All About My Condo

October 4, 2007 - With about year to go before I officially move into my condo, I thought maybe it's time that I blog about it. I have been meaning to talk about this huge step in my life for awhile now, but there is just so much to say that I wasn't sure where or how to start.

So let's start from the beginning! The story goes back to 2005 - I had just turned 25 and had just started working full-time for the Province. I was still getting used to living on my own, having moved out just a few months before. Knowing I cannot rent forever, my dad persuaded me to start looking into buying a condo. Initially, I was looking at the Yonge/Sheppard and Yonge/Finch areas. But when nothing jumped out at me, my friends Amy and Ray suggested that I check out the new Minto Towers at Yonge/Eglinton, just across the street from where I was living at the time. I took their advice and with no expectations, went to check it out with my parents.

The Minto presentation building and professional staff made a great impression. The models looked sleek and modern and the units didn't cost as much as I thought they would. I spent a week thinking it through and on Saturday, Feb 11, 2006, I signed the purchasing agreement and became a condo-owner at the age of 25!

Almost $55K of down-payments later, there are still days when I am unsure if I had made the right choice. It wasn't easy paying those down-payments. Despite the fact that they were split into installments (and also that my parents helped me out a lot), it completely bankrupted my bank account. There were days when I couldn't afford to buy a tea or go out for lunch, simply because I just didn't have the money. I also had to keep my part time jobs, which isn't fun when you already work full time on the weekdays. Those months were tough, but because I had to work so hard for it, I know I will treasure this new home even more.

A bit about the Minto Midtown Towers, also known as Quantum 1 and Quantum 2: the towers are possibly one of the most famous condo projects in Toronto, highlighted by the fact that it received tremendous citizen opposition and media coverage in the late 90s. Back when the towers were first proposed, ratepayer groups in North Toronto, supported by Toronto Councillor Michael Walker (who is still the councillor for the ward where the towers are located), got together to fight the proposal. These residents argued that the towers are too tall, too big, and in general, do not fit in with the community. Anti-Minto posters went up around the neighbourhood and Council voted it down. The project went to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and after modifications in its design (which included a height reduction for Quantum 1), was finally passed through. Today, even as residents move into the South Tower, there are still people out there (including the community's two councillors), who are against the project.

The two towers are at one of the busiest intersections in the city, on top of the nation's busiest transit route, and also located within one of the Province's designated urban growth centres - if they aren't allowed to build here, then there really aren't that many other places where such development could be built. To all those NIMBYs out there who are against condo projects/intensification in North Toronto - I say, get used to it, as the area is ripe for more condo developments.

As for my unit - I bought a 1 bedroom + den unit on the 26th floor in Quantum 2, the North Tower, facing North. The expected occupancy date is Summer 2008. Construction of my building is progressing quickly and Minto predicts that by year end, the exterior of the building will be completed. The courtyard between the two towers is expected to finish by the beginning of next year, with the retail component (the Keg, a Starbucks) moving in in the Spring.

There's a lot more I could say about my condo and I'm pretty sure I will blog more about it as it gets closer to my move-in date. I have to say that the two towers look awesome. The architectural firm that originally designed the two buildings, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP, is an internationally renowned firm responsible for such famous buildings as Lever House in New York City, the Sears Tower and John Hancock Centre in Chicago, and the Bank of America building in San Francisco. The firm was also awarded the architectural design contract for the Freedom Tower in New York, after Daniel Libeskind won the WTC site master-planning competition.

I'm pretty psyched about my condo - and the fact that it really represents a new chapter in my life. So say what you will about condo living, but I can't wait to move into mine!