Cumberland Terrace Tells The Story of Yorkville at a Glance. While most time capsules are buried in the foundations of buildings, their contents to be revealed at some future date, Cumberland Terrace is a living (if barely breathing) piece of Me Decade retail architecture frozen in time. Promoted as "the nicest way from Yonge to Bay" when it opened in October 1974, the mall's resistance to modernization - orange and brown tiles, large banks of phones, signage for... [read more]

It would be easy to mistake the lobby of the One o One condos in midtown Toronto for a nightclub or graffiti-splashed alley. Instead of the muted colours and cookie-cutter designs that fill many condo buildings, developer Camrost Felcorp hired Toronto artist Anthony Ricciardi to create seven murals splattered with bright paint and a rainbow of drip marks. The flashy pieces put the building in a growing group of condo complexes whose hallways, lobbies and outdoor grounds are being... [read more]

ONTARIO TRIED A SPECULATION TAX ON PROPERTY AND THE MARKET COLLAPSED OVERNIGHT For decades, Barry Lebow has kept a scapbook of one of the most traumatic business days in his life. There are some dates you always remember, and for the Ontario real estate industry it's April 9, 1974. That is the day the province shocked the sector by announcing a 50% land speculation tax.  "We had no wind of this," said Lebow, now 69. "I was 27 years old and I owned 53 houses... [read more]

NEW 59-STOREY TOWER PROPOSED FOR SCOLLARD ST. IN YORKVILLE A residential tower has been proposed by the Cityzen Development Group for the southwest corner of Yonge and Scollard Streets in Toronto's tony Bloor-Yorkville area. Designed by the highly regarded Bruce Kuwabara of KPMB Architects, the 59-storey structure with a marble and white concrete-clad exoskeleton is meant as an architectual gateway to the Yorkville area from the north. 1 Scollard is proposed as a slender tower of... [read more]

PRE-CONSTRUCTION CONDOS: SHOULD YOU USE A REALTOR? Should you use a realtor when buying a new pre-construction condo? The answer for this is a definite YES. Toronto Realtor Matt Smith, who specializes in helping buyers navigate through the complicated process of buying new condos, has shared with me the many pitfalls and disadvantages of buyers going at it alone when dealing with the builders' sales staff. Above all else, realize that the builder's sales team works for... [read more]