The proposed Tribeca condo development at 187 Metcalfe is already one-third sold.
Construction hasn’t begun, but buyers are already signing the dotted line and claiming their spots in Ottawa’s largest condo project ever.
Not even a month has passed since Claridge Homes began taking deposits for units in its planned Tribeca condo, at 187 Metcalfe St., and already 75 units have been sold.
That’s about one-third of the 228 total units. It’s a significant number of buyers interested in a condo that still hasn’t yet been built, says Claridge Home's Shawn Malhotra.
The projects consists of two buildings, a third smaller and more ostentatious tower, as well as commercial, office and retail space. Claridge has proposed that the ground level commercial space be used as a daycare and grocery store, but Malhotra says nothing is finalized yet.
“There certainly is need for another grocery store downtown, but some public, cultural space should be the first priority,” says Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes.
The original building plans included space for a National Portrait Gallery of Canada. The gallery would have been located on the first two floors of the building, and in exchange city council agreed to give Claridge the freedom to build to 20 and 24-storeys at the site – a height that greatly exceeds the 12-storey height restriction in the area.
The restriction is based on the rationale that buildings in the area should not be taller than the Peace Tower.
In 2008, the federal government cancelled plans for the gallery. In an appeal to the Ontatio Municipal Board, Claridge was granted permission to build the two 27-storey condominiums, in spite of the scrapped plans for the portrait gallery.
Construction is set to begin later this year or early 2011. The current parking lot between Lisgar and Nepean streets will be transformed into the 27-storey high rises when the project is finally completed.
Some problems with the height of the building remain, says Holmes.
It’s a narrow street and because the Place Bell building is located right behind the site there is potential for parking and entrance problems.
But Holmes stresses the benefits of more people moving downtown.
“It’s great that so many people want to move downtown and live downtown,” says Holmes. “They will support the retail and downtown businesses.”
Buyer interest in Claridge’s Tribeca comes down to location, says Johanna Ngoh, a real estate broker and specialist in the Ottawa condo market.
“We really don’t have enough condos downtown and that particular location. It’s not quite the Golden Triangle but it’s very close to it.”
Just a block from Elgin Street, the Centretown location is ideal for the ‘New York-inspired’ condo’s target group – young professionals. The ability to walk to work and to various downtown attractions is high on the list of priorities for many young first-time buyers.
Tribeca’s promoters believe they’ve hit that mark.
While living downtown is an attractive option, it’s an option that’s going to be directly tied to the prices of condos and mortgage rates, says Ngoh.
A spot in the Tribeca high-rise isn’t exactly cheap: $650,000 is what it will cost for the largest unit – a 1,145-square-foot penthouse. The smallest unit, a 551-square-foot studio, is the most affordable of the Tribeca units at almost a third the cost of the penthouse at $241,000.
But at least one real estate seller – and a future Tribeca condo owner – says she thinks that those prices are a steal given the good location.
“Where else in the world can you buy a condo for $300,000, six blocks from the Parliament Buildings? You couldn’t do it in Rome, you couldn’t do it in London from Downing Street, you couldn’t do it anywhere else,” says Anna Kiefl, sales representative for Royal Lepage Performance Reality.
Kiefl purchased a unit in the Tribeca condo as an investment purchase, she says.
When construction is complete in 2013 she plans to rent out her unit, one that boasts a view of Parliament.