NEW
IN HOMES Saturday, June 19, 1999
Now that Toronto City Council has announced its intentions to allow
basement apartments everywhere in the new city, developer Leonard
Barkin has something he wants to offer.
In his project, Bloor West Annex, Barkin is offering finished basement
apartments for $20,000. That includes everything in the 523-square-foot
one-bedroom units, including a kitchenette and two appliances.
The 41 townhomes at Bloor St. and Symington Ave. have already been
designed with high ceilings, adequate windows and a separate private
entrance.
Prices for the townhomes, not counting the finished basements, run
from just under $200,000 to $217,900 for three bedroom plus a den
upstairs, not including the $20,000 for the finished basement unit.
With rental accommodation in Toronto so scarce, the apartment would
mean an instant revenue source for the homeowner, which would help
substantially with financing costs and taxes. Potential rent is estimated
at $750 a month.
The junction is the west Toronto neighbourhood bounded by Bloor St.
on the south, Dupont on the north, Dundas St. on the west and Lansdowne
on the east. It gets its name from the main CN and CP rail lines
crossing each other in the heart of the neighbourhood. Recently, the
industrial flavour of the area has been changing more
to residential.
At least seven different new housing sites have come on the market
or are about to go to market in the junction neighbourhood.
The Bloor West Annex project is close to the Dundas West subway station,
and High Park. A little further to the west is Bloor West Village.
Barkin who became a residential developer after retiring from a 40-year
career as a senior partner at Deloitte & Touche accountants.
"During my days at Deloitte I worked with a lot of developers on the
financial side of their industry and when I retired I felt young
enough and eager enough to try my hand as a developer," Barkin told
real estate writer Pat Brennan, earlier in the year. Barkin's company
is called Nexxt Development Corp. For more information about the project, call
(416) 516-2616.
