The Coming Boom in Toronto’s Lower East Side
Toronto, October 08, 2019
By Ivan Kalinin
3 Reasons why investing in Lower East Side is a great investment right now
In many ways, buying real estate for its appreciation opportunity is like buying wine: anyone can pay $100/btl for some big name, but real talent and foresight is required to find something for $25 that, over time, will grow into something that drinks like $100. The keys, as with all investment, are foresight and patience.
So it is with Toronto’s Lower East Side – the neighbourhoods of The Distillery, Corktown, Regent Park, St. Lawrence Mkt. and the Lower Don Lands, which we think are the equivalent of a $25 bottle that’s going to drink like Tignanello in a few years. Let us explain:
First, in terms of access to the Central Business District, this area is a commuter’s dream, with relatively (by GTA standards) short commute times by streetcar, auto or bicycle. With the new TTC relief line plans, access to the CBD will only increase.
Second, in terms of pricing compared to other central GTA areas, these tend to be a little lower on the scale. A lot of this part of the city is not particularly gentrified yet and under- or undeveloped, with a significant amount of brownfield space. See our next point.
Third, there are three massive, major brownfield development projects scheduled for this part of the city over the next decade. They are:
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East Harbour:
First Gulf Development has 60 acres of land will be redeveloped into a mixed use office/commercial, retail, cultural and public amenity spaces. Construction will start in 2021 (they say). Of critical importance is a brand new transit station there linked to the greater Toronto system, along with new streetcar. More info: http://eastharbour.ca/
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PortlandsTO:
25 hectares of land will be cleaned up from pollution, the Don River re-engineered to prevent flooding and a new urban park system developed at the mouth of the river. It may be one of the few places you’ll actually be able to get flood insurance in Toronto in the near future. It’s going to be beautiful: https://portlandsto.ca/about/
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Sidewalk Labs:
The much discussed Sidewalk Labs redevelopment of the Harbourfront east, with the Google Smart City. 190 acres will be dedicated to a cutting-edge technology-packed area. https://www.blogto.com/tech/2019/06/sidewalk-labs-master-plan-toronto/
Add to these the fact that there aren’t that many pre-construction projects planned for the area (River and Fifth is one of them and is currently >$1,100/sqft.) and you come to the conclusion that buying a resale property has a tremendous potential for appreciation over the next 8-10 years.
If you think that this medium term investment might be for you, drop me a line and I’ll be happy to chat more about it and how it might fit your realty goals and aspirations.
