People talk a lot about balance. They also talk a lot about having it all. These things would seem mutually exclusive. As a car enthusiast, allow me to slip in a little driving metaphor. You have a contact patch on each tire, literally where the rubber meets the road. Your stability depends on maintaining traction [...]

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By Sam Reiss Living in the 416, it’s easy to get into a state of self-satisfied navel-gazing. In a good way – it’s nice to cocoon and talk condos. But even Whiarton Willie sticks his head up once a year. Since spring is very nearly (in name, if not in weather) upon us, it seems [...]

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Don’t people love to complain? It’s never a nice quality to be critical without being solution-oriented but, alas, it seems to be a specialty of politicians everywhere. This week, and not for the first time, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) came under fire, as a Private Member’s Bill was tabled in the Ontario Legislative Assembly [...]

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The city is once again threatening to double-down on development fees. The Star reports that City officials are proposing a doubling of development charges on new condo and housing projects around the 416, a jump that would see charges go from about $8,300 for a one-bedroom condo to $17,350! Needless to say, that’s an increase [...]

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With all the NIMBY objections to bringing a casino to Toronto, perhaps it’s time we took an entirely new approach. Instead of cloaking the objections in concern for neighbourhood character, or the erosion of family life, or the potential for bringing down property values (which, historically casinos don’t), let’s talk about what’s really at stake [...]

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It wouldn’t be news to tell you that Toronto is experiencing a huge vertical density surge. We — and by “we” I mean all those of us with the slightest provocation to comment on condos, building, the GTA, or local politics; it’s been THE hot topic of the last year or two — all know [...]

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Mayor Rob Ford on his weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show this week said he was going to make good one of his campaign promises: to lower the land transfer tax in the 416. “We’re going to get rid of 10% of it coming up in the next few months. We’re going to put something on [...]

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By Sam Reiss This week, Oxford properties released more detailed renderings of how their proposal for a new MTCC might look, including new podium buildings, landscaped park deck, new residential and office tours, hotel, and of course, the infamous casino. By the renderings, it looks like attention has been paid to the street-level experience, in [...]

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