Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Pan Am Athletes Village Needs Months Of Work Before New Owners Move In

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Sep, 2015 10:46 AM
    TORONTO — Competitors in the summer's Pan Am and Parapan Am Games left the athletes village weeks ago, but it will be months before residents of the new downtown Toronto neighbourhood can move in.
     
    Pan Am crews are still tearing down temporary structures and removing 220,000 pieces of furniture and fixtures from the complex, which will then be turned over to Infrastructure Ontario and developer Dundee Kilmer at the end of the month.
     
    A spokeswoman for the Crown corporation says the units must then be converted into the condos, affordable housing units, commercial spaces and dorm rooms that make up the mixed-use development.
     
    Mandy Downes says only basic units were prepared for the athletes, with temporary walls serving as partitions to allow more people to stay in each unit.
     
    She says some spaces — such as the future YMCA facility and the George Brown College residences — may need less work.
     
    All units must be ready for their new owners by next spring and the cost of the conversion is included in the $514 million construction contract for the village.
     
    "When you look at it from the exterior, it looks like a perfect community, move-in ready," Downes said. "But really, there is quite a lot of conversion that needs to take place to make it liveable for the legacy owners."
     
    "There's no kitchens in any of the units right now because athletes and coaches and officials don't need kitchens for Games-time use, they have the dining hall," she said. "And so all of the kitchens will need to be installed in the market condos and all of the affordable housing rental buildings."
     
    The complex, dubbed the Canary District, contains 810 condos and townhouses ranging in price from the low $200,000s to $800,000.
     
    So far, 75 per cent have been sold, said Jason Lester, president of Dundee Kilmer.
     
    Another 253 units are set aside for affordable rentals, and an eight-storey building will house up to 500 George Brown students.
     
    Seven businesses, including a coffee shop, a spa, a gym and several restaurants, have already confirmed they will move into the retail space.
     
    The conversion is expected to be complete by the end of March, with owners and tenants moving in the following month.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Step Up Efforts On Syrian Refugees, Groups Urge Canadian Government

    Step Up Efforts On Syrian Refugees, Groups Urge Canadian Government
    OTTAWA — Pressure is mounting on the federal government to ease paperwork barriers and boost resources to help Syrian refugees settle in Canada.

    Step Up Efforts On Syrian Refugees, Groups Urge Canadian Government

    Canada Added 12,000 Jobs In August, Unemployment Rate Increases To 7.0 Per Cent

    Canada Added 12,000 Jobs In August, Unemployment Rate Increases To 7.0 Per Cent
    Signs that Canada's economy is beginning to pick up following a sluggish start to the year grew brighter Friday as Statistics Canada said the country added 12,000 jobs in August.

    Canada Added 12,000 Jobs In August, Unemployment Rate Increases To 7.0 Per Cent

    SkyGreece Files For Protection After Halting Operations, Stranding Hundreds

    SkyGreece Files For Protection After Halting Operations, Stranding Hundreds
    MONTREAL — SkyGreece Airlines has filed for creditor protection in Canada, a week after halting operations and standing hundreds of passengers.

    SkyGreece Files For Protection After Halting Operations, Stranding Hundreds

    Police Officer's Role In Premier Paul Davis Ad Raises Questions Of Rights, Restrictions

    ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The uproar this week over a police inspector's role in an online video endorsing the Newfoundland and Labrador premier is raising questions about rights and acceptable restrictions.

    Police Officer's Role In Premier Paul Davis Ad Raises Questions Of Rights, Restrictions

    Supreme Court Dismisses Chevron Appeal In Ecuador Environmental Damages Case

    Supreme Court Dismisses Chevron Appeal In Ecuador Environmental Damages Case
    The 7-0 ruling allows the case to proceed in Canada, but it makes no finding on the merits of the long-running legal saga that has played out in courtrooms across the Western Hemisphere.

    Supreme Court Dismisses Chevron Appeal In Ecuador Environmental Damages Case

    Photo Project With The New Yorker Magazine Features Residential School Survivors

    Photo Project With The New Yorker Magazine Features Residential School Survivors
    International photojournalist Daniella Zalcman has partnered with The New Yorker magazine to show her project on Canada's residential school survivors.

    Photo Project With The New Yorker Magazine Features Residential School Survivors