Le Crystal de la Montagne - 27 étages (2008)

[monctezuma]

Disappearing views from Montreal condos

 

 

By Allison Lampert, THE GAZETTE August 20, 2012

 

Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier, The Gazette

 

Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier, The Gazette

 

Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier, The Gazette

 

MONTREAL, QUE: AUGUST 08, 2012--Jacques Schonberg is looking at the fabulous view from the balcony of his condo in downtown Montreal.When he bought his 23d floor condo at the Crystal a few years ago, he understood that his view of the Olympic Stadium and the St-Lawrence river would be the view he'd get to keep, despite new condo projects planned right across the street.

MONTREAL - It was little more than a skeleton of concrete and girders back then, but Jacques Schonberg fell in love at first sight with the unfinished downtown condo because of the views.

 

From that René Levésque Blvd. apartment, which he later bought, Schonberg could see the St. Lawrence River, the Olympic Stadium and summit of Mount Royal. But with new condo towers to go up to the east and south of him, Schonberg expects the view from his expansive 23rd floor balcony will soon be replaced with a close up of glass and steel.

 

“I come home every night thinking, ‘wow I live here, the view is just spectacular.’ Now I’m trying to figure out how my view of the Mountain will get killed,” he told The Gazette, pointing at a tall residential tower visible below the foliage of Mount Royal. “You see the Port Royal? That’s one building. Now imagine a plethora of them.”

 

While new construction shouldn’t block views of Mount Royal — the height of developments near the mountain are regulated — recent zoning changes allowing for taller projects in certain parts of downtown, along with the low-interest rate fuelled housing boom, have triggered plans for a wave of towers in a city still unaccustomed to 50-storey residential buildings.

 

Despite predictions by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. for a slowdown in Canada’s largest residential real estate markets this year and next, Montreal’s downtown Ville Marie borough said recently the city is still in the midst of an “unprecedented” development wave, with more than 36 new projects under way.

 

But this blitz of parking-lot to tower conversions in Montreal, hailed by developers as an integral part of urban living, has created a new casualty. Views, usually bought at a premium by buyers, are now beginning to disappear within a few years as the next project goes up.

 

It’s a reality that concerns heritage activists and also serves as a cautionary tale for Montreal buyers preparing to spend thousands of dollars for the sight of the perfect city landscape that might morph into the close-up view of a building five years later.

 

“We’re really spoiled in Montreal,” one high-end downtown real estate broker observed. “We’ve bought condos for the views (in the past) and we’ve actually been able to keep our views.”

 

In Montreal and Vancouver, municipal authorities have traditionally called for larger distances between developments than say in Toronto, as a way to protect privacy, views and light. But that’s changing in Montreal as higher land prices have towers soaring to new heights to be financially viable.

 

Schonberg, for example, acknowledged that he never expected the vast expanse of parking lots near the Bell Centre, across the street from where he bought his condo at the high-end Crystal de la Montagne, would become condo towers. He said, however, that he and a few other Crystal residents were under the impression that any future development at the empty lot on the east side of de la Montagne St., would be built farther back and not exceed 22 stories. In other words, tWWhat it would be lower than the 26-storey Crystal.

 

But instead, the Crystal’s developer, Metropolitan Parking Inc., is building Tour Icône, with 38-storeys, on the lot just across the narrow street.

 

“We recognize that we can’t stop progress,” Schonberg said. “But when it’s that close it becomes ludicrous.”

 

Metropolitan vice-president Michael Dickey said the development across the street from the Crystal was always expected to exceed 22 stories.

 

“I have no idea where they’re getting the idea of 22 stories,” he said. “It (building towers) is called urban living. “That (making towers shorter) would mean that none of us could build on empty sites.”

 

While there are no set rules governing the distance between two new condo towers in downtown Montreal, several factors are looked at by authorities in the Ville Marie borough before authorizing new projects: the density of the site, the shape of the building, and its impact on the views from and toward Mount Royal, a spokesperson for the Ville Marie borough said. Tall buildings like the Icône, for example, could have their base constructed to the sidewalk, but the actual tower — above around the ninth floor — would have to be set back.

 

In April, the city of Montreal approved new zoning that would allow developers to build higher, denser buildings in certain parts of downtown. The change was approved to facilitate the conversion of empty parking lots into towers, which bring in added tax revenues to city coffers.

 

Since then, three other projects exceeding 35 stories have been announced for the area around the Bell Centre, including the twin-tower Roccabella, l’Avenue and the Tour des Canadiens.

 

The announcements prompted Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru to tweet a graphic this month designed to show the view of the river when all four buildings from the three projects are completed. The city, hungry for new tax revenues, has failed to recognize the broader impact these developments could have on the skyline, an integral part of Montreal’s identity, he said.

 

“The second you start putting the pieces of the puzzle together you get a different perspective,” Bumbaru said.

 

“We’d like to see a more collaborative approach to the design of the city’s silhouette or skyline.”

 

Heritage Montreal, he said, would not want to see the city emulate Toronto, which has the largest number of condo towers under construction in North America and significantly fewer regulations on heights and views.

 

“People here have no right to a view in Toronto,” said condo lawyer Audrey Loeb at the firm Miller Thompson in Toronto. “Views are just not a planning consideration. You take your chances.”

 

While buyers and developers have limited means to protect them from future developments, some real estate experts say particularly beautiful views can be worth up to five per cent of the value of a home.

 

“Obviously people buy on a higher floor because they want a nice view,” said Phyllis Tellier, a Montreal broker with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada who specializes in the downtown condo market. “People will visit at different times of the day to see what the view looks like. If you’re looking at a wall from your window, it’s not that interesting.”

 

Notary Jean-Claude Deslauriers, a Montreal expert in condo law, said the only way for a buyer to protect his or her investment in a view is to include the value of it within the purchase contract — especially if it’s been promised by the developer.

 

“If you buy something, you need to protect yourself. Words are cheap. Get it in writing,” Deslauriers said. “If you haven’t quantified the value of your view then it would become much more complicated. If you went to court you would need to bring in experts and then it would be up to a judge to decide for you.”

 

Litigation over views is extremely rare and judges don’t usually decide in favour of the buyer, Loeb said.

 

And buyers wouldn’t easily get such assurances from developers.

 

On their websites, most of the new projects surrounding the Bell Centre advertise beautiful views. Of course, with so many towers potentially going up, several of the condo units will simply have views of other buildings, a fact that is told up-front to prospective buyers, Bell Centre area developers told The Gazette.

 

“We were already aware that other towers were coming,” said Serge Labelle, vice-president finance of the development company building the Roccabella, just South of René Levésque Blvd.

 

Labelle acknowledged that his development company, MC Finance Inc., cannot predict whether new condos sold to buyers today will still have views of the St. Lawrence River in five or 10 years.

 

“It’s difficult to respond to this,” he said. “We can’t have any assurances that there won’t be any other projects in a few years. “It’s sure that the urban landscape is changing.

 

“The views might be different but that doesn’t mean they will be bad views.”

 

Tellier, who sells mostly at the condo building 1,200 de Maisonneuve, agreed that downtown buyers shouldn’t purchase a unit and expect to keep their view for 10 years, especially if the building is located near a low-rise building, or parking lot that could be transformed into a tower.

 

“How can you guarantee that?” she asked.

 

Instead buyers should focus on other attributes including location and the look and size of the condo itself.

 

“The way I see it is you’re buying in the middle of the city,” she said. “The view is important, but it’s not the only thing.”

 

With its high-end finishings, Schonberg’s spacious and minimalist condo at the Crystal has other features besides the spectacular views that attracted him in the first place. Still, Schonberg is advising other condo buyers who want views, to look for nearby empty parking lots, in addition to those spectacular sights of the river, or mountain.

 

While that might sound obvious near the Bell Centre, where there are for-sale signs at each corner, it’s important advice for other residential projects expected downtown.

 

“It’s really buyer beware,” Schonberg said. “Buyers need to visualise what’s going on around them.”

 

alampert@montrealgazette.com

 

@RealDealMtl

© Copyright © The Montreal Gazette

 

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Disappearing+views+from+Montreal+condos/7107190/story.html#ixzz24T18UOgu

Modifié 24 août 2012 par monctezuma

[FollowTheLeader]

too bad too sad...he should've known better

[LindbergMTL]

J'imagine qu'une facon de garantir de meilleures vues ce serait de construire de billet par rapport aux angles carres de la rue, ca reduirait l'impression de chlostrophobie, mais reduirait aussi la surface construisible sur le terrain. C'est pour ca j'imagine qu'on voit pas tres souvent.

 

Sent from my SCH-I500

[WestAust]

J'imagine qu'une facon de garantir de meilleures vues ce serait de construire de billet par rapport aux angles carres de la rue, ca reduirait l'impression de chlostrophobie, mais reduirait aussi la surface construisible sur le terrain. C'est pour ca j'imagine qu'on voit pas tres souvent.

 

Sent from my SCH-I500

 

Je serais meme pas surpris si la ville n'autoriserait pas cela, disant que ca ne respecte pas la trame urbaine, les "metrics" de reculs et autre!

[FrAgZ]

Lol ! Ahah !

[mtlrdp]

why doesn't the debris fall to the ground? why wasn't this on the news?

[peekay]

Ca fait du bien de voir des gens avec un bonne sens d'humeur sur ce forum!!

[Malek]

Dude j'ai effacé ça trois fois pas pour rien. Crois moi c'est pas le sens de l'humour qui manque ici. Sauf que c'est très douteux comme type d'humour.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[peekay]

Il y a rien de pire que de se faire censuré. Je trouve que t'exagere pas mal! C'est un joke et c'est une très bonne! Quel est la difference entre ca et se que j'ai écrit par rapport au centre de données? Au moins m'accorder un peu de respect pour expliquer le tout en privé avant d'effacer mes posts. Surtout quand j'ai ouvert mon portefeuille pour assister se site dans le passé. Tu me déçoit.

[Malek]

Écoute c'est pas drôle, calme toi!

 

Je veux pas ce genre de conneries, je ne veux pas d'attention négative sur le forum.

 

Désolé de te décevoir, mais ton 20$ ne te donne pas le droit de jouer au free for all ici.

 

Je croyais que t'avais saisi la première fois que j'ai effacé ton message, c'est écris dans le message pourquoi j'ai effacé.

 

Tu va recevoir un email d'ici quelques minutes avec ton remboursement de 20$.