A real estate investment and management company based in Mississauga, Ont. is about to complete construction on two apartment towers, which were developed in response to the demand for higher-quality residential units in Toronto.
“It was a strategic decision that this is a market we want to target. This is a great location near to the subway in an area with a wealth of amenities,” said Brian Athey, vice-president of operations with Morguard Residential.
“Clearly, the condominium market competes with the purpose-built market. There are clusters of condos close by. For this reason we are targeting a higher price point.”
Morguard is currently undertaking the construction of two 30-storey towers called The Heathview, which are located on Tweedsmuir Avenue south of Heath Street between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street.
According to Athey, this area is traditionally rental and there are older apartments that were built in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This development is the first new highrise rental being built in the Forest Hill community in 40 years. The Heathview will be differentiated from these older apartments, because they will be new and purpose built.
“We see a typical tenant as coming from two markets,” said Athey. “One is the empty nester, who has been in the neighbourhood for a while. And the second is the young working professional looking for a quiet location with amenities and access to rapid transit.”
The residential towers will feature purpose-built condo quality suites in sizes ranging up to 2,400-square-feet. Kitchens will feature stainless steel and quartz finishes, as well as custom cabinetry.
The location offers easy access to the St. Clair West subway station.
The architect on the project is Page + Steele Architects and the primary contractor is PCL.
The project involves the construction of cast-in-place concrete structures, with a mixture of pre-cast, masonry and window-wall.
“The first unique feature of these buildings is we will be targeting LEED Gold certification by the Canada Green Building Council,” said Athey.
“We have a large range of sustainable design and energy features. These things take extra time, but are important to do.”
The two new towers will include a number of sustainable design features, such as water-saving fixtures, a natural rainwater containment system for irrigation, a green roof system to reduce heat load and lower energy consumption, heat recovery units, and improved indoor air quality through use of low Volatile Organic Compound materials during construction.
In addition, the towers will be equipped with high efficiency oversized windows in all 600 units, which provide natural light.
The completion of the first tower is expected in the fall this year and the second tower should be done by the end of the year.
“One of the challenges with construction is that part of the site was on an area of fill,” said Athey. “So, this was not a case of a traditional excavation, because we had to put in caissons until we reached adequate bearing material. In some areas, we had to go down 30 to 40 feet to reach the native soil.”
The demolition of two older 12-storey buildings with 250 units was undertaken by Progreen Demolition in 2010 and construction started in March 2011.
The City of Toronto has a housing policy that protects rental housing from demolition. So, the demolished suites are being replaced with about 150 affordable rental units, which are the same size, type and price point.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the major centres with the lowest vacancy rates in the primary apartment rental market in October 2013 were Calgary (1.0 per cent), Edmonton (1.4 per cent) and Toronto (1.6 per cent).
The average vacancy rate in the primary purpose-built rental apartment market in Canada’s 35 major centres increased slightly to 2.7 per cent in October 2013, from 2.6 per cent in October 2012.
The highest average monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments in new and existing structures in Canada’s major centres were in Vancouver ($1,281), Calgary ($1,224) and Toronto ($1,213).
The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in new and existing structures was $920 in October 2013.
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