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Toronto's enigmatic architect
Eden Smith designed an estimated 250 homes in the city's upscale neighbourhoods, but few people know of his arts and crafts-inspired residences, many of which have been demolished
Those who appreciate historic architecture in Toronto may be familiar with Eden Smith -- a Toronto practitioner of the arts and crafts school led by Briton William Morris at the end of the 19th century.
But even they probably know only Mr. Smith's public buildings, such as the Group of Seven studios on Aylmer Avenue, St. Thomas Anglican Church on Huron Street and three public library branches that resemble Elizabethan church halls.
Not even the heritage preservation department of the City of Toronto is aware of the extent of Mr. Smith's contributions to the city's upper-class residential neighbourhoods, where he and his sons built an estimated 250 homes in the early 1900s.
And that's a real shame, according to some architects and history buffs who have watched helplessly as this treasure trove of gracious homes has fallen one by one to the wrecker's ball, replaced by modern facsimiles of better-known styles such as Georgian and mock-Tudor.
But W. Douglas Brown, a retired technical writer for the Ontario Research Foundation who has a fascination for the arts and crafts movement, has done what the official guardians of Toronto's cityscape could not.
Through painstaking archival research conducted as a labour of love, Mr. Brown has documented the life and death of many of these homes and uncovered the true history of an enigmatic architect who did his best to conceal his working-class Birmingham roots and, in the process, robbed himself of his rightful legacy.
Mr. Smith, it turns out, was in Mr. Morris's circle while attending the Birmingham School of Art in the 1870s and serving on the local architecture committee, which was closely tied to the Morris movement.
Mr. Morris lectured at the school a dozen times while Mr. Smith was there, and his ideas permeate the writings of Mr. Smith, who emigrated to Canada in the mid-1880s and opened his own firm.
He feigned a rural and vaguely aristocratic background to win elite clients rather than reveal that his father and grandfather had been ordinary builders in one of the sooty hubs of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
Mr. Smith's misinformation had found its way into previous writings about him, Mr. Brown says, obscuring his direct connection with Mr. Morris.
"He claimed he did architecture as an avocation rather than a vocation. He said that Eden Smith was a double surname and hinted that he was related to Sir William Eden [a.k.a. the first Baron Auckland]," Mr. Brown says.
But genealogical research conducted for Mr. Smith's granddaughter in the 1980s and donated to public archives revealed that Eden was Mr. Smith's first name and that he had been born, raised and educated in Birmingham.
"He thought [the deception] would help him in his business dealings," Mr. Brown says in an interview at his modest Mississauga home. "I felt it was my duty to try to correct the misinformation."
It is in the scores of homes he built in High Park, Wychwood Park, Forest Hill, Rosedale and the Annex that Mr. Smith's adherence to the organic, asymmetrical, functional ideals of the arts and crafts movement were most apparent.
Unlike proponents of neoclassical design, which were (and remain) popular, Mr. Smith did not strive for symmetry or grandiosity in his homes, and used very little ornamental detail.
They had steeply pitched roofs, many irregular angles, tall graceful chimneys and often were entered from the side rather than the front. The entire home tended to be oriented toward the garden, with the principal rooms overlooking the garden rather than the street.
They followed the arts and crafts philosophy of building from the inside out -- starting with one room and adding on as needed, rather than fitting the rooms inside a fixed shell.
They were finished in brick or stucco -- the movement valued honesty and simplicity and frowned upon false finishes such as stone siding.
A Smith home "looks as if it belongs there. It clings to the earth," Mr. Brown says.
Toronto architect Barry Sampson echoes that definition. "It's an English idea, a modest idea of a gracious lifestyle as opposed to conspicuous wealth," Mr. Sampson says. "[The homes] are delicate in their engagement of the landscape . . . they're not so much about projecting your wealth."
Some of the best remaining examples of these homes are in the little-known enclave of Wychwood Park, a ravine-side community built around a pond near Bathurst Street and Davenport Road. It includes several Eden Smith homes and enjoys some protection from having been designated a heritage community by the city.
Mr. Smith lived there in the 1910s, and built a number of homes there for fellow artisans.
The architect's first family home in Toronto still stands at 267 Indian Rd. in the High Park area and has the protection of an individual heritage plaque.
But his numerous houses in Forest Hill, Rosedale and the Annex, inspired by English cottages and mansions, have no such protection and are most vulnerable to redevelopment.
Mr. Brown's self-published book, Eden Smith: Toronto's Arts and Crafts Architect, documents how almost half of the homes he built in the Annex have already been demolished.
And even since the book was published in 2003, at least five Smith houses in the Forest Hill and Poplar Plains areas have fallen.
"I'm surprised there has been no outrage from the neighbours," Mr. Brown says. "In Forest Hill, the houses are going down all over the place and no one says a word."
Even the stately specimen he selected for his book cover, which used to stand on Warren Road in Forest Hill, has been torn down and replaced by "a monster home that uses the whole width of the lot," Mr. Brown says.
Kathryn Anderson, a heritage preservation officer with the city, says it would love to preserve these architecturally important homes, but the problem is, there is no inventory of them.
"We have no comprehensive list of his works, and there is always the problem of resources and staff to do new inventories," Ms. Anderson says.
Officials in the city's planning or building departments normally contact the heritage department if a demolition permit is sought for a building that may have heritage interest, she says. "But in these cases they haven't."
"I'd be very sad to see more of them disappear," says Joe Lobko, chairman of the Toronto Society of Architects. "I don't know why people would tear down something beautiful."
Mr. Lobko points out that Mr. Smith was also the architect of two highly successful social housing projects built in Toronto at the same time -- Spruce Court on the west side of the Don Valley and the Bain Avenue apartments, now the Bain Co-op, on the east side.
Both are considered exemplary for the creative use of landscaped courtyards to break up rows of units and provide oases of beauty that residents can actually use.
"His work has a wonderful relationship to the landscape," Mr. Lobko says. "There is a lot we can learn from Eden Smith on how to create comfortable, green, low-cost housing."
Mr. Sampson says that during Mr. Smith's time the architectural community had "a sense of stylistic leadership" that it lacks now.
"Now there's relatively little of that. There are Ian MacDonald, Shim-Sutcliffe [Architects] and Bruce Kuwabara, but they are not producing many houses. When you think of Eden Smith producing 250, it's incredible."
Mr. Brown, who says he cannot afford an Eden Smith home himself because they are in the highest-priced neighbourhoods of Toronto, does see some signs of hope, however.
"Some people are moving into Eden Smith homes, realizing what they've got and restoring them to their original form."
One of these is a home on Clarendon Avenue once occupied by Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris and another, on Balmoral Avenue, is being restored from three apartments into a single-family home.
July 31, 2004 in Home of Dreams | Permalink | Comments (0)
Condo handbook gets an update
Anybody who needs a quick briefing on the ins and outs of condominium living should order the sixth edition of lawyer Gerry Hyman's Condominium Handbook.
Published by the Canadian Condominium Institute, the book can be ordered by calling 416-491-6216.
The cost is $15 plus tax and shipping.
"The condo community has had three years to live with and evaluate the Condominium Act 1998 since its proclamation in May of 2001," Hyman said.
"The sixth edition, in addition to generally updating the handbook, deals specifically with various problems created by the new legislation and with the manner in which condominium corporations and their advisors have attempted to deal with those problems."
One problem created by the new Act, for example, is to treat repairs resulting from normal wear and tear as maintenance, which prevents condo corporations from dipping into the reserve funds to replace worn common elements.
Hyman, a specialist in condominium law, is a frequent contributor to Condo Living in the Ask an Expert column, as well as in articles.
All proceeds from the sale of the handbook go to the Toronto chapter of the condominium institute, a national non-profit organization dealing with condominium issues.
Condo architects two-time winners
CORE Architects Inc., a specialist in designing infill projects in Toronto and elsewhere, has won two awards for the 600-square-foot space it created earlier this year for Toronto's Interior Design Show.
The project was selected from nearly 400 submissions from around the world in Chicago last month for an award from the International Interior Design Association.
Core was the only Canadian firm to win this year.
The space explored the theme of what makes us wealthy. The designers, through their work, suggested wealth was to be found in essential and basic human activities of eating, sleeping, playing and bathing.
The sleek space with a retro feel, also won in Canadian Interiors magazine's seventh annual Best of Canada Competition.
The award will be presented in October.
Core has more than 30 condo projects on the boards or under construction and a dozen completed in downtown Toronto.
To learn more about Core's 600-square-foot space, visit http://www.corearchitects.com.
New president at managers' group
"A real dynamo" has been re-elected president of the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario.
Laura Lee, a registered condominium manager and also general manager of Prompton Real Estate Services Inc., will be serving her second three-year term as a director.
For the past three years, she has chaired the professional development committee of ACMO and will continue those duties for another six months, says Don Braden, the group's executive director.
She has taught four courses for the association, including on-line classes, Braden says.
Braden praised her volunteer work in the association, saying she's been very active. "She's a real dynamo," he says.
Lee hopes to champion extending the education of managers beyond Ontario's jurisdiction, as the demand is increasing for qualified condominium managers.
Of the board members who re-elected her, she says: "This is an exceptionally strong group of officers and, together with the aid of our fellow board members, I am confident we will provide excellent leadership for the association."
ACMO represents more than 750 professional and associate members from across Ontario, providing ongoing education and advocating on behalf of condo managers at the municipal and provincial levels.
Five-pronged strategy
In the battle for buyers, Chestnut Hill Homes is offering new pre-construction incentives at The Gardens at Queen townhouse project at Queen and Bathurst Sts.
Called a "five-five-five promotion," it includes five years of free maintenance, free upgrades worth $5,000 and 5 per cent down until occupancy.
The 175 townhouses of The Gardens at Queen were designed by Kirkor Architects and Planners with interiors by Munge Leung Design Group. They come in two different configurations.
The Garden Villas have front patios or back gardens and are priced from $199,990.
Lofts have roof gardens and downtown views and are priced from $259,990.
For information, visit the sales office at Bathurst St. north of Queen St., or call 416-703-5707.
High-flying promotion
The developers at the Malibu condominium project at the corner of Fleet and Bathurst Sts. near Toronto's waterfront would like to send potential purchasers flying.
Tomorrow, they're offering free hot-air balloon rides in what they're calling a Fly High Party to demonstrate the views over the lake from the 30-storey, 339-unit condo project after it's built.
The rides are offered from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and the balloon will take off from the spot where the building will be constructed.
The party is open to Malibu purchasers, would-be buyers, and neighbours.
The Malibu project developers will also provide refreshments and prizes.
Anyone who commits to a purchase tomorrow will get a free trip for two to the real Malibu in California.
To make a reservation, call 416-601-1881 or go online at malibuharbourfront.com.
July 30, 2004 in Buying a Home | Permalink | Comments (0)
Huge Oshawa campus expansion
The province's newest university in Oshawa has signed an agreement with the Ontario government that will allow the University of Ontario Institute of Technology to go ahead with a $220 million expansion.
University president Gary Polonsky said yesterday the money will pay for a new library and two academic buildings to be completed by the fall, and a new engineering facility to be constructed next year.
The agreement follows a government review of the university's expansion plans, which have been scaled back by a third. Originally it wanted $330 million to construct two more academic buildings.
By the time the provincial election was held last fall, the university only had an agreement for $190 million. Then the new Liberal government decided to review the plans.
"All of that would have happened 10 months ago if we as the university could live with the $190 million, but we didn't feel we could because that would pay only for the buildings being finished this summer," said Polonsky.
"Now there will be a phenomenal engineering program with a number of streams all in a world-class facility."
The Oshawa university opened last September with about 900 students. That number is expected to double this year and climb to 6,500 by the end of the decade.
July 30, 2004 in Location, Location ... | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wake up walls with new colour
Are your household room walls showing their age with cracks and divots? Has the colour of your walls faded with time?
If so, your home's interior walls may be ready for a facelift.
A home improvement project will reinvigorate a living space and also help increase the value of a residential property.
But before embarking on an improvement effort, you should consider a few of these general remodelling tips to help keep the job cost under control.
Find a professional remodelling contractor who is familiar with building codes in your area.
Plan ahead. Deciding what changes you want to make in a home before work begins can help keep the cost down.
Take into consideration material, labour, contractor and interior designer time and specific specifications, such as size, colour or models.
Although different design alternatives can result in lower cost, the quality of materials and design should remain an important factor in a remodelling project. Go over different options with an interior designer or contractor.
For rooms that appear weathered and worn by time, consider painting them in a new colour, rather than opting for structural changes. A new colour most often proves less expensive than knocking out or altering a fixed structure.
Whitewashing a room's walls works well, as does wallpaper, which can help mask a slightly damaged spots.
Think about a faux finish or textured decorative painting technique that can hide wall surface irregularities.
- from Knight Ridder
July 30, 2004 in Home Maintenance | Permalink | Comments (0)
Comprehensive mortgage toolkit
Agency responds to consumer complaints
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has launched a new online toolkit to help consumers understand the ins and outs of mortgages. The Agency says the kit was designed to recognize mortgages are a fact of life for most Canadians. The FCAC's toolkit is a resource for consumers whether they are researching a mortgage for their first home or renewing an existing mortgage.
"Consumers need to know and understand the real costs of mortgages before they can make an informed decision on the type of mortgage they need," says FCAC Commissioner Bill Knight. "What they don't know now could cost them thousands of dollars in unanticipated interest and penalty charges down the road." Knight suggests that consumers should ask themselves three key questions before signing a mortgage agreement: How long will I stay in this house? How quickly do I want to pay off my mortgage? and How much can I afford to pay each month?
FCAC's toolkit helps answer those questions. With the kit, consumers can take a 10-question mortgage quiz to assess their knowledge of mortgages. There is information about mortgage terms and conditions, consumer rights and responsibilities, and tips on how to pay off a mortgage faster. The toolkit also provides a "mortgage qualifier calculator" so consumers can find out whether or not they qualify for a mortgage loan, given their current income and debt level.
Each component of the toolkit, including the qualifying calculator, provides tips to help consumers determine the amount of debt they can actually afford. The facts and tips section focuses specifically on the rights and responsibilities that consumers have when shopping for, and signing, a mortgage contract.
FCAC has received more than 1,600 consumer inquiries and complaints about mortgages since it began operating in October 2001. The Agency took common consumer concerns and questions into consideration when developing the mortgage toolkit, which is available on FCAC's Web site at: www.fcac.gc.ca.
July 29, 2004 in Mortgage Financing | Permalink | Comments (0)
Waterfront principles take shape
The future of the Toronto waterfront is still up in the air, but planners are working hard to bring it back down to earth.
Presenting its final plan for the East Bayfront, a team from the Boston-based firm of Koetter Kim painted a portrait yesterday of the lakeside as a fully engaged part of the city. Their vision of the waterfront includes a densely built up neighbourhood where tens of thousands of Torontonians will live, work and play.
Though many questions remain unanswered — e.g. the fate of the Gardiner Expressway, the configuration of Queens Quay and Cherry St. — certain basic principles are taking shape.
For instance, planning consultant Fred Koetter argues that the public promenade that runs along the water's edge should be between 20 and 25 metres wide. Some will complain that's not enough, but based on research done in successful waterfront cities around the world, that seems ideal. Such a strip would be broad enough to accommodate pedestrians, retail, residential and institutional use as well as vehicular traffic when required.
Anything wider would be too wide; after all, the intention is to transform these former industrial lands into a fully urban district. That means the water's edge must be fully accessible at different times and seasons for different reasons, not just leisure and amateur sports. In other words, it must include working people and residents, not just tourists and Sunday-afternoon picnickers.
Bordered by Jarvis and Cherry Sts., Lake Shore Blvd. E. and the water, the East Bayfront will also have a major cultural component. Though details are still not determined, officials of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corp., which is overseeing the multi-billion-dollar project, imagine a floating concert venue, maybe an enclosed botanical garden and an aquarium.
The foot of Jarvis would be set aside as a primary public area, with landmark attractions and a tall, thin skyscraper that acts as a kind of waterfront beacon. In contrast, the bottom of Sherbourne St. would be turned into a compact green space, surrounded by buildings on three sides. The old silos at the end of Parliament St. could find new life as a hotel, a museum, shopping complex, whatever. The point is that they could anchor Queens Quay at the east end, serving as a place of transition between the urban precinct to the west and a more natural area on the other side.
Of course, transit is key to opening up the waterfront and Koetter suggests a streetcar line running along the centre of an expanded Queens Quay all the way to Cherry St. and beyond. Though Toronto has had some bad experiences with its LRTs, here the idea makes sense. Properly landscaped and integrated, it could provide the kind of access to the waterfront that is critical to its revitalization.
Koetter also proposes that buildings along Queens Quay, which would be widened to 43 metres, would be no taller than 40 metres. Closer to the lake, the height limit would be half that, but up to 60 metres by the Gardiner.
As it stands, however, fully 60 per cent of the land in the East Bayfront remains in private hands. Though waterfront corporation staff are optimistic, the scheme will depend on owners' agreement. They would be hopelessly wrong-headed not to go along with the corporation, which will, don't forget, ultimately increase the value of their property beyond anything they could do individually.
In the meantime, the provincial minister of infrastructure renewal, David Caplan, is waiting for a review of the corporation's governance. This report, due in September, will examine whether the agency has the powers it needs to do its job. If its authors have done their job, they will tell Caplan the body must be able to make real estate deals, borrow money and even expropriate land when necessary.
With all that in place, waterfront renewal can finally become a reality. Koetter would like to see the first projects happen on Lower Sherbourne. The mix of public and private initiatives would give understandably skeptical Torontonians a chance to see what the city could become if we let it.
- from TheStar.com
July 28, 2004 in Location, Location ... | Permalink | Comments (0)
New house prices continue to rise
Reported by CBC News, the cost of new houses continued to rise in June as builders boosted their asking prices by 0.8 per cent from the previous month, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
The June increase followed a gain of 0.7 per cent in May.
In its survey of prices in 21 urban centres across the country, Statistics Canada found that monthly prices were up in 18 cities.
Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts hit 239,300 in June, relatively unchanged from May, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban housing starts did not change from the previous month and remained at 208,500 units in June. Starts of urban single homes decreased 5.7 per cent in June to 101,900, but urban multiple starts rose 6.2 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 106,600.
July 27, 2004 in Watching the Market | Permalink | Comments (0)
Buy a condo, get a BMW?
Condo ownership comes with car privileges
In today’s real estate market, you wouldn’t think condo developers would offer incentives like a BMW luxury car to attract buyers. But that’s what’s happening at one Toronto condominium development.
Those who buy into the Lotus Condominium also get the right to use new BMW 3-series cars belonging to AutoShare, a Toronto car-rental company. Essentially, the new buyers get a free membership from AutoShare, and can then make use of the BMWs located “just steps away,” the company says, for as little as $9 per hour, the company says.
What’s more, residents can save a bundle, according to Autoshare, which puts the price of a parking space at $20,000 or more, and says the Canadian Automobile Association estimates the cost of driving a car in Toronto at $9,000 per year.
Residents will have access to the cars on a 24-hour basis, with no minimum usage, and get discounts for long trips. Usage is billed on a monthly basis. There are no charges for gas, insurance, or maintenance.
In addition to the BMWs stationed nearby, residents will also have full access to the entire AutoShare fleet in 45 other Toronto locations through the program.
- from RealorLink™
July 27, 2004 in Buying a Home | Permalink | Comments (0)
Canadians manage mortgage debt
Home buyers snap up variable-rate mortgages
A report from Clayton Research says that while Canadians are taking on large amounts of debt, lower interest rates have actually reduced carrying costs in relation to person income. A major factor in higher relative debt level, the report says, has been the shift from rental to home ownership among Canadian households.
According to the FIRM Residential Mortgage Survey, the average mortgage debt per mortgage holder was $85,500 in March of 2004, compared to $73,800 four years ago. Average household income has increased $10,000 during the same four year period, and so has average home equity. It was $81,800 in March 2000, and reached $110,600 in March 2004, according ton the FIRM study.
Variable-rate mortgages are also tempting a growing number of Canadians with low interest rates, some of them lower than three per cent and promising substantial savings over fixed-rate mortgages. While choosing a deal that floats with the bank prime rate might seem like rolling the dice on a home, variable-rate mortgages are popular because they currently undercut their fixed-rate cousins by two to three percentage points.
The key element of variable-rate borrowing is the link to banks' prime lending rates, with special discount offers of up to one percentage point. It also requires consumers to determine their own comfort level and it demands -- above all -- vigilance.
Variable-rate mortgage holders have to stay aware of current interest rates because they can spike up, though most analysts are predicting only modest-paced increases for the next year. A Bank of Canada survey released this month says its senior managers foresee slightly higher inflation -- which makes it very likely the central bank will boost interest rates as early as September.
If the prime rate climbs two or three per cent, a variable-rate mortgage costs a lot more. But at this point, analysts feel interest rates will only creep up, probably not much more than one per cent over the next year.
Most banks and lenders offer consumers the option to lock in to a standard fixed-rate mortgage when they feel the prime is going up too much or too fast. Beware of extremely low-rate variable mortgages that don't have a lock-in option -- if interest rates skyrocket, you are tied to them with no way out until the mortgage term is up.
"There's never a perfect time, but there's a better time than others to make that decision," says Colin Dreyer, president of the Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders. “Variations (in interest rates) are always going to be there. You can't predict rates," says Dreyer.
About one-third of all Canadian residential mortgage holders are going with variable-rate mortgages tied to a prime rate currently around 3.75 per cent. "I think people look at that and say, 'I can buy more real estate because of that aspect of it," says Dreyer. "It's the affordability factor."
Paul Mims, vice-president of CIBC Mortgages Inc., says the popularity of variable-rate mortgages has seen an explosion in recent years because of low rates. "If you'd asked five years ago, it would have been less than five per cent [of the mortgage market]," says Mims. "The CIBC portfolio was less than 10 per cent. And now we're 50- per-cent variable."
July 26, 2004 in Mortgage Financing | Permalink | Comments (0)
In a New York's Hot Market ...
Everyone Wants to Be a Developer
So you doubled your money on your condo and you think it's time to start your own real estate dynasty. Or perhaps you just want to build something both beautiful and substantial, a graceful blend of brick, steel and glass, that will make you both proud and rich.
If you hear the inner voice of the master builder inside you, you are not alone. At this boom time in the real estate market, there is a pack of first-time developers on the hunt for vacant land and development sites, babbling about prices per square foot, and for better or for worse, struggling to do the deal of their dreams.
There are real estate brokers weary of doing deals for other people, lawyers with a yen for adventure, exiles from Wall Street, doctors, businessmen and artists getting into the game. While they may not yet be ready to go toe to toe with Donald Trump or Larry Silverstein, some have gotten some dirt under their fingernails and experienced the fears and thrills of real estate development.
This new frenzy of interest may be a sign of the enduring strength of the New York real estate market. But some developers say it could also be a contrarian indicator suggesting that the market may be getting just a little too hot. Remember, they say, when thousands of people quit their jobs to become day traders, just before the Internet stock bubble burst a few years back.
"We are seeing new faces," said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which represents the interests of the big-time Manhattan developers and real estate institutions. "There is a great deal of money available, and everyone believes that New York is an investment that can't lose."
In Brooklyn, a sculptor and installation artist, Cosimo Cavallaro, who once made a two-hour film of a burning piano, and covered a house, a hotel room and the model Twiggy with cheese all in the name of art (his Web site is www.cosimocavallaro.com), spends his time noodling with his architect, Marvin H. Meltzer, and prospecting for financial partners.
Mr. Cavallaro, a Canadian who in an earlier life made what he calls a small fortune in television commercials, wants to convert his home and studio in a former bakery on Kent Avenue, a few steps from the Williamsburg Bridge, into an 11-story luxury apartment tower, with dramatic views that he hopes will also make a significant artistic statement.
"I want to build something that is beautiful; I can't build a thorn in the sky," he said with a sigh.
The building he envisions would be called the Punctilio, a tower of glass rising out of the remnants of his current brick building, with one 2,000-square-foot apartment on each floor, topped by a deck with a pool. He hopes to sell the apartments for at least $800 a square foot, or $1.6 million each. But he still hasn't decided whether to put in a garden on the ground floor or commercial space.
In Queens, Mitch Perl, a former nightclub owner and commercial real estate broker, borrowed money from friends and relatives to complete the purchase of a five-story factory building in Glendale, on the edge of a neighborhood of 16-foot-wide row houses, and the Cypress Hills Cemetery.
Now he and his partner, Richard Bronsky, an old friend and contractor, spend most of their waking hours supervising the construction of 68 condominiums in the factory building and a new three-story building they are putting up beside it, constantly refining the finish and details. They are making a big bet — that spacious condos priced at under $400,000 will sell in a neighborhood of small 16-foot-wide Archie Bunker-like houses that go for $450,000 up and where condominiums are all but unknown.
"Our hardest job is going to be educating buyers on what condos are," Mr. Perl said. "At first I thought we would do TriBeCa-style lofts, and then as I educated myself I realized the market was 100 percent local and people wanted something else."
- from the New York Times
July 25, 2004 in Home of Dreams | Permalink | Comments (1)
