i am going to put my two cents in considering i sold aura and the vp of sales and marketing for canderel. brian, you are incorrect about the financing for aura. we purposely sold the project in the beginning based on two condo corporations because we didn't want purchasers at the bottom of the building waiting over a year for registration. we split it into two condos so the lower 54 floors would register first and 55-75 would register at a later date. financing didn't have anything to do with it. however, you are correct that a project of aura's size is not going to be financed by a single canadian institution. aura was the first project in canada with the largest syndicated construction loan. i can assure that buildings of this magnitude will not be popping up anytime soon in toronto. purely based on the fact that financing projects of this magnitude are too hard to do. hence the fact that Aura will be a landmark when completed.
as for height, it is true that trump is higher. however, a lot of their parking is above grade, they have a huge ballroom area that takes a lot of height, and of course, the first x number of floors are hotel. Aura will be the tallest pure condominium in Canada and one of the tallest in North America.
I get to witness the construction of this project everyday and can't wait for the city to see this building completed. I know I am being biased but because I know all the intricate details of the construction, design, finishes etc., I think it will be one of the nicest condos built in this city by far. The retail itself will be a first in downtown. No condominium in the core will have 150,000 square feet of retail on the first three floors and a another 50,000 square feet below grade. Plus, there is going to be an exciting announcement soon on the retailer coming in to the third floor, the 40,000 sqft, 3rd party gym that is coming in on the 4th floor., plus some other announcements. Stay tuned.
I could go on forever but think this building will be change the landscape of the city when it is completed.
