Ritz Carlton (rénovations et agrandissement) - 12 étages - 100M$ (2013)

[Vaillant]

hahaha good one

 

I am trying to think who is willing enough to buy a $12 million condo. There is a few people with that kind of means in Quebec. I guess they could use is as a corporate logging for future investors to stay when they are in the city, but thats a long shot.

 

For sure wouldn't be any Russian or Saudis, seeing we have no oil here in Quebec.

 

So it leaves some sort of electronics / telecommunication firm to purchase it.

 

I guess some rich person can use it for their 3 day summer pad during Grand Prix weekend lol

 

Anyways back to the numbers. $12 million (7000 sq.ft) = $1,714.29 per sq.ft

 

We just need to find 100 members and we each pay $120,000. It be a nice time share We would all have like 3 days each.

 

ok j'embarque!

[ToxiK]

Je suis surpris que le Frapru ne décide n'a pas demandé pour des logements à prix réduits!!!

 

Et ils auraient parfaitement raison. Ce n'est pas parce quelqu'un est pauvre qu'il n'a pas le droit de vivre dans le luxe. Et s'il n'a pas les moyens de se payer ce luxe, c'est au gouvernements de lui payer. Comment trouver l'argent? La richesse existe! Prenons la ou elle est. Il faut taxer davantage les riches, aux alentours de 120%-130% de leurs revenus. Ainsi, ils devront vendre à rabais leurs luxueux condos et le gouvernement pourra les racheter avec l'argent qu'il aura été chercher auprès de ces même méchants riches.

 

Vivre le luxe n'est pas un privilège que l'on obtient en travaillant fort (ou en héritant!), mais un droit acquis à la naissance. De plus, un riche ne profite pas vraiment d'un condo de luxe. Pensez-y, il passe son temps à travailler et à voyager. Un BS (ou plutôt l'archetype caritural du BS) passe son temps chez lui et ne sort que pour acheter de la bière, des cigarettes, des chips et des billets de loteries et, une fois par mois il va chercher son (ou ses) cheque(s) de BS. Il passe donc environ 23h par jour chez lui, c'est donc une meilleure utilisation d'un condo de luxe...

 

(PS: Ce post était du sarcasme. Juste vous prévenir...)

[jesseps]

Condo Buffet

 

On the gutted eighth storey of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Andrew Torriani walks across white marble floors turned grey from dust.

 

But despite the renovations under way, Torriani, president and CEO of the historic Ritz-Carlton Montreal, can imagine the hardwood floors, glass walls and marble finishes to come.

 

After being delayed a year, and suffering $30 million in extra costs, he says, the Ritz's über-luxury residence and 130-room hotel project - when complete - will stand above the city's array of existing high-end condominiums.

 

"It's the details - details you wouldn't have believed existed," Torriani said while touting the benefits of Ritz ownership to a reporter this week.

 

The Ritz's 46-unit residence - to open about winter 2011 - follows the injection of nearly 280 other high-end condo units into the city since 2007.

 

Plus, Monit Investments insists its plans for a $200-million downtown Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residence, with 100 condos and 225 hotel rooms, will go ahead near the corner of Sherbrooke and Guy Sts.

 

These condos, which can cost millions of dollars per apartment, are developers' response to a robust market, aging demographics and rock-bottom interest rates that have incited buyers to upgrade their homes.

 

Some hail the trend as a boon for Montreal as it lures the elite back to the city.

 

Former SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. CEO Guy Saint-Pierre bought one downtown, while Bombardier Inc. Chairman Laurent Beaudoin was considering a condo at the posh Sir George Simpson.

 

But several real estate agents, brokers and developers interviewed by The Gazette question how many luxury condos Montreal can sustain above the key $500 a square foot price point.

 

"We really believe there is a limit in Montreal to the sale of condos over $500,000," said Richard Hylands, president of Kevric Real Estate Corp. which is building the more modest 115-condo Altoria project near Old Montreal.

 

"Basically we're offering a very good product. We're not selling indoor golf or an indoor theatre. The people we are selling to want quality but not high condo fees." Real estate observers say the proof is in the for-sale signs.

 

Despite offering striking views, private terrasses and hotel-style amenities, half of the 10 penthouses at Le Roc Fleuri on Drummond St. are empty - even though most of the 140-unit building is sold out. Meanwhile, five of the 31 condos at the Sir George Simpson building are for sale.

 

Since late 2008, the Ritz project has sold 17 of its 46 units.

 

"I think there is an over-supply of high-end condos in Montreal," said Pierre Laliberté, a specialist in condos with the real estate consulting firm Altus Group Ltd.

 

"When you try to sell a condo for $1 million for more, there aren't a lot of buyers." Veteran real estate agent, JJ Jacobs, president of JJ Jacobs Realty Inc., agreed: "The $1,000 a square foot market is a high market for Montreal," she said. "There have been some very big sales, but it's only so deep.

 

"Personally I don't know how many more the city can hold." Condo prices haven't dropped, however, because Montreal developers tend to have deep enough pockets to absorb the cost of the empty units, Laliberté said.

 

Recently, Montreal's high-end condo market has exploded with a handful of new buildings going up between 2006 and last year. Many were bought by aging empty nesters eager to exchange their houses for the convenience of a condo.

 

"There's going to be a portion of those buyers who are going to enjoy the downtown and they have the resources to do it," said Alan Marcovitz, president and chairman of the Westcliff Group of Companies, which built the sold-out Beaux arts condominiums on Sherbrooke St.

 

Even during a time of economic crisis, Montreal's resilient real estate market coupled with low interest rates, also motivated third and fourth time buyers to upgrade, Marcovitz said.

 

And with the economy improving, demand hasn't dwindled despite plans to slowly raise interest rates, he said.

 

"Your typical buyer is in a significantly better position today than a year ago." But most developers agree that few buyers of ultra high-end condos worry about interest rates.

 

"The challenge is finding the right buyers," said Daniel Lalonde, sales and marketing director for Le Roc Fleuri.

 

"We have a limited pool." In Montreal, wealthy buyers have a wide choice of homes - either condos or houses.

 

"They (high-end condos) sell, but you must really satisfy the buyers and this is a very discriminating clientèle," said Normand Lépine, vice-president of Groupe Lépine, which built Sir George Simpson, among other high-end buildings.

 

"The developer shouldn't under-estimate the amount of effort required. You must really have the right project." Among the basics, high-end condo buildings feature a 24-hour doorman, indoor pool, and spa or massage room.

 

Residents of the Ritz, the Crystal de la Montagne, and the Roc Fleuri's penthouses, have the added option of ordering in room service, getting their dry cleaning delivered, or even having a light bulb changed.

 

The Ritz project - which will cost up to $150 million including key indirect expenses - offers residents a private concierge.

 

It also has a back-up power system able to run the building at virtually full capacity in the event of a electricity failure, said Torriani, whose Monaco Luxury Hotel Management Co. is a risk-sharing partner in the Ritz project.

 

But sales at the Ritz - which closed as a hotel in 2008 - started slowly as the recession discouraged prospective customers.

 

Both the Roc Fleuri and the Ritz have attracted a significant number of foreigners - and these buyers feared for their stock portfolios and the future of Montreal's real estate market.

 

"They postponed their plans," said the Roc Fleuri's Lalonde. "It reduced the amount of visits I got from out of town buyers." Faced with the recession and unexpected construction problems - workers discovered asbestos deep within the Ritz's walls - Torriani decided to revamp his plans on a more grandiose scale.

 

To boost sales he brought in Liza Kaufman, a star real estate agent and managing director of Sotheby's International Realty Québec.

 

While 2009 started off slowly, Kaufman said business at the Ritz has picked up.

 

"If the building was already constructed I would have sold out yesterday," she said.

 

Kaufman, who has sold countless multi-million dollar homes said Montreal is more attractive to foreign buyers than locals realize.

 

"I think the market is evolving," she said. "We have to understand that our city has a lot to offer." Torriani said he isn't worried about a lack of local buyers with the financial means to live at the Ritz, which has an 8,000 square foot penthouse listed for $12 million.

 

Indeed, Torriani left his job as Air Canada's director of human resources, to run the Ritz, where he once worked summer jobs as a dishwasher and waiter.

 

His family, including veteran hotelier Marco Torriani, has a vast stake in the project's success.

 

Before leaving the Ritz's construction site this week, Torriani passes by a swathe of blue and cream brocade wallpaper and wood panelling outside the 98-year-old hotel's former boardroom.

 

The room, along with the hotel's façade will be preserved - vestiges of the Ritz's opening in 1912, when the city was booming and its status as "the Paris of North America" wasn't yet a cliché.

 

Torriani insists that today's economic climate - including the success of the Cirque du Soleil and "Quebec Inc." companies - is equally ripe for the Ritz's reopening, both as a high-end hotel and as a residence.

 

"I think we've seen a resurgence in the last five years or so," he said. "Montreal has a lot more wealthy people than you would expect." alampert@ thegazette.canwest.com Join Allison Lampert at our blog Inc. Ink for a tour of the Roc Fleuri's most expensive condo and see what $9.5 million will buy: montrealgazette.com/observer

 

 

High Life

 

What's it like to visit a $9.5 million penthouse?

 

It's surprisingly spartan when empty, or so I learned during a recent tour of the 21st to 24th floors of the Roc Fleuri in downtown Montreal. When it comes to owning a multi-million dollar condo - whether at the Ritz-Carlton, or at the Roc Fleuri - life at the top is about personal touches. Buy the top penthouse at the Roc Fleuri, a sprawling 9,000 square foot oasis with glass walls and three rooftop terraces, and you can decorate to your heart's content. You have your choice of hardwood floors, including the Brazilian walnut planks the developer used for his finished, 21st floor units.

 

Look outside the two-story penthouse and you can see as far as the St. Lawrence River. Inside, you can get a natural gas fireplace in your dining room, a wine cellar refrigerator in the kitchen and a custom-built steam shower in the Master's ensuite bathroom. Of course, your home will be turn key when you finally move in.

 

Building a glass bridge, however, across the round balcony overlooking the first floor would cost extra, noted Roc Fleuri sales director Daniel Lalonde.

 

And why bother doing your own laundry, walking your own dog, or cooking your own meal when you can have your pet and clothes picked up and a chef sent directly to your home? Feel sick? Nurses make house calls to the Roc Fleuri's penthouses.

 

So why are five of these penthouses still empty?

 

In Toronto, where prices are hitting $1,500 a square foot, buyers are gobbling up private units at the city's planned Four Seasons hotel and residence, in addition to regular luxury buildings.

 

What's a $12 million penthouse at the Ritz when Toronto's Four Seasons is boasting a $30 million, 9,000 square foot penthouse – the most expensive condominium in Canada. The Four Seasons is slated to open in late 2011.

 

But when it comes to wealth, Montreal isn't Toronto and it can take a little more effort to sell a $9.5 million condo here.

 

Part of the problem was the strategy Roc Fleuri salespeople took in marketing all of the original units without the finishings. Buyers need to be able to imagine where they're going to live, explained J.J. Jacobs, one of the city's top selling agents for condos. Jacobs, who initially handled some of the sales for the Roc Fleuri, said she recognized the problem and they finished some of the smaller (measuring over 2,600 square feet) penthouse units. She's pretty sure they'll move.

 

Another problem, one developer said, is the Roc's address south of Sherbrooke St. Even le Crystal de la Montagne on René Lévesque Blvd. has a 26th floor penthouse for sale.

 

If they haven't bought in Westmount, Montreal's elite want to live on, or above Sherbrooke St., the developer told me.

 

Sales director Lalonde is a realist. If the condo doesn't sell as is, Roc Fleuri management would consider dividing it into two separate apartments.

 

With 9,000 square feet, there's enough space for two buyers eager to live the high life.

 

(Courtesy of The Montreal Gazette)

Modifié 3 avril 2010 par jesseps

[JCC-Fromthere]

Condo Buffet

High Life

(Courtesy of The Montreal Gazette)

 

Montreal a besoin de plus de millionaires ou d'investisseurs etranger.

 

A titre de reference, un condo a ete vendu a Hong Kong en 2009 a HK$31,000/pied carre (a peu pres CDN$4000). On a paye le notre HK$4600/pied carre, considere comme un bargain...

 

C'est probablement difficile par contre de convaincre les Saoudiens de s'acheter un pied a terre a Montreal quand il fait -15 degres 5 mois par annee.

[acpnc]

Montreal a besoin de plus de millionaires ou d'investisseurs etranger.

 

A titre de reference, un condo a ete vendu a Hong Kong en 2009 a HK$31,000/pied carre (a peu pres CDN$4000). On a paye le notre HK$4600/pied carre, considere comme un bargain...

 

C'est probablement difficile par contre de convaincre les Saoudiens de s'acheter un pied a terre a Montreal quand il fait -15 degres 5 mois par annee.

 

Je crois que tu exagères un peu pour la météo et c'est certain qu'en véhiculant des mythes de températures sub zéros tu n'attireras pas beaucoup de monde. Soyons réalistes, l'hiver à Montréal c'est mi-décembre-janvier-février-mi-mars, donc 3 mois de froid potentiel entrecoupés de l'automne et le printemps, et qui selon la tendance des dernières années raccourcit peu à peu.

 

Nous ne sommes pas la seule ville nordique du monde et la plupart sont prospères en toutes saisons. Quant à moi je préfère nos hivers à la grisaille européenne où l'humidité te traverse totalement. Si nous savions mieux vendre nos hivers nous attirerions certainement une clientèle qui viendrait en vivre l'exotisme et le dépaysement assuré.

[JCC-Fromthere]

Je crois que tu exagères un peu pour la météo et c'est certain qu'en véhiculant des mythes de températures sub zéros tu n'attireras pas beaucoup de monde. Soyons réalistes, l'hiver à Montréal c'est mi-décembre-janvier-février-mi-mars, donc 3 mois de froid potentiel entrecoupés de l'automne et le printemps, et qui selon la tendance des dernières années raccourcit peu à peu.

 

Peut-etre...

Reste que c'est un obstacle pour beaucoup de gens. Ici, je connais plein de monde qui sont alles chercher leur citoyennete Canadienne pour ensuite revenir parce que c'etait trop froid. Moi-meme, l'hiver est une raison importante de mon depart.

 

Mais tu as probablement raison qu'en transformant l'hiver en atout, peut-etre en ciblant les infrastructures hivernale, ca pourrait changer une certaine tendance qui, comme tu dis, n'est probablement pas une tendance de fond.

[mtlurb]

Il faut 4 ou 5 ans pour avoir leur citoyenneté.

Ne les crois pas s'ils te disent qu'ils sont repartis à cause de la température.

[JCC-Fromthere]

Il faut 4 ou 5 ans pour avoir leur citoyenneté.

Ne les crois pas s'ils te disent qu'ils sont repartis à cause de la température.

 

3 ans pour la citoyennete.

 

Pour ce qui est du climat, je te guarantis que c'est un facteur. Dans mon cas, j'ai tendance a faire de la depression saisoniaire. Pas au point de se se foutre une balle dans la tete, mais c'est juste emmerdant. Et comme mon epouse est pas tres sport d'hiver, ca aide pas!

[mtlurb]

Donc tu me dis qu'ils sont venus ici 3 ans, ont vécu 3 hiver et qu'une fois leur citoyenneté obtenu, l'hiver est devenu insupportable au point de repartir (avec leur tout nouveau passeport canadien)?

 

C'est possible, mais franchement très louche.

[JCC-Fromthere]

Donc tu me dis qu'ils sont venus ici 3 ans, ont vécu 3 hiver et qu'une fois leur citoyenneté obtenu, l'hiver est devenu insupportable au point de repartir (avec leur tout nouveau passeport canadien)?

 

C'est possible, mais franchement très louche.

 

Non, non, l'hiver etait insupportable pendant 3 ans! Mais comme c'etait avant la retrocession de Hong Kong a la Chine (1997), il y avait beaucoup de Hong Kongais qui obtennaient la citoyennete Canadienne, juste en cas.

 

Il y a a aussi beaucoup qui sont retournes a Hong Kong (pas tous a cause de la temperature, bien entendu).