SOHO Italia [500 Preston St] | 96m | 30 fl | Completed

[cr872190]

How much longer do you think were going to have to wait for this one?

And how does this one impact the sales for phase 2 of Soho Champagne. Do they really think there will be enough buyers for this building plus another?

[Kitchissippi]

I noticed the revised rendering on their web page. Probably a lot of artistic license but it would be interesting for a building to be flared out on top

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I noticed the revised rendering on their web page. Probably a lot of artistic license but it would be interesting for a building to be flared out on top

Reminds me of 20 Fenchurch Street.

[Boxster]

By what we can see on the rendering, I hope these are not the only balnonies.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Boxster

By what we can see on the rendering, I hope these are not the only balnonies.

Personally, I've never been fond of towers with too many balnonies.

[Boxster]

Baloney!

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

personally, i've never been fond of towers with too many balnonies.

[OTSkyline]

I would hope this is what it is (flared top) and not just the perspective giving us an illusion.. Or else this building will be just a boring as all other SOHO properties...

[umbria27]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I noticed the revised rendering on their web page. Probably a lot of artistic license but it would be interesting for a building to be flared out on top

I like that it's in grey scale. That will really tone down the gaudiness of the Little Italy sign. Ottawa needs more grey scale streetscapes. #renderisreality

[Admiral Nelson]

The Toronto Ritz-Carlton has a flared top, well done in my view.

[Trans Canada]

The flaring is just an illusion due to tilt-shift. All the vertical lines of the building are parallel to the sides of the image instead of bending inwards as the building rises away. This has always bugged me as it misrepresents how the building will look in real life.

[Urbanarchit]

*

[jitterbug]

The sales centre on Preston is abandoned and the site is now partially fenced off with unpainted plywood boards. Looks awful, especially as a gateway into Little Italy just off Carling. Anyone know what's next for this sorry site?

[canabiz]

Originally Posted by jitterbug

The sales centre on Preston is abandoned and the site is now partially fenced off with unpainted plywood boards. Looks awful, especially as a gateway into Little Italy just off Carling. Anyone know what's next for this sorry site?

This is not good news for my friend who owsn a sushi/Korean restaurant further down on Preston. As noted in a previous post, she's counting on the hipsters to patronize her business and so far that has not materialized.

Not having this one going ahead won't help any matter. I check out the website and it has very limited info, you would think they would at least have floor plans, pricing and what have you, at the very least...maybe links/descriptions of surrounding amenities to entice buyers, particularly foreign ones...but that doesn't look to be the case here.

[1overcosc]

^ Well, if its any consolation to your friend, Icon is at least moving forward although it will likely take 3-4 years before construction finishes. Champagne is almost finished construction, occupancy should be soonish. Envie, the student residence project, is also moving forward.

[citizen4829]

Originally Posted by cityguy

I have my doubts this project will get built.It seems like project get proposed and then you don;t hear a word about them.

Looks like you may be right cityguy.....................a very prescient statement which you posted this way back in October, 2007.

[Marcus CLS]

I beg to differ from the above posts but time will tell. If the project were abandoned then it could be used as a parking lot and collect funds indefinetly. I propose that the hoarding recently installed, which was being painted today will become a marketing mural facing the street and renovations to the trailer on site soon to follow. The trailor on site is presently marketing SOHO Champagne on the exterior only. The trailor itself has never been open as an active on site sales centre for the past year. This project has always been a web site pre-registration phase. I suspect once a mural is done then renovations to the on site trailor shall follow switching from SOHO Champagne to SOHO Italia.

Such negativity. I see the hoarding as a positive sign. If no marketing mural occurs then I will stand corrected.

If the project were to be temporarily abandoned why do anything on site at all. I see this is action towards future intentions to move forward.

I walk by this site everyday on the way to work so I will post a follow up indicating if it looks abandoned or the marketing intentions I think will occur. Of course the Bowery by Richcraft did the same thing and nothing happened on site but opened an "active" sales centre on Bank Street (with a partial excavation by the way).

To be impartial I believe an application would have to be submitted to operate a parking lot and it has not been used as such for awhile now. So perhaps it is on hold and they just want to keep parking squatters off. In that case I stand corrected.

For now too soon to tell.

[PokerPukka]

Originally Posted by jitterbug

The sales centre on Preston is abandoned and the site is now partially fenced off with unpainted plywood boards. Looks awful, especially as a gateway into Little Italy just off Carling. Anyone know what's next for this sorry site?

This project might be on life support, but I wouldn't say it's dead.

As soon as Champagne phase I is complete, SOHO will have to decide whether to continue with phase II of Champagne or focus their attention on Italia. Considering the soft condo market in Ottawa, I would say it's likely SOHO Italia (offering smaller, more affordable condos) will go forward before Champagne phase II.

What I'd like to know, is when they're going to build the foot bridge between Hickory and Adeline?

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by PokerPukka

This project might be on life support, but I wouldn't say it's dead.

As soon as Champagne phase I is complete, SOHO will have to decide whether to continue with phase II of Champagne or focus their attention on Italia. Considering the soft condo market in Ottawa, I would say it's likely SOHO Italia (offering smaller, more affordable condos) will go forward before Champagne phase II.

What I'd like to know, is when they're going to build the foot bridge between Hickory and Adeline?

This assumes that the smaller more affordable (and less well located) condo market is stronger than the market for larger, more expensive, centrally located condos. I don't have any evidence either way and this may be true, but I suspect the opposite.

[silvergate]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

This assumes that the smaller more affordable (and less well located) condo market is stronger than the market for larger, more expensive, centrally located condos. I don't have any evidence either way and this may be true, but I suspect the opposite.

Aren't Italia and Champagne II equidistant from the O-train, and pretty close to the heart of Little Italy? The location difference between the two is minimal at best.

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by silvergate

Aren't Italia and Champagne II equidistant from the O-train, and pretty close to the heart of Little Italy? The location difference between the two is minimal at best.

Yes except that Champagne is on wrong side of the track.