LH is probably going to be one of the best buildings in Toronto when it finally gets built. The quality of construction, design and finishes that they are putting into that building and the prices they WERE selling at a few years ago would shock you. LH2 is gonna be a heck of a lot more expensive I'm sure.

Is that sarcastic? Is Langston Hall ever going to get built? Will they be able to build it at the price they were selling for?

I'm serious about the building but I don't know why the construction is still not started

Bought a unit in LH approx 3 years ago. Terminating my contract this week.
The building will never get built as promised for a multitude of reasons - complete
lack of communication, broken promises, no actual Site Plan application made AT ALL to name a few.


Terrible disappointment.

LH and LH2 are stunning in design and very unique to the market. The same developer/architect is also responsible for the recently opened Templar Hotel a few doors down which is a beautiful modern boutique hotel -- but took 8 years to build.

LH was supposed to be model of responsible and modern design (socially and environmentally), where units are larger and very spacious inside and out, the building is respectful of height and density and to it's surrounding, lots of quality thoughful features/finishes, and all at selling prices which were attainable.
Unfortunately the developer has gotten way over his head and realized that this kind of design and development wasn't feasible and is now trying to flip the property to another developer.

The developer proposed a height increase of 8 floors to the original 13-stories a year and a half ago, which was met with little opposition from the City and public at a community meeting Fall of last year. This was presumably done to sell more units at a more realistic price to make up for the units that were sold for far less than what they should be.
The developer blamed the delays of LH on the approval of this height increase, however the developer never gave a revised occupancy date (it was supposed to be completed last year), they have never made an attempt to market or sell the remaining 30% of the units of the original design nor the newly added floors, the sales pavilion was closed down and phone number disconnected, many people on the development team have dropped out, and according to the City no application was ever submitted for approvals of the new design to date!

I am also one of the purchasers in this development and I have also pulled out because I strongly feel that the developer (or any future developer) could not promise what was orgininally designed. Like Sayf I am very frustrated with the lengthy delays and lack of communication from the developer, and there were way too many signs that point to the failure of this development to be ignored.

If the developer hired a more competant and agressive marketing and sales team (they handled sales and marketing themselves), priced it more realistically, had better customer service, scaled back on some of the features & finishes which most people will never notice or appreciate, and partnered with an experienced developer (the architect/designer is also the developer), than we could have had a very nice boutique condo building standing by now. The developer/architect has no business being in the development business to begin with.

I wouldn't be surprised if a typical 40-story commodity-type condo development will eventually be built in its place. The site is only 6,000 sq.ft. so it will be challenging site to build.

I am also extremely disappointed and experienced a loss of time and money (property values has appreciated a lot since I bought), and will only deal with highly reputable developers from now on.

Thanks everyone.

It appears then that Langston Phase 1 is going no where. Therefore, if anything, LH2 will be sold to an other developer and probably marketed as something completely different.

LH2 is on a very long and narrow site, so it will really limit the kind of developer who would want to build on it. If the market could support it, the only type of condo development that's suitable would be something very upscale, small and exclusive, similar to Freed's 500 Wellington.

Rhed purchased the property at a good price, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out.

I love how developers and builders always blame the city...when they don't submit paperwork or applications. It's quite common, but i'm glad you guys checked it out to verify

Purchasers were recently notified by mail that the development has been cancelled and all of the purchasers will be getting their deposits refunded.
I am sure you will see this property and the Langston Hall 2 site on Peter Street put on the market soon.

I have been extremely disappointed and angry on the lack of responsibility and accountability on the developer/designer, and I especially feel bad for many of the early purchasers who had their deposits held for as long as 5 years while property prices have skyrocketed.

Thanks for the info @allen. Do you have a copy of the letter you could upload?

@Matthew Slutsky I was able to back out of my purchase agreement last fall without penalty as the developer failed to revise the Occupancy Date nor complete occupancy by the Tarion Outside Occupancy Date. A fellow purchaser who decided to stand by his purchase told me about the cancellation he received recently. I will try to get a copy of it. 
According to Fortress Capital, the group financing the project, the developer is currently selling the Langston Hall 1 and 2 sites.

@Matthew Slutsky: I originally assumed the remaining purchasers were notified by mail, but according to one of my fellow purchasers he was actually notified by phone by the developer's lawyer -- nothing in writing yet and not a peep from the developer, which I found odd. He is still waiting to get his deposit refunded.

Fortress announced that Langston Hall 2 has been sold conditionally pending Site Planning Approval of the development. The Site Planning Approval process could take more than a year and I am curious what developer would want to purchase a 39-storey condo development containing only 35 house-sized units where the Entertainment District is saturated with other highrise developments and sales of ultra-high end condos has slowed down to a snail's pace (i.e. @The Residences at the Ritz Carlton, @Trump Tower, @500 Wellington West, @Shangri La, @Four Seasons etc.) with lots of inventory still waiting to be unloaded.

@allen ...is that legal to only notify the purchaser by phone? Seems kind of fishy. Maybe @Maxim Zavet knows?

Actually have a client that Purchases in this project, I am in the process of reviewing the Agreement and at this point I am pretty certain they are in breach of their Tarion Notice Provisions.  Will keep you posted.

@Maxim Zavet: In any situation all purchasers should be able to nullify thier purchase
agreement as the development has reached the Purchaser's Termination Period on October 2012, as outlined in the Tarion Statement of Critical Dates.
The developer has allowed all the Critical Dates to expire without any notice or addendums, which clearly breaches the Tarion Delayed Occupancy Warranty contract. This entitles the purchaser a full refund of their deposit plus Delayed Occupancy Compensation.

I will also keep you posted on my situation as I am still trying to collect on this Delayed Compensation Claim even though the amount is relatively small.

The limit under Tarion is $7500.00 and I understand the Developer's lawyers are not happy with their clients.

UPDATE:
I noticed Langston Hall and Langston Hall 2 has been removed from the BBH project database.

The Langston Hall 2 property on Peter Street has been conditionally sold to another developer, so I am guessing the site for Langston Hall 1 will follow suit.

Construction on Rhed's Wellington Street Lofts, which was supposed to be 6 residential lofts in a renovated warehouse building has been stalled for most of this year, after more than two years of slow renovations. From what I heard, the building is being rebranded as a banquet/events centre to the Templar Hotel. Meanwhile, Citizen House, a satellite extended-stay house serving the Templar Hotel on Peel Street (north of the Gladstone Hotel and Carnaby Row Condos)which started six years ago has been standing as a rusting steel skeleton for the last year and a half.

I recently received my $7,500 compensation from Tarion. The developer and their lawyers were not being cooperative nor responsive to Tarion's request to pay, so Tarion paid my compensation directly as I filed my claim more than8 months ago.
I heard some purchasers of LH are still waiting to get their deposits back.
Everyone's very frustrated and very unhappy.