Thursday, 12 January 2012 16:20

A corner condominium in a historically re-furbished toy factory building comes complete with an open concept design, with features including trendy qualities such as exposed brick walls. The pouring of natural light through the generous number of windows could leave you daydreaming about living here the moment you step through the door.

But a daydream it will remain. Most people can’t afford to dream like this, unless their bank account has a tight grip on reality, and the immense weight of stashed cash keeps them grounded.

The condominium in question is a corner unit in Liberty Village’s Toy Factory Lofts, a century-old building that once housed the Irwin Toy factory that has easy bragging rights in regards to its longevity. With the frighteningly rapid rate that condo’s are going up these days, there is an ultimate fear of quantity being forced over quality. Thus, there’s something gloat-worthy about a building that has this kind of durability—the original steel girders and exposed brick walls not only look pretty, they were built to last.

The biggest selling point of this condo is that it suits the work-from-home type to a T. Let’s face it: in the trendy and chic Liberty Village, we thrive with entrepreneurs who would prefer home offices. There’s more than enough room in the open-concept living area for office space, and the built-in bar area is great for the occasional, or frequent, stress-relieving tipple.

At 2,120 square feet, you can rule a kingdom all on your own or consider bringing one more; even a small family should opportunity strike. Supporting all walks of life, and where you may be at this time, this condo has it all. 13.5 foot high ceilings, three walls of windows, two balconies and two bathrooms are going to make you want to work from home even if you don’t already.

This is all yours, for a mere 1.5 million dollars.

Plus, $700/month in maintenance fees.

But if you can consider the purchase of this condo it at the price it’s listed, those maintenance fees probably feel the same as when you put a quarter in the candy machine, because it was just taking up space in your pocket and you could use something a little sweet right now.Is this a little overpriced?

Some might argue that you can’t put a price on the quality of life that you experience when you are truly happy, and this space is somewhere that many could be truly happy to live. Trendy, clean and convenient, this condominium has many desirable features including location in Liberty Village, which is a very close but exponentially quieter part of downtown Toronto. But what makes this any more desirable than the potential of owning a house in an area like Rosedale? Has Liberty Village been raised to such heights that we can expect more condo’s to look and cost this?

The price of living is only as expensive as you make it. And that expense doesn’t necessarily mean in monetary value. It all begs the question of what is worth it. This can only be decided by each individual. In the meantime, of course it never hurts to dream. Just don’t sign any real cheques, just yet.

A reality check and a bounced cheque are synonymous.

Emily Karpazis