In a city of stalled condo projects and a growing number of empty lots, one team of developers managed to get shovels in the ground on a new rental building Friday, with a lot of help from the city.
Castlepoint Numa and Hazelview Investments broke ground on the 18-storey building at 72 Perth Ave., near Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West, which will provide 255 homes, half of them with two and three bedrooms, and 51 affordable units. Unlike many new condo buildings in the city, there will be no studio units.
The city has committed about $16.5 million to support the building, Mayor Olivia Chow said at the event, under its Rental Housing Supply Program, which is meant to speed up rental construction for homes, including affordable ones.
“People are not buying this to flip it, they are making this their community,” she said in front a row of shovels, as GO and UP Express trains passed on the tracks behind the site, which is also within walking distance to Dundas West subway station and the West Toronto Railpath. That means not all residents need to have a car, something that was highlighted by Coun. Alejandra Bravo, who represents the Davenport ward.
As well, the building will have a geothermal energy system to reduce energy use and emissions.
Jeff Brenner, a partner at Castlepoint Numa, said the project was designed as a rental building from the start. Originally they were going to deliver 13 affordable housing units, but the city program required a higher proportion of affordable ones and so they increased the height from around 10 to 18 storeys to accommodate more density.
The city’s funding is what allowed them to go ahead on this project, he said in an interview after the groundbreaking. “Nothing is easy right now.”
After decades of intense growth, the city’s condo sector has stalled, with an oversupply of small studio and one-bedroom units that were targeted mostly at investors.
For the first time in three decades, there were zero new condo projects launched in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in the first quarter of the year, according to a recent report from real-estate market research firm Urbanation.
Some developers are starting to move toward rental projects, taking advantage of government subsidies and targeted funding programs.
Since the beginning of 2024, more than 11,000 condo units have been cancelled, with just over 4,000 converted to rental units, Urbanation says.
Michael Tsourounis, managing partner and co-CEO of Hazelview Investments, said the project is estimated to be completed in just over two years, and the market rent units will start at the “low to mid $2,000s for one bedrooms.”
Planned amenities include a pool, sauna, children’s playroom, fitness centre and coworking space, as well as dedicated bike storage.
WoodGreen Community Services will manage the affordable housing units, which will look the same as the market rent ones.
“We wanted to design something that obviously could be more family forward,” said Tsourounis.
“We think there’s a structural shortage of housing, and rental housing provides a great opportunity to raise your family, to get into a neighbourhood.”
There’s long been a narrative in Canada that you need to own a home to be stable and successful. But Tsourounis said he sees that starting to change.
In her remarks, Coun. Bravo said this is only possible if units are big enough to raise a family.
“In the future, like in many world cities, people will be able to rent for their whole lives” she said. “And retire with dignity.”
