Latest news with #SkyTower
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Kelly McParland: How Toronto built a condo glut amid a housing shortage
Article content While agonizing over six-plexes, the city is eagerly filling its crowded core with a bevy of new towers so high they've been accorded their own descriptive. At least eight 'supertall' skyscrapers are in the works, the largest (for now) being the SkyTower at the very foot of Yonge Street on the Lake Ontario shoreline, in a neighbourhood once envisioned as a sort of waterfront oasis away from the downtown crowds, but long-since abandoned to forests of obstructive condo towers and office buildings. Article content SkyTower is just the first of six high-rises planned for an address that was previously home to the Toronto Star newspaper, traditionally a campaigner for a 'liveable,' low-rise city, but which decamped last year for a posh location a short distance away. Article content At 105 storeys, SkyTower is six storeys taller than 19 Bloor West, another 'supertall' planned farther north at the confluence of Yonge and Bloor, ground zero for high-end shoppers and fashionistas. That structure, in turn, is just down the street and nine metres taller than The One, a much-troubled 85-storey real estate catastrophe that's been through partnership battles, financial crises, creditor protection and high-wire legal warfare in the decade since it was announced as what would then have been the city's tallest condominium building. It's now being revamped and completed by a court-approved builder after failing to attract a buyer a year ago. Article content Glitzy as the supertalls may appear, they find themselves thrusting skyward in a market fast plunging in the opposite direction. A survey by research firm Urbanation Inc. reported that a total of just 502 condo units were sold in the second quarter across the entire Greater Toronto and Hamilton region, an area stretching well beyond Toronto itself to include some seven million people. Article content That's down 69 per cent from last year, and 91 per cent below the average of the past decade, the lowest levels in 30 years. Only 170 of those sales were in Toronto itself. Meanwhile, 19 Bloor West alone is expected to add almost 1,300 new units when it's completed. Article content Don't reach for your hankie just yet, mind. For years now, Toronto condo sales have been largely a game of buy-and-flip. Some 70 per cent of new units went to investors hoping to make a quick profit by flipping the end product once construction ended, or renting it out at eye-watering rates. But rents are falling along with the market glut, leaving investors holding units worth less than they agreed to pay and having trouble borrowing enough to cover the difference. Dozens of developments have been cancelled or delayed as a result, many stuffed with tiny units 400- to 600 square feet in size, built by developers persuaded people would happily attempt to raise families in shoeboxes. Article content Anyone old enough to remember when Canadian teams still won Stanley Cups should know that busts are as integral to the real estate business as tyrants are to Russia. There hasn't been a serious one in Ontario since a crash in the 1990s that lasted about seven years, so a substantial shock now could hardly be deemed unreasonable. Article content Maybe it will force some useful changes. Something has to happen to that mass backlog of tiny, unwanted boxes in the sky. You can't solve a housing shortage with base prices starting at $1 million. Nor can you pretend you're building 'homes' when seven in 10 go to quick-buck investors planning to flip them at the first opportunity. Article content If Toronto politicians want to get serious about a problem they love to moan about but never really address, they'll organize a future with fewer hundred-storey playpens that will 'Transform Toronto's Skyline' — as if that should be a priority for an overcrowded city with some of North America's worst traffic — and recognize that a few hundred six-plexes would do a lot more to serve home-hungry people than another vanity project in the sky. Article content
Scoop
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Wharenui Harikoa Welcomes Matariki 2025 At The Civic
In celebration of Matariki 2025, the nation's woollen wharenui returns to her place of origin — Tāmaki Makaurau. Wharenui Harikoa, the world's first crocheted wharenui, will open at The Civic in Auckland from 5 - 27 July – marking a powerful act of homecoming and aroha. Returning to her place of conception, creation and cultural roots is somewhat of an offering and a final gift to Aotearoa before she begins her international journey. Created by artists Lissy (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu) and Rudi Robinson-Cole (Taranaki, Ngāti Pāoa, Waikato, Ngāti Tahu/Ngāti Whaoa), the wharenui was born from a vision gifted in 2018. Crocheted with vibrant neon wool, it merges traditional Māori practices with modern technology, bringing joy, colour and connection to Aotearoa. 'This whare is aroha made physical,' says Lissy Cole. 'Stepping inside feels like entering the embrace of your kuia. It's a deeply maternal, deeply Māori experience rooted in aroha.' Presented by Auckland Live in collaboration with Lissy and Rudi, Wharenui Harikoa is a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience. Visitors are welcomed by karanga, drawn into the heart of the whare via a shifting soundscape created with taonga pūoro artist Libby Gray (Ngāti Rēhia, Ngāti Uepōhatu, Tama Ūpoko Ki Te Awa o Wanganui Me Ngāti Tūwharetoa anō Hoki) and musician Rewi McClay (Ngati Hine, Ngati Kahu). Lighting transitions from warm tones to pulses of fluro, guiding guests from the physical into the wairua realm. Every detail is intentional – each colour in the whare is described and given a te reo Māori name and vibration that supports visual and audio accessibility. The experience invites stillness, dreaming and reflection. The whare welcomes all visitors, children and kaumātua to experience the aroha of Wharenui Harikoa. To date, over 160,000 people have experienced the whare across Aotearoa. During Matariki, visitors will be invited to write their dreams at the foot of Hiwa or add to the sensory wall. These sacred hopes will be scanned and archived as a living taonga, and burned in a ceremonial release next Matariki. 'Wharenui Harikoa has become a vessel for dreaming, and healing. Connecting all people, and igniting joy globally', says Rudi Robinson-Cole. On 4 July the Sky Tower will light up marking the opening. From 5 July, the public can visit Wharenui Harikoa at The Civic. Entry is free, with donations welcomed via QR code to support more free and low-cost events presented by Auckland Live in Tāmaki Makaurau. Visitors can also register for a paid crochet workshop and free guided tours with the artists. 'We are excited to be presenting this extraordinary taonga in The Civic, where Aucklanders and visitors can experience its joy and love,' says Daniel Clarke, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director of Performing Arts, leading Auckland Live. 'We are opening the doors of The Civic, a treasured venue in Tāmaki Makaurau and inviting guests to step on stage and inside Lissy and Rudi's awe-inspiring creation, Wharenui Harikoa. While everyone will experience the Wharenui Harikoa in their own unique way it promises to be an unforgettable experience this winter. I encourage people to take part in one of the public programmes, whether it's a crochet workshop or an artist talk.'
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Auckland City aiming to do amateur football proud in Bayern Munich mismatch
Were you looking for a symbol to exemplify the gulf that lies between Auckland City Football Club and their rivals at the Club World Cup, you would find it at Kiwitea Street, the team's home ground. Hard up against the Sandringham suburb it serves, the roofs of the surrounding city's single-storey bungalows are visible from the one enclosed stand, and to the north there is nothing but the modest clubhouse and some incidental shrubbery to impede views of the Sky Tower's lonely tenancy in the distant skyline. This, certainly, is no towering football cathedral of the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City call home. Advertisement Related: Borrowed culture and a plasticine burger – welcome to the Club World Cup and almost-football | Barney Ronay On Sunday, the team more used to this humble environment and the 100-to-500 fans who usually turn out to watch will line up against one of the world's most famous and decorated clubs, Bayern Munich, Auckland City's first opponents in a group also containing Benfica and Boca Juniors. 'To be honest, I don't know if we have ever seen a matchup like this in sport,' the assistant coach Adrià Casals tells the Guardian from Chattanooga, Tennessee. 'But we can only play the game in front of us.' And what a game, one that represents the chance for footballers of more modest talents to test themselves against some of the world's best: Thomas Müller and Harry Kane could find themselves sharing the pitch with a genuine democratic cross-section of New Zealand life. 'All sorts,' says the captain, Mario Ilich, of a team containing a barber, a teacher, a real-estate agent and university students. Ilich himself works in the sales department of Coca-Cola, a job around which he moulds his football commitments, training three or four times a week after work and making frequent demands on his employer's goodwill in order to travel overseas. 'I've taken all my annual leave for this trip, so I won't be going on a holiday with my partner this year, that's for sure,' he says. The team qualified thanks to its long-standing domination of Oceania's Champions League, which they have won a record 13 times, most recently by beating Papua New Guinea's Hekari United in the Solomon Islands at the end of another leave-sapping football trip earlier this year. And while there are two professional clubs in New Zealand – the recently inaugurated Auckland Football Club and Wellington Phoenix – they compete in the Australian A-League, and, because they are not allowed to play in the Asian Confederation's continental competitions, they have no opportunity to qualify for the Club World Cup. Advertisement As it stands, this year marks the 12th time Auckland City have flown the Oceania flag at the Club World Cup — the team came third in 2014 — but because of its new group-based format, Sunday represents the first time they will meet a European team. The club's qualification has been assured since late 2023, but for Ilich the prospect of playing in the biggest game of his life has hardly sunk in. Even to see the Auckland City crest arranged next to that of Bayern Munich, he says, seems peculiar and much of the side's conversations have been about playing against teams they had grown up admiring as fans. Ilich is 'under no illusions' as to the size of the challenge, even if he seemed to allow for the chance of a fairytale. 'We all have a dream and that is to win football games, whatever game you're in. We know the task at hand is very difficult, but we want to just go out and make it as hard as possible for the opposition, and to just give the best performance we can.' For Casals, a Barcelona native who was 'running away from the game' when he settled in New Zealand only to be sucked back into its orbit by the club, Auckland City are playing not just for themselves, but for the vast majority of players worldwide who never get anywhere near the professional level. Advertisement 'We represent like 95% of the world's footballers. If we can stay true to who we are, if we can be brave, then we can make a lot of people proud of us and everything we represent as an amateur club from a small nation in the middle of nowhere.' At Kiwitea Street, as Saturday morning's rain retreated in a veil of towering clouds, a couple hundred fans watched as an Auckland City team robbed of their entire first-choice squad went down 2-1 to Waiheke United in New Zealand's national knockout tournament, the Chatham Cup. But thoughts were already turning to 4am Monday morning, New Zealand time, when players that fans were used to sharing a post-game drink with will make their cameos on football's global stage. Some hoped Auckland City would have a chance to express themselves, others that their team wouldn't be thrashed, that results wouldn't give succour to those opposed to Oceania's direct entry. Half a world away, Ilich and his teammates are doing their best to make those hopes a reality. 'We're fully focused on our performance and our plan, and on making sure everyone's on the same page. That way we can hopefully give the best representation of Oceania, of New Zealand, of our city and our club.'
Toronto Sun
06-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Colin and Justin: Tall tales
An historic older condo in Montreal, updated. ULYSSE LEMERISE BOUCHARD, MU ARCHITECTURE Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. In today's competitive market, it can be a challenge for older condos to square up against new construction This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Sky Tower, Toronto. The Shangri La, Vancouver. The Skyla, Montreal. Condo developers, cross Canada, are punching ever higher with an arsenal of statuesque supermodels that strut a skyline catwalk, now as crowded as city highways are thick. For those of us in older, smaller towers (at 39 floors up, in downtown Toronto, we're hardly vertiginous by today's standards) the foregoing ingenues can undermine perceived desirability. With a little planning, however, older versus newer competition can be redressed. Even ugly ducklings, under our guidance, can morph, without eye-watering investment, to become beautiful swans. Picture the scene: when we bought our condo in 2007, its seller seemed much more interested in a quick sale, rather than value amplification via 'lifestyle' quotient. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Finishes were basic, with gold shag carpet, a beige kitchen and unprepossessing bathrooms. Walls were builders beige, and the prevailing mood was gloomy. On the plus side, the rooms are bigger, the ceilings higher, and the skyline and lake views breathtaking, albeit hidden, back then, behind billowing drapery. Today, our formerly tired unit has reawakened. We've installed new bathrooms and a new kitchen with hidden appliances, ceiling-high cabinetry and grey Carrara counters. Ebony flooring runs throughout, and an army of pot lights floods the space with controllable illumination. Spray finishing window frames inky black (with consents from our condo board) and acres of white walls have transformed the high rise 'bungalow' into a somewhat Bauhausian space. A space that may one day provide financial return (but in the meantime generous daily return) should we ever decide to sell. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Botox for buildings Paint. Accent walls are one thing, but buyers typically prefer neutrally attired spaces. Crisp white is our default (pared-back schematics help bounce light) but bone and whisper grey are similarly sound bets. When did you last see a model suite tricked out in library green or dining room red? If you can't do without a colour jolt, specify a bold artwork or dramatize with textiles. But remember, less is more: let your space speak for itself. Flooring. Many older condos grace the market with thick, trip-hazard berber. Worse still, beige bathroom carpet that would challenge the most determined gag reflex. Cheaper than hardwood, it was quick to fit, but take a tip – tear it asunder and install engineered or hardwood flooring to max out dollar yield. In the condo market, compromised as it is, buyers will offer less if faced with installing new flooring. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Optimize circulation. To stimulate interest, clear passage to windows so views can be appreciated. Swap busy curtaining for crisp blinds, and define each room with its own function, rather than allowing hybrid bedroom/office/TV rooms to confuse. Lighting. Model suites set mood with auspiciously positioned table lamps and overhead fittings to create atmospheric pools of light and shade. Ditch those cruddy track spots and opt for slicker recessed pots, fire regs permitting. Socket to them. And, while you're at it, replace dowdy sockets and light switches with controllable updates that allow mood tailoring at the flick of a switch. Older plastic switches suggest that other 'older' things are going on out of sight, even if they aren't. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kitchens. You needn't break the bank when rejigging. For a streamlined look, fancy up affordable cabinetry with integrated appliances, choose stone or quartz surfaces and swap out your bulky dishwasher for a modern drawer beauty by Fisher & Paykel. Keep clutter at bay and 'counter scape' with sexy coffee machines and toasters. Remember: you're selling a lifestyle. Home spa . Updating an old vanity will reap rewards, as will new tile, replacement faucets and a smart towel stand. Complete with a slick mirror, and a few strategically placed luxury perfumes or aftershaves, and you'll be well on the way to creating an attractive environment for buyers. Think of your dated condo as a classic car – whilst some older vehicles end up on the scrapheap, others drive into the future as cherished, vehicular history. So, if you're moved to improve, polish those headlamps, oil that engine and hack your high-rise to become the concourse winning pad of which buyers have always dreamed. And watch those dollars stack up… Watch for Colin and Justin on Citytv's Breakfast Television and Colin and Justin's Sub- Zero Reno on Paramount Plus TV. Find the Colin and Justin Home Collection in stores across Canada. Visit Ontario Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Olympics
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Haupai Puha on the rise of Luke Littler, with teenage sensation to feature at NZ Darts Masters
'I see the hundreds of people lining up outside just to see him,' said Puha, who is now based in Britain. 'He's done big things for the game, it's awesome. 'He's the last one to get to the tournaments, and fairly quiet. He just puts his headphones on and plays on his phone. 'He does get up and practise a little bit, but he's not grinding away. He's got that much natural talent that he doesn't need to.' Alongside Littler, defending NZ Darts Masters champion and world No 1 Luke Humphries has also been confirmed, while Stephen Bunting returns Downunder for the first time since 2015, alongside 2022 champion Gerwyn Price, with Chris Dobey making his first appearance. Two more players will be confirmed at a later date, with Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall all absent for family reasons. There will be five additional New Zealand qualifiers to compete alongside Puha, with Australian duo Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock also featuring. Littler competed in New Zealand for the first time last year and said he loved the experience. Discover more At the time, he said taking part in those lockdown events was challenging and played a key role in his development. 'I've enjoyed it. It's once a year for the fans here to see us play darts, so I just want to play my best for them. 'We had that competition in lockdown, facing Hopes and Ben [Robb], it was good to play them. It's been good speaking with them in person and experiencing their home.' A brief break in the PDC schedule has allowed Puha to return to New Zealand, where he can spend time with his wife and kids, who have remained in Christchurch while he's been based overseas. Puha travelled to Auckland this week, where he jumped off the Sky Tower for the first time. With the landing pad turned into a giant dartboard, Puha became a human dart. The jump was to celebrate SkyCity becoming a naming sponsor for the event. It was a thrilling experience for Puha, who will be competing in the New Zealand Darts Masters for the sixth time. The Darts Masters first took place in 2015 in Henderson, where it spent four years, with Puha making his debut in the final year in 2018. The event then shifted to Hamilton in 2019 but was not held again until 2022 because of Covid. Now back in Auckland and taking place in New Zealand's biggest indoor arena, it promises to be the biggest event yet. As Puha gets limited chances to play in New Zealand, he's excited about walking on stage in front of a home crowd. 'They're not too friendly overseas, so I'm looking forward to actually getting the crowd behind me. 'My family comes up there in the crowd and I always look out for them. A lot of people wearing my shirts and it's very humbling to come home and see that. 'I think everyone's going to be excited. I know I am, and hopefully I can perform.' Advertise with NZME. Last year, Puha created history by becoming the first Kiwi to win a PDC Tour Card, gaining entry to the pro circuit, where the world's top 128 players are. He has until the end of the year to reach the top 64. If he fails, he faces having to go to qualifying school again. The rankings are based on earnings over a two-year period and Puha is currently 88th, with £24,000 (NZ$53,700). As it stands, he will have to more than triple his earnings this year to crack that mark. 'I feel like I've gotten better,' he said. 'The numbers say that I haven't, but the experience has done me wonders. 'I've got a long way to go, and I've only got six months, so it will be tough but it's not impossible. 'I need to make the worlds again, that will be pivotal.' While in New Zealand, Puha has been enjoying the other sport he is passionate about: golf. While focusing on darts in Britain, Puha tends to stay off the greens. Besides, other dart players are not keen on playing him at golf. That's because Puha was an accomplished golfer before switching to darts, winning the New Zealand Māori Golf Match Play championship in 2010 and 2012. Despite not picking up a club for four months, he shot a 68 at his local course in Avondale, Christchurch, which has a par 70. 'I hacked it around,' joked Puha. 'I was a little rusty. 'After a few beers, they twisted my arm to play the club champs qualifying the following day, and I shot 68 again. 'I played again on the weekend, shot 69 on Saturday and 70 on Sunday. Probably wasn't as pretty as the score says, but I miss it.' Puha will play some darts events in New Zealand, before returning overseas with his next big event being the World Cup of Darts in Germany in June, where he will play alongside Mark Cleaver.
