I’ve mentioned more than once in this space that the GTA is the most active condominium housing market in North America, by far.
More importantly, we’ve got the quality to go with the quantity, as evidenced by the astonishing 84 Silver awards captured by GTA builders, designers, agencies and brokers competing in The Nationals, presented by the U.S. National Association of Home Builders.
There are 257 Silver finalists in 53 categories of awards, which means Toronto builders captured a third of all the nominations for the Gold awards to be presented in Orlando in January 2011. When you think of all the major markets in the U.S., the number of finalists from the GTA speaks volumes about the builders and designers of our high- and low-rise developments, not to mention the creative agencies behind them.
Among the high-rise projects on the finalist list, Bisha, by Lifetime Developments leads the way with 11 nominations. Chances are you’ve heard of many of the other nominated projects which include Chaz on Charles, The Mercer, Thompson Residences, Tango, 12 Degrees, Five Condominiums, Pears, Ocean Club, Blade, Backstage, Emerald City 2, Residences at the King Edward, Treviso, Jade, DNA3, Liv Lofts, San Francisco by the Bay, Limelight, Ice 2 and the Residences at the Ritz Carlton.
The above mentioned A-list of condo projects are actually competing against each other in many categories, with the outside competition coming from New York, San Diego, Denver, Houston, Seattle, and several centres in California.
I can safely bet that Toronto builders will win no less than four Gold awards at the Nationals, because we actually swept the Silvers in four instances. Hopefully, the finals will prove that we’re not only the biggest, but the best.
