Galway - St. John's Newest Development

[IronMan]

$399,999 for a townhouse! Wow! They are not that nice!!!

[Marty_Mcfly]

400k to live in an ugly townhouse and be able to hear your neighbours? AND be far away from the rest of the city? WHAT A STEAL

[wmemeadusjr]

400K is too much for a townhouse? Hell yes.

Ugly. No. I think they look great. Far better that red vinyl siding on the entire row on a barren, tree-less street full of dangling overhead wires.

[Engibeer]

Originally Posted by wmemeadusjr

400K is too much for a townhouse? Hell yes.

Ugly. No. I think they look great. Far better that red vinyl siding on the entire row on a barren, tree-less street full of dangling overhead wires.

I'd have to agree on both points. I think the design is quite nice, much better than similar new builds with garages I have come across downtown (Casey St, Carter St, Prescott St).

With that said, the price is definitely...reaching. I would expect these to realistically sell in the ~$350k range. Just my opinion though.

[goodgrowth]

Yeah I wasn't trying to imply anything about the price, but the price was part of the image...

I lived in one of these 3 story type townhouses for a bit. You'd be surprised how much space overall there is. Also I'm pretty sure it's typical for these townhouses to have some sort of soundproofing in between them. I don't remember hearing the people next door when I was in one.

Certaintly not for everyone though...

Either way definitely don't think they are ugly...certaintly not by St. John's standards..

[IronMan]

I agree that the design is attractive, a modern look for sure. Regarding the price, seems like the developers of Galway are thinking high end anyway. 400K is too much for a townhouse, even if it is in the esteemed Galway.

[Arrakis]

There is just one building so far at the Galway Business Park
Here is a picture I took recently. Not sure what business it is.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f6&oe=5B3A2CE8

[Copes]

Anyone been out to the Galway open houses?

I'm on the fence about Galway. I think it is going to attract a lot of people, but I just can't wrap my head around the prices or where the buyers are coming from. The houses are gorgeous... they're fantastic. However, the $399,000 townhouses have got to be the cheapest product out there. I think that the single-detached houses I walked through ranged from $500k to $650k. I feel like they are pricing for amenities and a lifestyle that simply doesn't exist yet. I also feel like there is going to be a new story in 6 months about slow sales.

Also, long-time no see friends! Hope all is well!

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by Copes

Anyone been out to the Galway open houses?

I'm on the fence about Galway. I think it is going to attract a lot of people, but I just can't wrap my head around the prices or where the buyers are coming from. The houses are gorgeous... they're fantastic. However, the $399,000 townhouses have got to be the cheapest product out there. I think that the single-detached houses I walked through ranged from $500k to $650k. I feel like they are pricing for amenities and a lifestyle that simply doesn't exist yet. I also feel like there is going to be a new story in 6 months about slow sales.

Also, long-time no see friends! Hope all is well!

Copes! Great to see a post from you

Word from my current realtor is that the sales in Galway aren't going very well right now. They seem to think that they're about to redesign the residential plan to include less high-end homes and to focus more on affordability. No way in hell I'm paying $650,000 to live in the middle of nowhere.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Copes! Great to see a post from you

Word from my current realtor is that the sales in Galway aren't going very well right now. They seem to think that they're about to redesign the residential plan to include less high-end homes and to focus more on affordability. No way in hell I'm paying $650,000 to live in the middle of nowhere.

I don't get this "middle on nowhere" argument. Metro St. John's isn't that big. I mean you are probably closer to downtown in Galway than most of Paradise and definitely all of CBS. Not to mention the new stores that are going to be right next to you.

In terms of prices and sales...yeah this thing is going to be a slow burn over decades imo.

[rthomasd]

Originally Posted by Arrakis

There is just one building so far at the Galway Business Park
Here is a picture I took recently. Not sure what business it is.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...f6&oe=5B3A2CE8

I believe it's Tristar Mechanical Ltd, opening this summer.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

I don't get this "middle on nowhere" argument. Metro St. John's isn't that big. I mean you are probably closer to downtown in Galway than most of Paradise and definitely all of CBS. Not to mention the new stores that are going to be right next to you.

In terms of prices and sales...yeah this thing is going to be a slow burn over decades imo.

Note that I never said CBS or Paradise weren't in the middle of nowhere as well Why would I pay over half a million dollars to live that far away from work and away from the rest of St. John's and its amenities (restaurants, theatres, mile one, etc) when I could find a similarly priced and designed home that's a 10 minute drive away from said amenities. These "new stores", minus Costco, are just a promise right now. You shouldn't buy based on a vision of the developers, because if that vision never comes to fruition then you're going to be massively disappointed.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Note that I never said CBS or Paradise weren't in the middle of nowhere as well Why would I pay over half a million dollars to live that far away from work and away from the rest of St. John's and its amenities (restaurants, theatres, mile one, etc) when I could find a similarly priced and designed home that's a 10 minute drive away from said amenities. These "new stores", minus Costco, are just a promise right now. You shouldn't buy based on a vision of the developers, because if that vision never comes to fruition then you're going to be massively disappointed.

I mean I not saying the prices are a good. But I don't think the location is bad. I'd actually argue it's a bit underrated. Because with Pitts Memorial Drive you basically have a highway directly into downtown. Like literally you pull out of Galway and the next stoplight wouldn't be until you get down to the Fortis building...

And between what's going in Galway and whats in Mt. Pearl next door there's going to be a decent amount of amenities in that area. The only thing really that won't be around is movies/mall. But I could even see theatres in Galway at some point.

[Offshore1]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

I believe it's Tristar Mechanical Ltd, opening this summer.

Yes, it's Tristar. Article here from The Telegram:

http://www.thetelegram.com/business/...centre-201741/

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

I mean I not saying the prices are a good. But I don't think the location is bad. I'd actually argue it's a bit underrated. Because with Pitts Memorial Drive you basically have a highway directly into downtown. Like literally you pull out of Galway and the next stoplight wouldn't be until you get down to the Fortis building...

And between what's going in Galway and whats in Mt. Pearl next door there's going to be a decent amount of amenities in that area. The only thing really that won't be around is movies/mall. But I could even see theatres in Galway at some point.

Galway is removed from the rest of the city. This is an unarguable fact. Its simple geography. Saying that it is a great location because it is easy to drive to other places 'from' there is not a good argument. Not even Costco can change that. It may have potential to be a great place - but facts are facts.

[goodgrowth]

Danny Williams claims victory over City of St. John's in Galway development spat:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...ight-1.4623624

On Tuesday, Williams said a judge ruled in his favour by allowing him to challenge city decisions in court, instead of accepting the decision of an arbitrator.

"We basically applied to court on a number of issues. The primary one was that mandatory arbitration, which is in the development agreements, denies our right to sue," Williams said.

"The court has ruled that that requirement for mandatory arbitration in the development agreement is outside the jurisdiction of the city. Therefore, they gave us the declaration that that cannot be that case, that we can't be required to compulsory sign on to arbitration."

[goodgrowth]

There is a story in the 2018 Horizons Business magazine about Galway. Not a whole lot in there but Danny mentions that they are in talks with retailers who will probably come after Costco opens. One he mentions is Cineplex. Nothing is finalized though.

[Arrakis]

Heard that Costco has applied to city hall to increase its size by about 60 feet and that it will likely be the largest store in Canada.

Makes sense to see Cineplex being wooed to go in Galway too.

I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Lowe’s go there too and eventually close up that run down Rona store in Paradise (my prediction). A large group of reps from Lowe’s were all here recently for weeks going through all the local locations. I think they are planning on rebranding the current Rona stores to Lowe’s.

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

There is a story in the 2018 Horizons Business magazine about Galway. Not a whole lot in there but Danny mentions that they are in talks with retailers who will probably come after Costco opens. One he mentions is Cineplex. Nothing is finalized though.

[goodgrowth]

Danny Williams in another dispute with City of St. John's over Galway:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...tial-1.4653027

The statement says that the city demanded DewCor provide free land to pile excess snow from snowclearing, and despite being opposed to the idea, DewCor did provide an acre of land.

Williams then said the city didn't use the land, and then asked DewCor to agree to a three-acre piece of land which the company reluctantly agreed to as to not delay getting building permits for the development.

The city then went even further, according to Williams's statement, and asked DewCor to "fully prepare the land to a high specification costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars."

The former premier said DewCor also agreed to do that, and offered to undertake a snow study at its own cost to see if the three-acre lot was necessary. Following that, Williams said the city then came back with another demand, that an eight-foot fence be build around the land, to which DewCor again agreed.

Williams said that DewCor wants the right to use the land for storage when it's not being used for snowclearing purposes, but that the city said it wants exclusive rights to use the land for "whatever they want beyond snow dumping," the statement said.

Williams told reporters on Tuesday that he "deeply regrets having invested in the City of St. John's" and wishes Premier Dwight Ball would transfer the Galway development to Mount Pearl.

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

Danny Williams in another dispute with City of St. John's over Galway:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...tial-1.4653027

Everything that this man touches turns into a fight. Can he work with anyone?