.

I'm guessing a lot of prospective buyers may still be sitting on their hands, and those that dove in early at Lansdowne in expectation of turning a quick profit may be starting to feel edgy.

Maybe better to let the sucker speculators buy up Minto's Lansdowne dross, then come in after a few years once it's clear how much the condo fees really will be, and after the original owners have plowed some extra bux into replacing the crap spec materials Minto used in the first place.

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

Not that I think Minto will use this, but there is some beautiful laminate flooring that looks almost exactly like real hardwood but it's far more durable.

If that type of laminate was installed, I wouldn't have an issue. But I suspect since the "Vibe" standard was cheap laminate that the townhomes won't differ all that much.

[Radster]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

They now are up with a website including pricing for tickets. Anybody buy yet? I assume it is priority numbers only right now?

I am getting my FURY season tix with my friend on December 11, thats when we have our appointment at the Ottawa Fury FC office, and we are 128th and 129th on the priority list. I especially like the fact that they don't force you to pay the entire amount up front, and give you payment plan options

Also, looks like they are not counting on getting high attendance for soccer, as the top tier of the new South Stands seems closed off in the seating map. Which is a good strategy, that many other teams use (ie. Whitecaps at BC Place). This way the fans that do attend are all sitting together creating a better atmosphere than if they were scattered around making the stadium look empty.

In other news, Ottawa Fury signed their first player yesterday
http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/Histori...-Announced-as-the-Club%60s-First-Signing

[EdFromOttawa]

Originally Posted by Radster

I am getting my FURY season tix with my friend on December 11, thats when we have our appointment at the Ottawa Fury FC office, and we are 128th and 129th on the priority list. I especially like the fact that they don't force you to pay the entire amount up front, and give you payment plan options

Also, looks like they are not counting on getting high attendance for soccer, as the top tier of the new South Stands seems closed off in the seating map. Which is a good strategy, that many other teams use (ie. Whitecaps at BC Place). This way the fans that do attend are all sitting together creating a better atmosphere than if they were scattered around making the stadium look empty.

In other news, Ottawa Fury signed their first player yesterday
http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/Histori...-Announced-as-the-Club%60s-First-Signing

My biggest concern is that they only seem to have the lower level of the South Side stands available for games...

While I agree it makes sense considering the number of fans the NASL has typically attracted; I think it also can be damaging early on and keep casuals away if all indications ARE that it will be a small crowd.

I think they should have opened the lower stands of the North Side as well. A happy medium between ticket scarcity/atmosphere, and 'big game' feel.

[JackBauer24]

Don't believe everything that you read.
I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the media LOVES negative news stories. What that CBC "article" (and I use quotation marks since it's much more of an opinion piece than an article) fails to mention is that there are many condos (many of which are located beside or within a few blocks of the examples of poor selling projects) are selling just fine - Soho Champagne (within 2 minutes of the Icon), the Slater (within a few blocks of Edge/Bowery), Domicile's Hom (also close to Icon), the Eddy (not far from the Rhombus), the Merit (one of the most expensive condos in the city), etc...

Also, the few stats that are mentioned in the CBC article are rebutted nice here....
http://theottawacondosseur.blogspot.ca/2013/11/condo-surplus-in-ottawa-another-side-of.html

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

Gee imagine Minto using cheap as chips materials. Quel surprise! Anybody who has lived in or owned a Minto home in Ottawa in the last 40 years knows that like Ford, at Minto: "Quality is Job 1... No, Job 4... Job 7? Well, it's down there somewhere."

Condo buyers beware! What you think you're buying, when buying on spec, is often not what you get. Watch CBC Marketplace's "Condo Crunch" (part 1) (part 2)
CBC Ottawa reported: "Ottawa condo surplus causing prices to drop"


And because developers have been building condos wherever they can, and the feds have been slashing and burning the Public Service, and continue to threaten to, the condo market in Ottawa is pretty soft right now.

I'm guessing a lot of prospective buyers may still be sitting on their hands, and those that dove in early at Lansdowne in expectation of turning a quick profit may be starting to feel edgy.

Maybe better to let the sucker speculators buy up Minto's Lansdowne dross, then come in after a few years once it's clear how much the condo fees really will be, and after the original owners have plowed some extra bux into replacing the crap spec materials Minto used in the first place.

[JackBauer24]

Oh, and I should add, if you're expecting to buy a new property and quickly turn a profit, you didn't educate yourself well enough to be investing in real estate to begin with. Real estate is not a short term investment. Investors have made money in the short term with real estate, but generally investing in real estate should be a long term plan.

As for the condo fees, it's clear that you know very little about condo fees, by laws and rules and regulations that a condo must abide by.

But keep filling this thread with your poorly founded opinions. It's really quite revealing over how little you actually know.

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

Gee imagine Minto using cheap as chips materials. Quel surprise! Anybody who has lived in or owned a Minto home in Ottawa in the last 40 years knows that like Ford, at Minto: "Quality is Job 1... No, Job 4... Job 7? Well, it's down there somewhere."

Condo buyers beware! What you think you're buying, when buying on spec, is often not what you get. Watch CBC Marketplace's "Condo Crunch" (part 1) (part 2)
CBC Ottawa reported: "Ottawa condo surplus causing prices to drop"


And because developers have been building condos wherever they can, and the feds have been slashing and burning the Public Service, and continue to threaten to, the condo market in Ottawa is pretty soft right now.

I'm guessing a lot of prospective buyers may still be sitting on their hands, and those that dove in early at Lansdowne in expectation of turning a quick profit may be starting to feel edgy.

Maybe better to let the sucker speculators buy up Minto's Lansdowne dross, then come in after a few years once it's clear how much the condo fees really will be, and after the original owners have plowed some extra bux into replacing the crap spec materials Minto used in the first place.