It’s been just ten months since Capital Developments launched Park Road: a 27-storey flatiron tower coming to Toronto’s Yorkville. Glossy and slender, with a curved south-side facade, the Diamond Schmitt-designed development is set to respond to the triangular-shaped lot it’s slated for, while emulating the progressive architecture you’re likely to find on the streets of Manhattan.
And it’s swiftly moving through the pipeline. In fact, Capital Developments will break ground on the development at 717 Church Street on Monday, July 22. Upon its completion, it will offer sweeping and protected (a rarity in Yorkville) views of Rosedale Valley ravine system to the north, while bringing 302 premium condo units to the downtown core over 160,000 sq. ft.
Capital Developments
Capital Developments
“Park Road showcases the true power of innovative design, exceptional living spaces, and a prime location,” says Carlo Timpano, President of Capital Developments. “When we started this project, we knew we needed to introduce something unique that would complement this iconic neighbourhood and redefine urban living in Toronto at an attainable price point. I’m proud to say we did that and more with Park Road, and starting construction less than a year after launch is a testament to the success and commitment of the Capital team and our consultants.”
The project is also bringing something less tangible to the city: a dose of positivity on the development front, which is something Toronto real estate is currently starved of amid high interest rates and sagging builder and buyer sentiment. “It's not just a big milestone for Capital Developments, I think it's also a really big milestone for the whole industry,” says Joy Wang, Senior Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Capital Developments. “We have reached over 70% sold and we’ve already got our construction loan... and we have the project under construction in less than a year, which is very rare in this market right now.”
Capital Developments
Capital Developments
Plans for Park Road were first filed in 2020, and the project was launched in early September 2023, just two months after the Bank of Canada had turned up the heat on interest rates yet again, leaving would-buyers understandably trigger-shy. Against that backdrop, marketing project has been all about making its value known. “We really looked at the market situation when we originally launched and we understood that the market is isn’t what it used to be… so we did everything we could to make that project a success,” says Wang.
A major driver of Park Road’s success thus far is that Capital Developments has put an emphasis on educating the brokers on the architecture, going as far as to take some 30 brokers to New York to see David Geffen Hall — also designed by Diamond Schmitt — and the historic, steel-framed Flatiron Building — originally known as the Fuller Building — that rises 22 storeys at 175 Fifth Avenue. In large part, the goal was to ensure that brokers could properly convey the “architectural significance” of living in a flatiron building to prospective buyers.
Capital Developments
Diamond Schmitt's take on the flatiron is inspired by modernist sculptural abstraction, and responds to the "nexus” of Collier and Church streets and Park Road. "Park Road’s site conditions offered an opportunity to create a new kind of residential experience,” the firm's Principal Don Schmitt says. “The sculptural tower marks a crossroads for urban living, creating pedestrian connections, access to nature, to the city, Toronto’s premier transit hub, and a new public realm.”
The flatiron typology has a sense of prestige, and there are other aspects of the development promise to be premium as well, including luxe-forward features within the individual units, like Miele appliances, Kohler fixtures, and real stone finishes, and amenities like a dedicated concierge, a meditation room, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, and outdoor terraces. Meanwhile, the use of neutral tones and natural materials throughout the interior of the building are meant to lend a sense of “quiet luxury.”
It's all in the name of delivering a high-quality housing product to the market, says Wang. “I think the purchasers and the investors still recognize a good product when they're presented one.”
Capital Developments
“I think it'll probably [be] more sophisticated end-users who will end up living here,” Wang goes on to say. “I think this building, it's very timeless; the design we’ve gone with is very classic, very simple, [it] won’t get outdated. Cecconi Simone has done a great job with the interior. So I think people will really appreciate that when they live in the building.”
She also shares that the development won’t include any vehicle parking, and in addition, will see the west end of Collier Street closed to vehicles in favour of a new parkette where the building features a series of stepped cantilevers on the west side. This feature “creates a landscaped connection” between a privately owned public space off of Park Road Harold Town Park, and was the result of “successful collaboration” between Capital Developments, the city, and the local community, she adds.
Park Road marks Capital Developments' second project in Yorkville. The first is 11YV, which is a 65-storey building that is coming together through a partnership with RioCan Living and Metropia. 11YV is expected to top-off at the end of this month.
