Neighbourhood “Stratford”
# Units – 102
# Buildings – 2
# Stories – 4
Built phase one 2015-2017
Built phase two 2018-2019
Registered as condos 2017
Average MLS selling price 2018
$473,900 based on 7 “MLS” sales
*All two bedroom or two bedroom plus den units
Average MLS selling price 2017
$489,200 based on 5 “MLS” sales
*Once again, these numbers do not include any smaller one bedroom units
* In 2016, there was only one “MLS” sale. Most of the selling activities have being “in-house”. Starting with 2019 sales, there will be a mix of builder’s sales and resale units which will be coming to the market for the very first time.
“Villas on Avon”
It’s happening. In 2019, some of the early buyers in Phase One are selling out at tidy profits even before Phase Two is finished and sold out. In the last two years, Stratford has witnessed substantial price increases in many of it’s condos. Yet then again, the second generation of new buyers may be coming in off of windfall profits of other more recent real estate sales transactions.
Let’s now go back to the beginning of the story. “Tricar” the builder from London, Ontario is not a new name in this town. Previously, they successfully built and sold out the “Thirty Six Front” Condo complex building. In 2014, “Tricar” purchased an empty red brick school building in North/Central Stratford which has the address 144 Caledonia Street. The site size was 2.48 acres. Given that the school’s name was the “Avon School”, they named their new condo project for this site the “Villas of Avon”. In this process, there was also an address change to 255 John Street North.
What they have built on this site are two near identical four storey concrete buildings with flat roofs and underground parking. The process has taken four year to accomplish. Brick and block exteriors, wide hallways, covered balconies, and corner units with extra windows.
255 John Street
Unit sizes vary from 710 to 1586 square feet. Other sizes are 858, 922, 1226, 1244, 1258, 1268, 1345, 1411, 1433 and 1470 square feet. Most of these units are a two bedroom or a two bedroom plus den design. These larger units make for comfortable living arrangements. The heating and cooling are provided through individual heating and cooling units.
Amenities are modest in size with a small social room (485 sq feet), a small exercise room (543 sq feet), a small guest suite (243 sq feet) and an outdoor terrace.
Might you be wondering what the condo fees are like? Well, in 2014, the condo fees for the largest sized units, the 1586 sq ft units, were in the $496.00 per month range and in the $384.00 range for the 1266 sq ft units.
Often asked about these buildings is the question “How far is the walk to get to downtown?” It’s a bit of a walk, but it you like walking, it’s not that far away. The hospital too is also not that far away. “Tricar” mentions this point in some of their marketing activities.
The bottom line is that this new project has been well received by the marketplace.
* In this neighbourhood, 38% of the homes are 60 years plus and 36% are 26-60 years old. 70% of the population live in single family homes and 12% live in apartments. There is bus service to downtown and to shopping on Huron Street. This is a neighbourhood which has not changed all that much over the last 25 years.
