Check out the sales pitch for the Queen & Asbridges project at 1555 Queen, on land that the City owns!
"Luxury meets tranquillity in this brilliantly designed project, located at Queen Street, Toronto. The Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto, where the project is located, is one of the most coveted living areas in the city. "
Luxury. Coveted. But not a word mentioned about "affordable housing." Odd, since that was how it was sold to the neighbourhood, but that's not how it's being sold by the developer. Steam Room. Yoga Studio. Spin Room. Concierge. That's pretty swanky! Priced at $849,900 to $2,999,000! How much income do you need for a $1 million condo? Roughly $150K to $200K, with a $200K down payment. For a $2 million condo? $300k to $400K. Likely not affordable for most.
These 350 new luxury condos are getting snapped up fast the agent says. Rest assured that the few units of affordable housing are in the separate building or confined to the 3rd floor! The rich won't have to worry about sharing the Steam Room... So class-ist. So segregated. So elite! It certainly isn’t the “inclusive and well-integrated community” they made it out to be.
This is the kind of bait and switch game the city has played. Its why they need to build skyscrapers…rich people want those multi-million dollar Beach views on the 17th floor. Beach views that no one else is allowed to have because the height limit is 6-stories, but the elite have figured out a way to get it!
Now they will figure out how to get more of those unobstructed Beach views. Councillor Bradford is promoting an even taller 18-storey skyscraper on city property, this time in our Ward at 1631 Queen. And yes, we know this development is a rental and not a condo but the same misguided premise that "the market units pay for the affordable ones" is being applied.
If this proceeds, it will strip us off our protection and will open the door to more high-rise towers. Developers want to cash in on the "coveted" Beach real estate. Say no to high-rise towers in the Beach before its too late. Sign the petition and join the 2,500 Beachers who have already signed. Love the Beach! https://www.change.org/1631-queen