Concord Adex isn't the only developer creating new 21st-century neighbourhoods in this city. The
El-Ad Group, a North American developer with Israeli roots, is near completion on new rental buildings, replacements for old ones they recently demolished at Sheppard and Don Mills that are the first stage in a multiphase development that Netanel Ben-Or, El-Ad's vice president of development, says will transform the area.
"You won't recognize this area five or six years from now," he says. "We're making new neighbourhoods, that's our philosophy, this is what we believe in. So people in the future, when you ask where they live, they will say they live in
Emerald City, not at Sheppard and Don Mills."
El-Ad made its name in North America several years ago when they bought Manhattan's famed Plaza Hotel and converted parts of it into
ultra-high-end condos.
In addition to the 400,000 square feet of rental properties they're finishing up now, the project will ultimately include 2 million square feet of condo space, all with prices from the low $200s to about $500,000, with a large portion of family-oriented 3-bedroom units in the 1,100 to 1,200 square foot range.
"I see the competition as a good thing," Ben-Or says of the nearby
Concord Adex and Daniels developments. "Definitely good for the buyer, and good for us. This whole Sheppard corridor is going to change."
Construction on the first of what will be either 6 or 7 towers will begin in August, and the whole project is scheduled for a 2016 completion.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Netanel Ben-Or