In Toronto, even a floating house costs close to $1 million.
Or $965,000, to be precise. That’s the current list price for a 1,552 square-foot home in a small, little-known enclave in the Scarborough Bluffs, made up of a row of 24 houses on floating concrete barges, moored to a dock and anchored to the lake bed.
“It’s like no other community I’ve lived in or known,” says Denise Doucet, the real estate agent selling the home on Brimley Rd. S. Doucet bought her own floating home in the neighbourhood seven years ago.
“You’ve got a place in the city that feels pretty much like a cottage all year round,” said Doucet.
“You have a GO train, which is two minutes up the road that takes you to downtown Toronto. You can boat to the city area and have lunch or go grocery shopping; you’re a 20 minute boat ride to Queens Quay. So it’s very much a lifestyle.
“And lets face it, no one wants to drive two, two-and-a-half hours to the cottage only to spend three, three-and-a-half hours on the way back.”
Floating houses are not houseboats, which are equipped with motors and meant to move through water. Floating homes are moored, though they do tend to move a little on the water in high winds, said Doucet.
The houses have bumpers so they don’t get damaged if they bump into one another in a storm.
Generally though, the floating homes in Bluffer’s Park Marina at the foot of Brimley Rd. are sheltered by the towering bluffs and a breakwater protects them from rough waves. In winter the water around them freezes, providing a natural outdoor skating rink.
Floating houses have no basement, attic or garage and virtually no property, the good news is that means property taxes at 7 Brimley Rd. S., Slip 12, are about $1,000 a year, to pay for services including parking and garbage collection.
Monthly mooring fees for the homes are about $750 a month. Small personal watercraft can be moored at the homes for free.
Twenty years ago when they were sold, the homes were registered as boats and subject to the design and safety requirements of the Canadian Coast Guard. They sold for $91,000 to $175,000, depending on the model, according to stories published at the time.
Most of them have since been deregistered as boats, said Doucet. Their official title is floating home.
Paul Peic, a float home advocate and sales representative, who sold his home in the neighbourhood two years ago, thinks they are a good housing solution in a city like Toronto, built at the water’s edge.
“You feel relaxed there, even though you’re surrounded by a stressful city.”
Floating homes are popular in Vancouver, where real estate is similarly expensive, and in Seattle, but the neighbourhood at Bluffer’s Park Marina bills itself as the only float home community in Ontario.
Toronto moved to ban the homes shortly after they were built by a developer at Cherry Beach and towed to Bluffer’s Park Marina for sale. It granted a reprieve to owners in 2002 but warned all marinas that lease land from the city that more floating homes would not be permitted.
Realtor and architect Mark Campbell thinks allowing people to live on the water would make sense at Ontario Place, the former theme park along the city’s western lakefront, which the provincial government intends to redevelop. He submitted his idea for a houseboat community to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, which is taking suggestions from the public.
“I am just interested in people living on the water, in this place in particular, to reinvigorate Ontario Place as a vital community in our fair city,” said Campbell, who is also co-chair of the Roncesvalles-Macdonell Residents Association.
With more people in the area, the existing pod structures at Ontario Place could become shared workspace, offices, studios or gyms, Campbell believes.
Peic agrees there is room for more floating houses in Toronto.
“They’re an amazing lifestyle.”
Francine Kopun is a Toronto-based reporter covering city politics. Follow her on Twitter: @KopunF
Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.
Starburst Visuals and Symbols
The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors.
Starburst XXXTreme Features
Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.
The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.
What We Think About The Game
The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement.
That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level.
Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet.
In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.
Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.
With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.
Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”
“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.
The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.
When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.
“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”
MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.
MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.
The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.
The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.
Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.
STUDIO SHORTAGE
The film industry is cramped in Montreal.
According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.
With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.
Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »
« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.
She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.
« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.
There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.
« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.
Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.
For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.