JOHNZEUS.COM

November 24, 2013 | Photo: CN Tower & Condos, Toronto, Ontario – Looking east from the waterfront | Taken by John Zeus on a Samsung Galaxy S3

Photo Thoughts: Condos & Migrating Birds

Toronto is a booming city with a new emphasis on urban intensification. It seems like a new glass condo tower goes up every other week.

The city lies in the confluence of two major bird migratory paths so there is a higher than average concentration of migrating birds. New condo developments present a wall of glass-clad high-rises in the middle of the birds’ routes. When these glass condos reflect the surrounding environment, the birds take it for natural landscape and fly right into the glass.

Millions of birds die this way in the city every year. I hope the condo developers, city hall and Torontonians find a permanent solution to this problem. The birds are depending on us.

The army of cranes redefining the Toronto skyline.

Toronto reportedly counts the most high-rise real estate projects under construction in North America!

Toronto Condo Construction | Photo Source: John Zeus

High rental vacancies…

“We believe that buyers in the current condo market exude hope over experience…” (Despite claims of a buoyant rental market investors are ending up with) “an astonishingly low return on invested capital.” – Source: Ohad Lederer, an analyst at Veritas Investment Research.

…and a growing number of preservationists who say too many new towers are destroying the city’s character.

Social Media: “Dear Condo Toronto, you were an awesome city before you turned into a condo developer’s dream. I used to love going downtown because you had a welcoming core with parks, community spaces and many innovative small businesses. Now downtown is becoming a high-rise construction haven littered with towering steel and glass walled shoeboxes hiding our lake and our sky. Unfortunately a daily commuter’s nightmare…” – 2013 John Zeus

Facebook post: screen capture

Toronto Condo Construction | Photo Source: John Zeus

“Toronto condo developers face formidable obstacles: an infrastructure buckling under soaring density rates, the laws of supply and demand and preservationists who says too many new towers are destroying the city’s character.” – Source: The Financial Post

Toronto Condo Construction | Photo Source: John Zeus

Toronto Condo Construction | Photo Source: John Zeus

“Since June 2011 the number of unsold high-rise units in the pre-construction stage has doubled. Unsold units under construction have also increased from fewer than 5,000 at the beginning of 2012 to almost 7,000.” – Source: Bank of Canada

Toronto Condo Construction | Photo Source: John Zeus

Adapted by John Zeus. Original Sources Include; Bank of Canada and The Financial Post.

12:30 Pm | Thursday December 13, 2012, Montréal, Québec.

A five hour train ride brought me to the centre of Montréal for a meeting with colleagues on wiki collaboration. It was a sunny and cold autumn day, perfect for a short walk to take notice of the joie de vivre atmosphere of this beautiful city.

4:30 Pm | Thursday December 13, 2012, Montréal, Québec.

A short walk back to the train station ending my day in Montréal.