Calgary Condo Talk

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I found this amusing from that thread:



Best floorplans evar!

"I can safely say that these are the best floorplans I've ever designed"

[Spring2008]

CondoLiving mentions Avli 35% sold on opening weekend, not bad considering the timing.

The Royal is launching in April.

https://www.facebook.com/EmbassyBOSA?fref=nf

[CanmoreGuy]

Just wanted to flag that actually Royal is already selling. Just not being advertised. It is the pre-sales stage.

[*Stardust*]

This isn't for a project under construction or a proposal, but I just wanted mention that all the town home owners at Calla have moved out, as Qualex is redoing the entire heating and plumbing. If you walk by them at night you can see they look completely gutted from the inside. I guess the owners have taken legal action against Qualex, because since day one there has been issues with heating (freezing on the main floor, boiling hot upstairs).

How long does a developer usually stay in a highrise condo after completion? Does anybody know? Qualex is still actively working in the building fixing things that are still crapping out. A technical audit was done on the building and they are obliged to fix everything that was messed up. They are expected to stay there until the PDI's for Mark start in summer.

[Tropics]

Sounds like it is still "under construction" to me...

That sucks for those people. The costs and hassle of moving into your new place and then having to move out again with all your stuff, find a place to live short term (which is an expensive and extremely difficult thing because most people do not want short term leases), and then have to move into your place all over again and nervously hope that everything "now" works like it was supposed to all along.

Mark me down as a person who will never be buying a Qualex product. If their construction stage QAQC let something this major get screwed up I would be wary about the rest of the build too.

Sounds like the people in the units had to fight a bit just to get Qualex to take it seriously. If this was an issue from "day 1" when the people moved in then the builder/developer should have known something was wrong before that. Complete lack of due diligence on their part.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by CanmoreGuy

Just wanted to flag that actually Royal is already selling. Just not being advertised. It is the pre-sales stage.

This one should reach the 70% mark pretty quickly. I don't think it will be representative of other projects that will be launching post-oil crash.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by Tropics

Sounds like it is still "under construction" to me...

That sucks for those people. The costs and hassle of moving into your new place and then having to move out again with all your stuff, find a place to live short term (which is an expensive and extremely difficult thing because most people do not want short term leases), and then have to move into your place all over again and nervously hope that everything "now" works like it was supposed to all along.

Mark me down as a person who will never be buying a Qualex product. If their construction stage QAQC let something this major get screwed up I would be wary about the rest of the build too.

Sounds like the people in the units had to fight a bit just to get Qualex to take it seriously. If this was an issue from "day 1" when the people moved in then the builder/developer should have known something was wrong before that. Complete lack of due diligence on their part.

Yeah, this sounds like a disaster... *Stardust*, do you still live at Calla or have you moved elsewhere?

[Electrical Storm]

Sorry for the numerous successive postings... but this is an entirely new subject. I posted this in the main construction thread as well:

___________________________________

Has anyone gone to the VIP viewing for Ezra yet?

I was there over the weekend and the pricing left me cold... Don't get me wrong, Im sure the project will be great once completed, but the $/sq.ft. ratio is way off even for a premium location IMO.

Here are some pricing "samples" from the pricing sheet:

Urban Flats/ City Homes (podium)
-Unit #1104, 618 sq. ft, 1 bed/1bath....$399,900 +GST
-Unit #1201, 739 sq. ft, 2 bed....$399,900 +GST

1 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit #1308, 466 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath... $319,900 +GST (11th Street frontage)
-Unit #1302, 527 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$409,900 +GST (park frontage)
-Unit #1305, 570 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$379,900 +GST (5th Ave frontage)

2 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit # 1309, 747 sq. ft., 2 bed...$549,900 +GST (NE corner)
-Unit # 1307, 907 sq. ft., 2 bed...$619,900 +GST (SE corner)
-Unit # 1304, 1150 sq. ft., 2 bed...$699,900 +GST (SW corner)

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Electrical Storm

Sorry for the numerous successive postings... but this is an entirely new subject. I posted this in the main construction thread as well:

___________________________________

Has anyone gone to the VIP viewing for Ezra yet?

I was there over the weekend and the pricing left me cold... Don't get me wrong, Im sure the project will be great once completed, but the $/sq.ft. ratio is way off even for a premium location IMO.

Here are some pricing "samples" from the pricing sheet:

Urban Flats/ City Homes (podium)
-Unit #1104, 618 sq. ft, 1 bed/1bath....$399,900 +GST
-Unit #1201, 739 sq. ft, 2 bed....$399,900 +GST

1 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit #1308, 466 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath... $319,900 +GST (11th Street frontage)
-Unit #1302, 527 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$409,900 +GST (park frontage)
-Unit #1305, 570 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$379,900 +GST (5th Ave frontage)

2 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit # 1309, 747 sq. ft., 2 bed...$549,900 +GST (NE corner)
-Unit # 1307, 907 sq. ft., 2 bed...$619,900 +GST (SE corner)
-Unit # 1304, 1150 sq. ft., 2 bed...$699,900 +GST (SW corner)

LOL!

And then you get the privilege of paying massive HOA on top.

[red_179]

Originally Posted by *Stardust*

This isn't for a project under construction or a proposal, but I just wanted mention that all the town home owners at Calla have moved out, as Qualex is redoing the entire heating and plumbing. If you walk by them at night you can see they look completely gutted from the inside. I guess the owners have taken legal action against Qualex, because since day one there has been issues with heating (freezing on the main floor, boiling hot upstairs).

How long does a developer usually stay in a highrise condo after completion? Does anybody know? Qualex is still actively working in the building fixing things that are still crapping out. A technical audit was done on the building and they are obliged to fix everything that was messed up. They are expected to stay there until the PDI's for Mark start in summer.

I've noticed that there have been a steady amount of units in Calla for sale over the last 6 months or so, usually 5 or so units at any given time. This might not seem like much, but for a building less than 2 years occupied (considering most people get 5 year mortgage terms and would likely face a pre-payment penalty) it is a fair bit of people jumping ship. Compared to Pixel, which was completed around the same time, I've hardly seen a unit at Pixel come onto the market.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by suburbia

LOL!

And then you get the privilege of paying massive HOA on top.

Small-ish concrete building with large patios... Yeah, you wouldn't be wrong.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by red_179

I've noticed that there have been a steady amount of units in Calla for sale over the last 6 months or so, usually 5 or so units at any given time. This might not seem like much, but for a building less than 2 years occupied (considering most people get 5 year mortgage terms and would likely face a pre-payment penalty) it is a fair bit of people jumping ship. Compared to Pixel, which was completed around the same time, I've hardly seen a unit at Pixel come onto the market.

Most of the resale units in Calla are 2 bedrooms (for whatever reason). Pixel is a much smaller building, but as you noted, there haven't been many resales on MLS.

[O-tacular]

Wow that Calla story is brutal! Not sure I'd be buying any of their other product based on that. It's not even like it was being built in the insanity of the 2006 trade shortage either.

[*Stardust*]

Originally Posted by Electrical Storm

Yeah, this sounds like a disaster... *Stardust*, do you still live at Calla or have you moved elsewhere?

I don't live there anymore, but I have a friend who still lives there and he fills me in on all the stories in the building. Seems like there is something new going on each week.

For everyone out there. Don't believe the hype! Qualex is not a good developer by any means. They are just good at marketing and that's it.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by *Stardust*

I don't live there anymore, but I have a friend who still lives there and he fills me in on all the stories in the building. Seems like there is something new going on each week.

For everyone out there. Don't believe the hype! Qualex is not a good developer by any means. They are just good at marketing and that's it.

Yeah this last account pretty much seals the deal - they're on my NO list (which is too bad, because the projects tend to *look* nice).

[O-tacular]

I noticed all the boarded up lower units on Calla about a month and a half ago and wondered what was going on. Again, so brutal.

[Spring2008]

I'm liking the amount of infills we're getting, but some of the new projects are getting pretty astronomical in $psf. How these type of units are still selling in this current market is beyond me. Unit 1302 - 527sf for $409,000+?

Originally Posted by Electrical Storm

Sorry for the numerous successive postings... but this is an entirely new subject. I posted this in the main construction thread as well:

___________________________________

Has anyone gone to the VIP viewing for Ezra yet?

I was there over the weekend and the pricing left me cold... Don't get me wrong, Im sure the project will be great once completed, but the $/sq.ft. ratio is way off even for a premium location IMO.

Here are some pricing "samples" from the pricing sheet:

Urban Flats/ City Homes (podium)
-Unit #1104, 618 sq. ft, 1 bed/1bath....$399,900 +GST
-Unit #1201, 739 sq. ft, 2 bed....$399,900 +GST

1 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit #1308, 466 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath... $319,900 +GST (11th Street frontage)
-Unit #1302, 527 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$409,900 +GST (park frontage)
-Unit #1305, 570 sq. ft., 1 bed/1bath...$379,900 +GST (5th Ave frontage)

2 Bedroom Units (midrise):
-Unit # 1309, 747 sq. ft., 2 bed...$549,900 +GST (NE corner)
-Unit # 1307, 907 sq. ft., 2 bed...$619,900 +GST (SE corner)
-Unit # 1304, 1150 sq. ft., 2 bed...$699,900 +GST (SW corner)

[red_179]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

I'm liking the amount of infills we're getting, but some of the new projects are getting pretty astronomical in $psf. How these type of units are still selling in this current market is beyond me. Unit 1302 - 527sf for $409,000+?

The price per square foot is all over the place for the units as well:

-Unit #1104, 618 sq. ft, - $647 per square foot.
-Unit #1201, 739 sq. ft, - $541 per square foot.
-Unit #1308, 466 sq. ft, - $686 per square foot.
-Unit #1302, 527 sq. ft, - $777 per square foot.
-Unit #1305, 570 sq. ft, - $666 per square foot.
-Unit # 1309, 747 sq. ft, - $736 per square foot.
-Unit # 1307, 907 sq. ft, - $683 per square foot.
-Unit # 1304, 1150 sq. ft, -$608 per square foot.

The only big thing that I can think of for the wild swings in price per square foot (as low as $541, to as high as $777) is whether parking is included for all units.

[Electrical Storm]

Originally Posted by red_179

The price per square foot is all over the place for the units as well:

-Unit #1104, 618 sq. ft, - $647 per square foot.
-Unit #1201, 739 sq. ft, - $541 per square foot.
-Unit #1308, 466 sq. ft, - $686 per square foot.
-Unit #1302, 527 sq. ft, - $777 per square foot.
-Unit #1305, 570 sq. ft, - $666 per square foot.
-Unit # 1309, 747 sq. ft, - $736 per square foot.
-Unit # 1307, 907 sq. ft, - $683 per square foot.
-Unit # 1304, 1150 sq. ft, -$608 per square foot.

The only big thing that I can think of for the wild swings in price per square foot (as low as $541, to as high as $777) is whether parking is included for all units.

Its all about unit orientation. Park facing are commanding huge premiums as that's really Ezra's main differentiator over something like The Kensington. That unit #1201 is looking pretty good though...

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Electrical Storm

Its all about unit orientation. Park facing are commanding huge premiums as that's really Ezra's main differentiator over something like The Kensington. That unit #1201 is looking pretty good though...

Is $541/sf (plus huge HOA) truly "pretty good"? Relatively better, but a small pile of dung is also better than a big pile of dung. I'm not saying this is dung, but just driving home the point that you saying it is "looking pretty good" is an un-normalized statement.