Development News

It looks like the city really is growing up.

According to a report from RealNet and BILD, condo sales now so far outstrip single-family homes in the GTA that there really isn't any competition.

The year was good as a whole—the second best year ever for residential sales, with 45,926 units of one sort or another sold—but the real news is the proportions. High-rise condos accounted for 28,466 of those, compared with 17,460 houses and other low-rise units. In other words, high-rise condos accounted for 62 per cent of the sales.

That condo number was 35 per cent higher than it was in 2010, and 28 per cent higher than the previous record year of 2007. Low-rise sales were up seven per cent from last year, but down a whopping 73 per cent from a decade ago.

According to RealNet president George Carras, it's all about supply policy.

"You can't sell what you can't build or deliver," Carras says. "The general strategy for growth, which was really conceived back in '03 to '05, which was to grow up not out."

He points out that this is no longer just a 416 thing, either, with Markham, Vaughan and even Mississauga all getting into the vertical act.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: George Carras

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Work has begun on the athletes village for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, a development that will add 1,040 residential units to the Waterfront.

Dundee Kilmer are the developers who signed the $514-million fixed-price contract with the province to develop the site.

The architects are KPMB, Architects Alliance, Doaust LeStage, TEN Arquitectos and MacLennan Jaunkains Miller. Ellis DonLedcor PAAV Inc. are the builders.

In addition to the residences, the project will add a new streetcar line along Cherry Street, an 82,000-square-foot YMCA and a student residence for the new Waterfront campus of George Brown College (the college's first residence).

Seven hundred and eighty-seven of the residential units will ultimately be designated market value, while the remaining 253 will be low-cost rentals.

The goal is to get the entire project certified LEED Gold.

Those involved are betting the project will be completed before July 10, 2015, when the Pan American Games begin. The Parapan American Games run August 7-14.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Tari Stork

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

Toronto's lean towards less rectilinear architecture continues with Abacus, the mid-rise condos going up at 1245 Dundas Street West.

Designed by RAW and developed by the lawyer who represented the passengers on that famous long Air Transat glide into Portugal in 2001, Abacus will be an eye-catching seven-storey bit of pointiness in the midst of a still evolving Dundas West strip.

Developer Tony Azevedo, who also rescued a collapsing bit of Vine Avenue in the Junction last year, has told Yonge Street Media: "I really, really like modern design." Though he's only just begun, Azevedo seems cut from the same mould as Les Malins, the accidental developer who built a one-time personal investment into major mid-rise player Streetcar.

The condos are at the pre-construction registration stage now, and are being sold through Paul Johnston, with 59 Project Management, who also handled the Vine Avenue development, set to see the thing through.

Writer: Bert Archer

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People are moving into The Modern this week, fleshing out the years-long process of overhauling Richmond Street East.

The Modern, a 17-storey, 343-unit tower by Empire that was aimed at first-time buyers with prices ranging between about $350,000 and $450,000, is the newest addition to a neighbourhood with a lot in the works, including a possible 18-storey tower by Brad Lamb at 231 Richmond East.

"It's really contributing to the revitalization of Richmond east of Yonge," says Empire vice president Paul Golini. There is also small-scale retail on the ground floor.

The Modern is at 306 Richmond East, at Sherbourne.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Paul Golini

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MOD Developments have just closed the deal on their second major downtown property.

They announced this week their acquisition of a 20,000-square-foot site that runs from 197-201 Yonge Street, including the 1905 Darling & Pearson-designed Canadian Bank of Commerce building (the southernmost of the two with the columns—it's been vacant since 1987).

MOD, which is also developing Five St. Joseph, is partnering with several other firms to build what they propose will be a 60-storey condo, including a full renovation of the Darling & Pearson building.

"We're very excited about the restoration of the heritage landmark at 197 Yonge Street by MOD Developments," said the executive director of the Downtown Yonge BIA James Robinson in a statement released by MOD's PR reps. "This section of Yonge Street is such an important destination for theatre, music and retail—to see this historic property revitalized will continue to add to the vibrancy of Yonge Street."

As part of the deal, MOD announced it would be donating part of the land on Victoria Street to Massey Hall to do with as they wish. MOD is also proposing to name their tower after the Massey family.

Architects are Hariri Pontarini, along with ERA Architects, Cecconi Simone for the interiors and Janet Rosenberg and Associates for the landscaping.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: James Robinson

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].

Correction: The original version of this story mentioned Graywood Developments as a partner in the Yonge Street project. It is not.

Leaside is one step closer to getting that second rink it's been raising money for since 2010.

Councillor John Parker, who's taken this project under his wing, says the budget and executive committees have approved the $7.5-million loan the project needed from the city. When added to the $1.5 million from Infrastructure Ontario and $1 million from an anonymous private donor, all that's needed for the expansion is a couple more hundred thousand dollars in local fundraising, which is already just short of its $1.5-million goal.

"No construction starts until we've got that," Parker says, though he's confident the community fundraising will get a big push from this approval, which is still waiting for a final okay from the full council. He hopes the new rink will be ready for the beginning of skating season in 2013. Leaside Gardens Arena's current rink is usually booked to capacity.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: John Parker

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Sometimes, opposition to a big building doesn't work that well.

Just ask the residents of Ward 13, in the general vicinity of 1844 Bloor West, who don't want a new eight- and 14-storey U-shaped condo built on Bloor. The original opposition focused on the decision to put the 14-storey tower right up against Bloor Street. But then the developer, Daniels, and the architect, Donald Schmitt of Diamond Schmitt, agreed to turn it around so the tallest part of the building is now recessed, with the two eight-storey prongs meeting Bloor. More recent opposition has focused on the glass—either for its reflective properties creating a glare, or its presumed energy inefficiency. Some critics have also suggested the proposed number of parking spots is too small.

The proposal was originally made in 2010, and according to Councillor Sarah Doucette, the current design fits the city's requirements, having already received approval from staff.

After a public meeting last Tuesday evening, with about 80 residents in attendance, it was clear there was still a vocal, if potentially small, opposition to the project, which would be the first large condo building directly facing the park.

"I referred it back to staff and the committees," Doucette says. "I've agreed to have another community consultation, but 80 people yelling isn't going to do anything. We need a smaller consultation group to see what the developer will allow us to do. I'm not sure the developer will allow us to do anything now, frankly."

Doucette says she's sympathetic with the concerns of those residents of 22 Oakmount, the 17-storey building owned by WJ Properties, the same company that owns the site that Daniels is proposing to develop. They would be directly behind 1844 Bloor West and their views of the park would be obscured. In Doucette's view, they also form the majority if not the entirety of current opposition. But Doucette is not particularly sanguine about them retaining any say in the matter whatsoever.

"Because this has been deferred, Daniels has every right to go to the OMB," she says, referring to the Ontario Municipal Board, "and at that point, it's completely out of my hands and it's completely out of the city's hands what happens to that site."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Sarah Doucette

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Tridel’s moving into a relatively open market with its One and Two Old Mill condos on Bloor West just east of the Kingsway.

"There's ourselves, and a Lanterra project behind the Old Mill," says Tridel VP Jim Ritchie, summing up the condo space in the vicinity. "So it services south Kingsway, the Old Mill community and Bloor West Village."

And though not exactly bargain priced, the units, which start around 650 square feet, are considerably less expensive than the notoriously pricey homes in all three of those areas. Ritchie says one floor plan in particular sold especially quickly, mostly to single women: the 850 square foot one-bedroom plus den, which include two bathrooms, unusual for one-bedrooms.

Construction on One Old Mill began in November, and demolition of the sales centre at 2500 Bloor West is imminent, making way for Two Old Mill, which is nearing its 70 per cent sales mark.

The 12-storey, 275-unit One Old Mill is designed by Kirkor Archictects, which also designed Two Old Mill. Ritchie expects it to be ready for occupancy by fall 2013.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jim Ritchie

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Adam Vaughan held what he's calling a "telephone town hall" at the end of last year, with results revealing the development priorities for one of the city's most populous wards.

Questions were framed in terms of the current budget negotiations. Responses indicate that 34 per cent of residents consider public transit to be their top priority, followed by 26 per cent who list "children, libraries, recreation, nutrition and childcare," ahead of the 15 per cent who said affordable housing was the most important thing to maintain and cultivate.

People in this densely populated ward also figured the best way to pay for all of this was by tapping drivers. About 48 per cent of them suggested the city bring back the vehicle registration tax; 32 per cent were in favour of road tolls.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Adam Vaughan

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Nominations opened this week for the 2012 Green Toronto Awards, though the most interesting category from the 2011 edition has been dropped.

Last year, the awards expanded to include a green homes category, aimed at individuals who had done something remarkable to or with their own homes.

"It wasn't our strongest category," says Jessica Chow, co-ordinator for the city-sponsored awards. "We don’t know why. We noticed a lot of them were, 'Oh, I recycle in my home.' It wasn't really what we were after."

So this year, it's been folded into the more general green design category, where individual homes will now compete with eco clothing, green roofs and other design innovations.

Nominations can be submitted here until midnight on Feb. 6. Winners will be announced in March.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jessica Chow

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After a much more extensive than average consultation process, it looks like High Park is going to get its first Central Park-style tower.

Early opposition to 1844 Bloor West, which was first submitted to the public in June of 2010, centred on its being glass, its being 14 storeys and its being right on Bloor at the edge of the park, the first condo to do so.

Developer Daniels had bought 13 houses, many of them vacant and most of them dilapidated, to consolidate the 5,000-square-metre site. In response to the concerns, they added masonary to the first floor, and turned the whole building around, so that the 14-storey portion of the U-shaped building wouldn’t butt right up against Bloor. (The two prongs of the 'U' are 8 storeys each.)

Councillor Sarah Doucette says this redesign satisfied city staff and many residents, though one group is still quite vehemently opposed.

"Those 14 floors are now right in from of 22 Oakmount," she says, "which is a 17-storey building, so most of the opposition is coming from 22 Oakmount, which I completely understand."

The proposal went to Etobicoke York Community Council on Tuesday during an evening session designed to allow as many residents to attend as possible.

According to Daniels' development manager Neil Pattison, demolition of the remaining houses will commence "imminently" with construction of the 5.3-density building, on a newly expanded 6,500-square-metre lot, to follow shortly thereafter.

Writer: Bert Archer
Sources: Sarah Doucette, Neil Pattison

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Two thousand and eleven was the year the rectilinear glass tower started to turn into Duplo towers, which bodes well for our skylinear future.
 
After years of straight-up glass and steel, the form had pretty much reached its apogee with Spire and Casa and maybe the new Four Seasons (too early to tell—but all are Peter Clewes designs). There was no place left to go. At least, no place that was very interesting.

So architects and developers made the leap into the modular future together, coming up with 155 Cumberland (Quadrangle, Kingsett), Exhibit (Roy Varacalli and Bazis), Picasso (Stephen Teeple and Goldman and Monarch). Other shapes have started to emerge as well, with Teeple leading the pack (Op Art and The Hive), and Core coming up with 12 degrees. There's no Gherkin yet, but we're getting there.
 
This was also the year that green went mainstream. This is not to say that we're home free and have no more work to do, but now that practically every Tridel and Minto building is green, and often LEED-certified, it's no longer news, and is getting that much closer to be the norm rather than the exception.
 
When followed up by projects like RCMI on University, with its zero-parking, it bodes well for the atmosphere, architectural, political and actual.

Weston Village is getting a little boost that may turn into a major uplift.

Last month, it was announced that a plan to brush up John Street, the current site of a weekly farmer's market, and the future site of a Metrolinx stop on the way from Union Station to the airport, would get a $23,750 grant to help with the costs of designing and then implementing a plan to possibly pedestrianize and otherwise revitalize the street.

The grant came from the Urban Land Institute, a US-based organization that "promotes good land use and sustainable communities," according to its district council chair for Toronto, lawyer Mark Noskiewicz.

Though the grant is small, it is intended to spur investment from public-private partnerships. "The grant was announced last month, as we've already leveraged the $23,000 into $75,000 to $80,000" from the city and Metrolinx, Noskiewicz says.

The plan now is to use that money to complete the design and, if funds continue to flow in for the project, possibly even get the construction done by June of next year.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Mark Noskiewicz

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The Fords want Waterfront development to speed up, and Waterfront Toronto is trying to figure out how.

On Monday, Waterfront CEO John Campbell led a public consultation in the form of a series of round table discussions on what's being called the Port Lands Acceleration Initiative.

The meeting "is the kick-off for an extensive public consultation effort," states a Waterfront news release. "Our goal is to ensure a transparent process, engage the widest possible audience and provide ample opportunities for people to be involved."

Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, councillor Doug Ford, have wanted things to move faster on the waterfront. Since the mandate for acceleration passed a vote in council on Sept. 21, Waterfront's been working with the city, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and other bodies to figure out the best course of action. Monday's consultation was the first step towards getting the public in on it.

In January, applications will be accepted for membership in the ongoing Stakeholder Advisory Committee, which will have a total of six meetings on the subject, in tandem with two more public consultations.

Currently set to take 25 years to complete, Toronto's "new blue edge," as the project has been tagged, is expected to create about 40,000 new residences and 40,000 new jobs. Waterfront Toronto was established as Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation in November 2001.

Writer: Bert Archer

Source: Waterfront Toronto

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The process by which developers get their buildings built will soon be a good deal more transparent, thanks to a new system that requires the electronic submission of all plans.

Called the Toronto Building Electronic Delivery Program and put into effect on Nov. 7, the city now requires that all re-zoning applications, preliminary plan reviews and alternative solutions be handled entirely online.

Al Rezoski, the city's manager of community planning for downtown, says the new system "makes it easier in terms of exchanging information, and that way the public will be able to access plans online for a development application."

Though not yet publicly accessible, the city's plan is to have the customer interaction component up and running shortly.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Al Rezoski

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a new house being built in the neighbourhood? Please send your development news tips to [email protected].