90 George | 64m | 19 fl | Completed

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by trhgr

I don't think there's a pool, so it makes the condo fees very high and that may be a tough sell ($1000 per month with taxes).
You could buy a larger unit in an older building for less, then do cosmetic renovations (paint the walls, add nice engineered flooring and couple of nice fixtures nothing extremely expensive) to have add a "high end" feeling to it. The extra square footage you may get will be an easier sell.

There is a pool however its VERY small. Same goes for the jacuzi.They had to reduce the size due to safety regulations....i.e. number of feet on sides of pool. There is also a small exercise room overlkooking the large terrasse. There is also a meeting/dining room. That is about it for amenities.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by theoldv

you arn't getting a 1br the calibre of that unit or of even a standard 1br 90 george cablire unit for 1k/month. it would be closer to 2k/month..

It is a tough call. It is an expensive building and really the only other building in Ottawa you can compare it to is 700 Sussex. You should know that there are a few other 1 bedrooms for sale in 90 George. I am not sure how they compare in finishes and views but they are listed in the low 400s.

You certainly can't rent a high-quality newly built 1 bedroom anywhere in the market for anything close to $1000. You probably don't want to take advice from anyone who thinks you can.

There have been a few one bedrooms for rent over the past year in 90 George and 700 Sussex and they were listed at around $2500 a month.

[J.OT13]

I think the Merit might now be in (or the closest thing to) the same league as 90 George and 700 Sussex.

[chailinchou]

Thanks to all for the thoughtful suggestions. Here's what I've learned in the last few days from talking to 2 lawyers and reviewing the status certificate:

1. Lawyers said this is the worst status they've ever seen. Multiple litigations that could drag on for many years with legal fees funded by special assessment on the tenants i.e. high condo fees that could last for years (and get even higher)

2. Reserve fund less than 50% full even after special assessment

3. Banks likely won't lend based on the status certificate

4. High condo fees, legal issues, special assessments, underfunded reserve, distressed owner and difficulty securing mortgage by interested buyers will ultimately result in a serious price correction.

I'm obviously going to stay away now and I hope everyone can benefit from this information. Please note the information above may contain speculations and should not be considered 100% accurate. Do your own research please. Feel free to correct my info or add to the discussion.

[theoldv]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

It is a tough call. It is an expensive building and really the only other building in Ottawa you can compare it to is 700 Sussex. You should know that there are a few other 1 bedrooms for sale in 90 George. I am not sure how they compare in finishes and views but they are listed in the low 400s.

You certainly can't rent a high-quality newly built 1 bedroom anywhere in the market for anything close to $1000. You probably don't want to take advice from anyone who thinks you can.

There have been a few one bedrooms for rent over the past year in 90 George and 700 Sussex and they were listed at around $2500 a month.

that units finishes looked far above a standard 90 george unit. i found that buildings finishes to be quite lacking especially in the bathrooms.

2000-2500 sounds about right, i was paying 1800 for a 1br in 700 sussex about 7 years ago..

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I think the Merit might now be in (or the closest thing to) the same league as 90 George and 700 Sussex.

for sure, that building looks great. the views from the higher floor north units must be amazing.. IMO 700 sussex sits on top by virtue of being in the ultimate location.. (obviously i'm a little biased)

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by theoldv

for sure, that building looks great. the views from the higher floor north units must be amazing.. IMO 700 sussex sits on top by virtue of being in the ultimate location.. (obviously i'm a little biased)

No doubt, 700 Sussex will forever be unequaled in terms of location. The Re will be its closest competition in terms of location. 90 George is also way up there.

The Merit's location is good, but certainly not as epic as the above mentioned.

[theoldv]

Originally Posted by chailinchou

Thanks to all for the thoughtful suggestions. Here's what I've learned in the last few days from talking to 2 lawyers and reviewing the status certificate:

1. Lawyers said this is the worst status they've ever seen. Multiple litigations that could drag on for many years with legal fees funded by special assessment on the tenants i.e. high condo fees that could last for years (and get even higher)

2. Reserve fund less than 50% full even after special assessment

3. Banks likely won't lend based on the status certificate

4. High condo fees, legal issues, special assessments, underfunded reserve, distressed owner and difficulty securing mortgage by interested buyers will ultimately result in a serious price correction.

I'm obviously going to stay away now and I hope everyone can benefit from this information. Please note the information above may contain speculations and should not be considered 100% accurate. Do your own research please. Feel free to correct my info or add to the discussion.

wow, thanks for this. nice disclaimer

[bobcage]

Originally Posted by chailinchou

Thanks to all for the thoughtful suggestions. Here's what I've learned in the last few days from talking to 2 lawyers and reviewing the status certificate:

1. Lawyers said this is the worst status they've ever seen. Multiple litigations that could drag on for many years with legal fees funded by special assessment on the tenants i.e. high condo fees that could last for years (and get even higher)

2. Reserve fund less than 50% full even after special assessment

3. Banks likely won't lend based on the status certificate

4. High condo fees, legal issues, special assessments, underfunded reserve, distressed owner and difficulty securing mortgage by interested buyers will ultimately result in a serious price correction.

I'm obviously going to stay away now and I hope everyone can benefit from this information. Please note the information above may contain speculations and should not be considered 100% accurate. Do your own research please. Feel free to correct my info or add to the discussion.

I knew something was not right with this building with such high condo fees and rumors going around about the builder and other things....

now I know what the problem is,

excellent info!!

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

No doubt, 700 Sussex will forever be unequaled in terms of location. The Re will be its closest competition in terms of location. 90 George is also way up there.

The Merit's location is good, but certainly not as epic as the above mentioned.

In terms of somewhere to actually live I would take Re or 90 George over 700 Sussex. 700 Sussex is between 2 busy streets and is not high enough to get away from the noise.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by theoldv

that units finishes looked far above a standard 90 george unit. i found that buildings finishes to be quite lacking especially in the bathrooms.

2000-2500 sounds about right, i was paying 1800 for a 1br in 700 sussex about 7 years ago..



for sure, that building looks great. the views from the higher floor north units must be amazing.. IMO 700 sussex sits on top by virtue of being in the ultimate location.. (obviously i'm a little biased)

The good view would be to the west where the building doesn't seem to have many windows. The view north from the Market is always overated IMHO. Of course, by far the best views are all from the Hull side.

[theoldv]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

In terms of somewhere to actually live I would take Re or 90 George over 700 Sussex. 700 Sussex is between 2 busy streets and is not high enough to get away from the noise.

i lived in a unit facing the mackenzie side and and a unit on the sussex side, both higher floors. you don't hear much, only the huge snowplows, the sound insulation is quite good.

location wise, IMO sussex is far superior to 90 george even if it's only a few blocks away.

[theoldv]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The good view would be to the west where the building doesn't seem to have many windows. The view north from the Market is always overated IMHO. Of course, by far the best views are all from the Hull side.

are you talking about the views from the merit?



from the image, the higher floor north floor units should see the market, art gallery, gatineau hills, etc..

[S-Man]

After reading this page, boy, do I feel poor.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by theoldv

are you talking about the views from the merit?



from the image, the higher floor north floor units should see the market, art gallery, gatineau hills, etc..

Art Galeery= blah.

Gatineau hills are miles away, and just hills.

The market view would probably be better from a lower floor no?

The best view would be of Parliament to the west, probably 10th floor and above. The view from 200 Rideau is actually better in this respect. 700 Sussex's western view is totally blocked by the Chateau Laurier and I found them a bit dark because of this. It is the best address in Ottawa, this I will agree to.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I think the Merit might now be in (or the closest thing to) the same league as 90 George and 700 Sussex.

I'm curious, why do you rank 90 George and 700 Sussex in a separate league from 85/95 Bronson, the Glasgow, etc...? In your mind, what differentiates those two from the pack?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

I'm curious, why do you rank 90 George and 700 Sussex in a separate league from 85/95 Bronson, the Glasgow, etc...? In your mind, what differentiates those two from the pack?

700 Sussex and 90 George, along with the Re and the Merit are the best known buildings for their super expensive units (price per square feet and number of million dollar+ units) .

That said, Charlsfort is known for building the most high quality, high priced and well designed condos than any other developer in Ottawa (as far as I know) and both the Glasgow and the Gardens are no exception but, those aren't as well known and the locations aren't as coveted (in the case of Glassworks and Glasgow, Gardens, Hudson Park and Continental are good locations but not as good as the other four listed above). I also don't think, and I could be wrong, that those buildings were sold for the same high prices with multiple million dollar+ units.

[theoldv]

Originally Posted by JackBauer24

I'm curious, why do you rank 90 George and 700 Sussex in a separate league from 85/95 Bronson, the Glasgow, etc...? In your mind, what differentiates those two from the pack?

- significantly better location..
- concierge service
- higher cost of entry/price per sq foot.. good luck getting in sussex for 500k or less. there's only 5 1br units and i think they cross the market around that price point..
- there's literally entire floors of 1m+ units in all those buildings, i do not believe that is the case for any other buildings.

[Boxster]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The good view would be to the west where the building doesn't seem to have many windows. The view north from the Market is always overated IMHO. Of course, by far the best views are all from the Hull side.

IMO, the unquestionable best view of Ottawa will be from the VIU building on Laurier St. in Gatineau.

The 20th floor terrasse will also provide a 360 degree view of the region.

[JackBauer24]

Originally Posted by theoldv

- significantly better location..
- concierge service
- higher cost of entry/price per sq foot.. good luck getting in sussex for 500k or less. there's only 5 1br units and i think they cross the market around that price point..
- there's literally entire floors of 1m+ units in all those buildings, i do not believe that is the case for any other buildings.

Location - 90 George and 700 Sussex are great locations, no argument there.
Concierge - I'm not 100% sure about 700 Sussex, but 90 George's concierge would better be described as a doorman or security guard, concierges should do more than hold doors.
Price - price/sq. ft. shouldn't be a factor in evaluating the quality of a condo, quality/sq. ft. should be considered. Just because something has a $1M price tag, doesn't mean it's built to a $1M level.
# of $1M+ condos - this is a direct result of the size of the condos themselves. I could slap together 2 or 3 smaller condos at any downtown highrise and have a few $1M+ condos in my inventory, to me that has no barring on the quality of the condo.

I agree with the previous poster, Charlesfort is one of, if not, the best builder in the city, his higher quality comes with a much higher price - but you pay for what you get in their projects. I hesitate to include 700 Sussex in the category of upper echelon condos, since the location is the only feature that sets it apart from other condos, but even at that, its at one of the busiest vehicle traffic intersections in the city, and being only 7 levels, I can't imagine the traffic noise isn't a factor even on the higher levels.

[J.OT13]

I guess the 700 Sussex, 90 George, the Re (if it lives up to expectation) and the Merit have the cache of being the address of choice of Ottawa rich and powerful but that doesn't necessarily mean they would be the number one choice for anyone if they were to stumble on that kind of money. Furthermore, price doesn't mean you get the absolute best in the market (I'm thinking the Re will prove this).

I agree with Boxster that the Viu might very well have the best views in the Ottawa area.