Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a planning strategy that concentrates residential, commercial, and recreational buildings near public transit hubs to encourage sustainable, walkable communities.
Why Transit-Oriented Development Matters in Real Estate
In Canadian real estate, TOD is a growing trend in urban planning that boosts accessibility, reduces car dependency, and increases land value.
A construction loan is a short-term, interim financing option used to fund the building or major renovation of a property, with funds disbursed in. more
A certificate of occupancy is an official document issued by a municipal authority confirming that a building complies with applicable codes and is. more
A bylaw variance is official permission granted by a municipal authority allowing a property owner to deviate from local zoning or building bylaw. more
Corporate restructuring refers to the reorganization of a company’s operations, assets, or liabilities, often under court supervision, to improve. more
A consumer proposal is a formal, legally binding agreement in Canada between an individual and their creditors to repay a portion of their debt over. more
Set high on a hillside in the rolling countryside of Erin, Ontario, 9255 Sideroad 27 isn’t just a home — it’s a fully realized estate.
Stretching across 46 acres of panoramic land, the property is an ultra-private retreat where English gardens meet classic architecture, and where every inch has been crafted for both grandeur and comfort.
From the moment you pass through the gated entrance and follow the winding, lamp-lit driveway, it’s clear that this is a rare offering.
The custom-built residence spans more than 7,000 sq. ft and has recently undergone a top-to-bottom renovation — with no expense spared. Its classic profile is set against a lush backdrop of colourful perennial beds, intricate stonework, and cascading fountains, all positioned to draw the eye toward the valleys below.
Inside, the home opens with a dramatic two-storey foyer and sweeping curved staircase. A double-tiered formal living room sets the tone for sophisticated entertaining, while a separate dining room and sunken family room offer distinct zones for gathering. An elevated oak-panelled office floats above the main level, accessed by a sculptural staircase that adds architectural flair.
At the heart of the home sits a chef-calibre kitchen by Woodland Horizon, featuring floor-to-ceiling maple cabinetry, quartz countertops, a nine-foot island, and a full suite of premium appliances. A casual dining area with a built-in coffee station completes the space — perfect for early mornings or unhurried weekends.
Upstairs, the primary wing is a sanctuary unto itself. A large sitting room with fireplace, expansive ensuite with six-piece layout, walk-in closet, and dedicated home office make it ideal for those seeking a private, self-contained retreat. Two additional bedrooms and a five-piece bath complete this level's R&R offering.
On the opposite side of the home, a west wing opens up new possibilities for multigenerational living. This space includes a second full kitchen, three additional bedrooms, a den, and a grand great room with its own balcony and private views. Ideal for extended family, in-laws, or long-term guests, the layout offers independence without compromising on style or amenities.
The layout is a masterstroke of flexibility — whether you’re accommodating extended family, hosting guests, or carving out private work-from-home quarters, the west wing opens up endless possibilities without sacrificing cohesion or style.
And finally, the exterior is nothing short of resort-worthy. Anchored by a 20-x-40-ft saltwater pool and hot tub, the backyard features a full outdoor kitchen, dedicated pool house, change room, and four-piece bath. A series of decks, patios, and gazebos take full advantage of the sweeping vistas, offering countless spots to lounge, dine, or simply watch the sun set over the hills.
With a heated four-car garage, workshop space, and impeccable finishes throughout, this countryside estate offers scale, serenity, and substance, all in equal measure — a turnkey retreat just over an hour from Toronto.
This article was submitted by John DiMichele, CEO of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).
York Region is home to some of the most desirable communities in Canada. But increasingly, this Region is facing a combination of challenges that pose significant risks to its residents and economic outlook, namely high home prices, falling housing starts, and some of the highest development charges (DCs) in the country.
Now is the time to consider a change of direction. Municipalities across York Region must reduce or defer DCs to help unlock the desperately needed housing supply and protect Ontario’s economic competitiveness. Through Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, the province is allowing the deferral of the collection of DCs for all residential projects as an incentive to get more shovels in the ground.
New home construction across the Region is falling short of provincial housing targets. Several municipalities face challenges meeting their annual housing goals to reach their 2031 targets. In particular, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is exploring opportunities to collaborate on specific housing policies that would assist municipalities like Markham, Richmond Hill, and Newmarket in meeting their long-term housing goals while supporting the financial needs of municipalities.
This failure to build isn’t just a housing crisis. It’s an economic crisis in the making. Ontario’s economy is facing heightened uncertainty, driven in part by rising protectionism and recent tariff threats from the U.S. administration. Our province cannot afford to sit idle while global trade pressures intensify. We need an all-hands-on-deck strategy to strengthen Ontario’s competitiveness, including building more homes, faster and more affordably.
When workers can’t afford to live near their jobs, businesses lose talent, productivity drops, and investment dollars flee. Employers are already warning that housing affordability is a barrier to attracting skilled workers, particularly in high-growth sectors like manufacturing and high-tech. If Ontario wants to win in a global economy, it must build communities where workers and their families can afford to live.
In York Region, municipal DCs, imposed by the Region and each local municipality, are a brake on the housing supply we need. Markham’s fees add up to over $170,000 on a single-detached home. In Richmond Hill, it’s $145,000, while in Newmarket it’s $140,000. DCs are costs added directly to the price of every new home built in the Region. They reduce the viability of rental and attainable housing projects while discouraging the creation of “missing middle” options like townhomes and low-rise apartments.
Decisions by other municipalities in Ontario to tackle high DCs reflect a growing consensus among municipal leaders that DC policies must evolve in tandem with housing supply obligations. For example, Vaughan, Mississauga, and Burlington have reduced their DCs to spur housing construction. Barrie is using its strong mayor powers to defer DCs and accelerate approvals. Most recently, Peel Region Council voted to reduce its DC rates by 50% until November 2026 to encourage housing development and make homes in Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon more affordable. These are not careless decisions. Instead, they are strategic moves to align local fee structures with long-term housing and economic goals.
It’s time for York Region municipalities to do the same.
We acknowledge the June 12, 2025, decision by the York Region Committee of the Whole to endorse a new first-time buyer DC-equivalent rebate for newly built homes valued at $1 million or less, contingent upon receipt of new funding from higher levels of government to fully offset those costs. This is in addition to several other changes focused on DC deferrals to stimulate new housing development in the Region. If adopted by York Region Council, these policies will align with the deferral requirements of Bill 17 and support the federal government’s efforts to lower overall DC rates, thereby improving affordability and increasing supply.
TRREB is urging York and all municipal councils across the Region to take immediate action to pause or reduce planned DC increases, defer collection of DCs until occupancy to align with Bill 17 requirements and explore targeted exemptions for affordable and rental housing. Solving the housing challenges requires a coordinated effort from all levels of government. TRREB is calling on the provincial and federal governments to step up and provide municipalities with stable funding to support the construction of the right type of housing supply. These measures won’t just help families looking for a place to live; they’ll help strengthen our economy when Ontario needs every competitive edge.
Premier Doug Ford has taken important steps to increase housing supply and counter trade threats. But local governments must do their part, too. DCs are shaping where and whether homes are built and who can afford to live in them.
Let’s not let outdated policies choke our economic potential. The path to a stronger, more resilient Ontario starts with building more homes for workers, families, and individuals — and that begins by reducing the government fees that stand in the way.
Toronto-based Minto Communities is partnering with SickKids to deliver a "sculpted and articulated" 56-storey, 579-unit mixed-use tower that would house new clinic space for the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health currently located on site.
Plans were filed in early July and encompass an Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment application to permit the intensification of the under-utilized site and retention of the existing SickKids facility. Successful approvals would see the site designated within both Apartment Neighbourhoods and Institutional Areas in the City’s Official Plan and to permit the increased height and density being proposed.
The development site is located at 110 -114 Maitland Street, home to a to-be-demolished three-storey vacant apartment building at 110 Maitland and five-storey SickKids office at 114 Maitland. Additionally, a four-storey SickKids wing extends eastward to 440 Jarvis Street. No changes have been proposed for this wing and, upon approval of the application, the 440 Jarvis building would form its own distinct lot.
Situated within downtown Toronto's vibrant Church-Wellesley neighbourhood, the development would be within walking distance of a number of amenities, including retail, dining, entertainment options, and would be well-serviced by higher-order transit stops, such as Wellesley Station on Line 1, Sherbourne Station on Line 2, the 506 Carlton streetcar route, and more.
The building itself is being designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, whose renderings depict a chic tower with brick masonry in the four-storey podium element. At grade would be the residential lobby and entrance to the "modernized" SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health, which would have office space located on levels three and four spanning 24,347 sq. ft, in addition to the 26,662-sq.-ft Jarvis Street wing.
110-114 Maitland/Diamond Schmitt Architects
Indoor amenity space would be found at grade and on levels two, five, six, and 57, totalling 12,465 sq. ft, and outdoor amenity space would be found adjoining to the indoor amenities on levels five and 57, for a total of 4,984 sq. ft of outdoor space. The most notable of these spaces include a floor-spanning amenity space with an outdoor terrace and green roof atop the podium and a rooftop amenity space.
The 579 residential units would include 36 rental replacement units and would be divided into 77 studio units, 273 one-bedrooms, 170 two-bedrooms, and 59 three-bedrooms. Given the site's close proximity to transit and the walkability of the neighbourhood, plans only provide for nine residential parking spaces located at grade, with no below-grade parking. Additionally, there would be 663 bicycle parking spaces made up of 522 long-term spaces and 116 short-term spaces.
If approved, the proposed development would preserve an essential youth-focused mental health centre and add a substantial amount of new housing units to Toronto's bustling, transit-oriented "Gay Village," continuing the intensified growth the neighbourhood has seen in recent years.
CIBC Economics released an updated interest rate forecast on Monday, revealing that they are now calling for the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) policy interest rate to be brought down a quarter-point to 2.50% in September and to 2.25% by December.
This comes a week before the central bank is set to meet for its next rate announcement, scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, July 30. Back in June, economists with CIBC were expecting a 25-basis point (bps) cut for next week’s decision, which would have brought the rate down to 2.50%.
However, CIBC’s latest forecast comes on the heels of a series of major data releases from Statistics Canada (StatCan) that will certainly play into Governing Council’s upcoming decision, including last week’s labour market numbers — which showed employment declining by 83,000, the unemployment rate falling to 6.9% — and Consumer Price Index print, which came in at 1.9% year over year, up from 1.7% in May.
Forecast update from CIBC Economics and FICC Strategy, July 21, 2025
“On the heels of a good job report and somewhat firm price pressures, we expect the BoC to remain on pause in July because this is a central bank that, by its own admission, isn’t very comfortable being forward-looking,” said CIBC Economist Ali Jaffery in a July 15 commentary. “Waiting until the fall will give them more time to observe cost pressures, the response of the economy to tariffs and the uncertainty shock, and perhaps most important, to have a clearer picture of Canada’s tariff outcome.”
For now, CIBC is in good company in anticipating an interest rate hold from the Bank of Canada next week, but looking forward, economists appear to be split on whether the remainder of the year will bring more cuts at all.
In CIBC’s camp, economists with both TD and BMO are calling for further easing, according to their most recent forecasts, with TD predicting a benchmark rate of 2.25% by the third quarter of the year and through to at least the end of 2026, and BMO predicting a rate of 2.25% not until October and through to the end of 2025.
“We are now dealing with a new wave of uncertainty, not least from Trump’s recent threat to raise Canadian tariffs as high as 35% by next month. Prime Minister Carney also appears to be embracing what could be the ‘new-normal’, acknowledging that a forthcoming trade deal will likely have tariffs included,” wrote TD Economist Marc Ercolao in a July 18 note. “Absent a clean and quick resolution on trade, which seems unlikely at this juncture, the economic backdrop faces downside risk and should give the BoC space to deliver more easing later this year.”
On the more hawkish side of things, economists with Scotiabank and RBC are of the belief that the BoC won't be cutting again any time soon. Economists with Scotiabank have long been calling for a series of holds through 2025, which would keep the policy rate steady at 2.75% — where it’s been since March and the early days of trade war fears. Further easing won't come until 2026, according to Scotiabank, and they are forecasting just a 25-bps cut to 2.50% at some point in the year.
Meanwhile, RBC’s updated forecast has the benchmark interest rate staying at 2.75% — potentially until end of 2026. “The central bank was already approaching the end of its easing cycle. It opted to pause at the last two policy meetings after an earlier and more aggressive easing cycle over the past year,” said Economist Claire Fan in a June 12 report. “Near term growth has shown resilience and future inflation after the recent upside surprises is still uncertain. Fiscal support is stepping up, and better able to provide timely, targeted, and temporary support needed to address the immediate impact of tariffs.”
A comprehensive mixed-use development containing a daycare, new public park, 9,870 sq. ft of retail space, and 915 rental apartment units has been proposed for a commercial plaza in East York's O'Connor-Parkview neighbourhood. The complex would contain four separate buildings with heights of 14, 15, 21, and 29 storeys.
Plans were filed in early July on behalf of 1000920447 Ontario Inc. and support a number of applications pertaining to the development, including a Draft Plan of Subdivision that reimagines the site with a new public street and two surrounding development blocks, including a park block, and Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications to allow for intensified height and density, among other changes.
The submission also includes an application for a Class 4 Receptor Classification on a portion of the site, which is a tool for resolving conflicts between louder industrial-zoned lands and more noise-sensitive land uses, such as residential, by relaxing the noise limit levels on the most-impacted area of the development site.
According to planning materials, "It is anticipated that some concerns may be expressed by the nearby industrial operators relating to the development of sensitive land uses in proximity to the existing industrial operations that could potentially limit the continued operation and expansion opportunities of industrial uses."
The classification would help remedy these concerns, but in order to reduce noise levels for residents, mitigation methods — including setbacks, building design, and noise barriers — would be implemented. In one example, the planning materials describe eliminating noise-sensitive windows along facades that would be most impacted by nearby industrial noise.
The industrial lands are located to the west and north of the site, which is located on the northwest side of 1450 and 1500 O'Connor Drive. The site spans 158,068 sq. ft and is currently occupied by restaurants, retail establishments, medical offices, small-scale industrial uses, and a day care, according to planning documents.
If approved, the proposed development would stand out amongst its immediate surroundings — the tallest nearby structure being a seven-storey mixed-use building — but the developer has made the case that the build would enhance the existing neighbourhood by providing the "on-site parkland dedication, public realm improvements on O’Connor Drive, expand(ing) the range of housing options within community, and optimize(ing) the planned investments in the local transit, cycling, and road network."
The site is located on a Major Road within close proximity to the Don Valley Parkway and is serviced, most notably, by the TTC O’Connor bus, which connects to the the Bloor-Danforth Line and the nearly-completed Eglinton Crosstown LRT.
Once complete, the site would be organized with 14-storey Building A along the eastern edge of the property, fronting onto O'Connor Drive and the new public road; 21-storey Building B sitting to the west of Building A, also fronting onto the new street; 29-storey Building C located west of Building B and fronting onto a cul de sac at the end of the new road; and 15-storey Building D sitting north of the new road and directly west of the 15,769-sq.-ft public park.
Site Plan for 1450 & 1500 O'Connor Drive/Arcadis
The buildings, which are designed by Arcadis, would feature podium elements ranging from four to six storeys in height. They would contain the daycare facility, located at grade along the new public road, and the retail units, also at grade, with some fronting onto the new road and others onto O'Connor Drive. Additionally, green roofs would be installed on each of the proposed buildings.
In total, the development would provide residents with 19,697 sq. ft of indoor amenity space and 18,933 sq. ft of outdoor amenity space located at grade and on various levels throughout the four buildings. As well, across the entire development, there would be a total of 521 vehicle parking spaces across three levels of underground parking and 1,009 bicycle parking spaces on the ground and mezzanine floors. Finally, the 915 rental apartment units would be divided into 473 one-bedrooms, 335 two-bedrooms, and 107 three-bedrooms.
According to planning materials, the developer behind 1000920447 Ontario Inc. has been working with the City since early-February 2024 to deliver the current proposal. A year and a half in, the collaborative efforts have culminated in an attractive and ambitious development that could pave the way for more intensification in this corner of the city.
Rendering of the proposed Brass Rail Tavern redevelopment/DIALOG
Another session of Toronto City Council begins on Wednesday and the extensive agenda includes a laundry list of potential housing developments, most of which are recommended by city staff and community councils for ultimate approval.
But not all. In fact, there are three prospective developments on the agenda this month that have been flagged for “refusal,” and City Council’s decision will be the nail in the coffin for those — for now. The next step for those developers, in the event of Council’s refusal, will be to appeal their projects at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Interestingly, this is the highest number of recommended refusals in a single Toronto City Council meeting in a year. At the July 2024 session, seven applications were recommended for refusal, but in the months that followed, it wasn’t unusual for every application on the agenda to get the green light.
That all aside, here’s a look at what likely won’t be getting the go-ahead at this week’s session of Toronto City Council.
699-707 Yonge Street, 1-17 Hayden Street, and 8 Charles Street East
Rendering of 699-707 Yonge Street, 1-17 Hayden Street, and 8 Charles Street East/DIALOG
Plans to redevelop an L-shaped site that includes the site of an adult entertainment club, known as the Brass Rail Tavern, first came to light in September 2022, and those call for a 64-storey, 712-foot building with 514 residential units, disbursed across around 378,147 sq. ft of residential gross floor area (GFA). The development proposal, which comes from Concord Adex, also specifies 131 studio units, 237 one-bedrooms, 96 two-bedrooms, 50 three-bedrooms, and 4,460 sq. ft of commercial space.
The three-storey brick row building the Brass Rail is located within was constructed in 1887 and has been listed on the City’s Heritage Register since March 2016, and in November 2023, the Toronto Preservation Board adopted a Notice of Intention to Designate the building under the Ontario Heritage Act. At that time, the then-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Architectural Conservancy Ontario, expressed to STOREYS that there were “strong” grounds for designating the property, as it has clear contextual and architectural value. The designation eventually passed.
As such, one of the concerns voiced about the project during a community consultation in May 2025 was about the heritage conservation of the historic architecture. Meanwhile, the refusal report going to Council this week points out that the application only proposes the retention of the west elevation in-situ, while the remainder are planned to be removed and in some cases altered. It also says that the tower “provides an inadequate stepback from Yonge Street,” which “overwhelms the heritage building's massing and scale and relationship to Yonge Street.” Finally, it notes that the required Heritage Permit Application has yet to be filed by the applicant.
Other things voiced by the community at the May consultation included a desire for subway access connected to the proposed building, and concerns about the smaller unit sizes (studios and one-bedrooms), which make up a 71% share of the overall unit count.
Rendering of 110 Sheppard Avenue East/Sweeny &Co Architects
A proposal for a 49- and 53-storey development in North York is fairly recent, having only been filed with the City at the end of March on behalf of an entity known as 110 Sheppard East GP Inc. The towers would share a mixed-use podium that would include retail space, and jointly contain 1,313 residential units, including 46 studios, 883 one-bedrooms, 239 two-bedrooms, and 145 three-bedrooms. That translates to just shy of a 30% of larger, family-sized units.
Given that the proposed would replace a 10-storey office building already on the site, residents expressed in a community consultation held this past May that the increased density would mean more traffic, less privacy, and shadowing on the rest of the neighbourhood — all concerns that are more often than not brought up in relation to high-rise development proposals, whether they are warranted or not.
However, the refusal report going to Council this week backs those concerns up, and describes some of the “issues” that need to be resolved in order for the proposal to move forward, including increased setbacks between the private and public realm on Kenneth Avenue and adjustments to the base building height and tower floorplate to minimize shadow impacts on the adjacent Willowdale Park Trail and on-site parkland dedication. It also calls for a revised Transportation Impact Study that addresses things like background traffic growth rate, pick-up-drop-off activity, and the impact of future developments.
Another concern voiced by the community was that the building wouldn’t offer enough family-sized units. The City report doesn’t take issue with that, but it does advise that the average unit sizes for the two and three-bedroom units should be increased to around 970 sq. ft (up from the currently proposed 700 sq. ft) and 1,140 sq. ft (up from 830 sq. ft), respectively, “in keeping with the city standards.”
Plans to redevelop the site at 30-36 Hendon Avenue, also in North York, were submitted to the City in late-December on behalf of Trolleybus and call for 46-storey purpose-built rental that would replace three detached dwellings that collectively house five individual residential units, including three rental units at 30 and 36 Hendon Avenue that are set to be demolished. Notably, Trolleybus’ plans call for the expropriation of proportions of the site to facilitate the extension of both Beecroft Road and Hendon Avenue.
On the remainder of the site, a total of 433 units are planned, including including 277 one-bedrooms, 113 two-bedrooms, and 43 three-bedrooms, translating to around a 36% share of larger, family-sized units. No non-residential GFA has been proposed.
Despite the entire building being rental, area residents expressed in a May 2025 community consultation concerns about the affordability of those units, and in a similar vein, the refusal report going to Council this week states that since proposal won’t be replacing the existing rental units at 30 and 36 Hendon Avenue that are set to be demolished, “the applicant is required to provide a Tenant Relocation and Assistance Plan to lessen hardship for existing tenants.”
Other concerns expressed by residents and in the refusal report have to do with damage to the existing natural environment, including the adjacent Hendon Park and a century-old tree on site that is proposed to be destroyed. The City report calls for a larger setback between the development and the park, and for the applicant to explore additional tree preservation options and provide private tree planting in the event of removals.
Artist rendering of the one-bedroom garden suite/City of Mississauga
"Members of the public, homeowners, sometimes they resist change," says Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner of Planning and Building at the City of Mississauga. "But when they experience it and they see it firsthand, it makes them sort of realize, you know what? It's not that bad. Maybe I'll do it myself."
The change Whittemore speaks of is Mississauga's decision to update its Official Plan and Zoning By-law in late 2023 to make it easier for homeowners to build up to two Additional Residential Units (ARUs) on their property, such as a garden or laneway suite, or basement apartment.
The following June, the City aimed to further incentivize the development of these infill housing units by providing residents with free, pre-approved garden suite plans, which they made available to individuals across the province on National Housing Day in November 2024. Following in Mississauga's footsteps, just this month, the City of Toronto released their own free and pre-approved plans for garden and laneway suites.
With blueprints in hand, garden suite hopefuls can now save on planning and design costs, while city staff is able to more quickly approve plans, spurring the development of these secondary dwellings across Mississauga and beyond, and helping to achieve the City's goal of getting more homes built, streamlining building approvals, and making homes more affordable.
The designs include a 430-sq.-ft open-concept studio and a 600-sq.-ft one-bedroom suite that contain both a kitchen and a three-piece bathroom. While rigid in their layout, the suites are fully customizable, down to the paint, plumbing fixtures, flooring, and exterior siding.
Artist rendering of the one-bedroom garden suite/City of Mississauga
Roughly a month after the designs were released, STOREYS spoke with Whittemore to get an idea of how effective the initiative had been. At the time, he reported that the City had seen 30 inquiries into building garden suites and one application — not the surge one would hope to see, but a positive start that got the City thinking of other ways to boost interest, such as providing more information on their website, reducing unnecessary application requirements, and waiving certain fees.
Just over a year out, Whittemore shares that things have picked up, even despite broad economic headwinds. There are now over 100 inquiries as of mid-June, 50 permit applications, and about four or five garden suites that have been constructed or are underway. One, Whittemore shares, recently underwent inspection. "It's absolutely beautiful," he says. "It exceeds everything that we had expected of this project."
Inspected garden suite/City of Mississauga
One major development that Whittemore says resulted in the increase in garden suite applications and inquiries was Mississauga City Council's July-2024 adoption of the Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) that directed $44 million in funding to support affordable rental housing, including grants for homeowners and developers building additional units.
CIPs are provincial tools that allow municipalities to spur development through the allocation of loans and grants, and Mississauga's was adopted as a key action under Growing Mississauga: An Action Plan for New Housing.
In part, the CIP allows the City to remove building permit fees for garden suites — which are already not subject to development charges — but it also does away with development charges and parkland dedications cash in lieu formerly required for larger ARUs, like fourplexes, further incentivizing gentle density.
"[It] really creates a more affordable project for both the builder and hopefully for the renter," says Whittemore. "We know that gentle infill is not going to solve the housing crisis, but from my perspective, I felt there was a lot of value, and so did our Mayor and Council, obviously, in trying to incentivize [ARUs] where we can."
On top of waiving permit fees, the City noticed a need for readily available, detailed information to inform their largely inexperienced clientele: everyday homeowners. "Our client, in most of these situations, is a non-developer, non-builder," says Whittemore. "So on our webpage, we've really enhanced it to help those [...] folks figure out how to do this, what it's going to cost, who they need to talk to, those type of things."
When STOREYS spoke to Whittemore last June, he had also shared that the City was looking to expand the initiative to include plans for two-storey builds and even four-units, something Whittemore says is still "very much a top priority" and will likely be delivered by Q2-2026.
One major aspect of delivering initiatives like these, he shares, is making sure the public is looped in. One way they've done that is by partnering with Sheridan College to brainstorm around 26 designs for four-unit homes that incorporated the needs of demographics that would inhabit them, including seniors, young people, and families.
"Part of that effort is so that I can use those to show the community how amazing a four-unit design can be," says Whittemore. "Before we get to more detailed launching, we really want to bring the public along to understand what these are going to look like."
For Toronto and municipalities across the GTA, clear communication on growth initiatives like what we're seeing in Mississauga is key, as there can be pushback from existing residents as municipalities move towards more gentle density in historically single-family-home neighbourhoods. When asked about community feedback on the City's legalization and push to incentivize the construction of more ARU's like garden suites, Whittemore says the reception has been largely positive.
"I don't think there's ever a change in a neighbourhood where someone doesn't have a comment about it," says Whittemore. "There are usually comments, some of them are positive, some of them can be negative, [...] but overall, I've heard pretty much positive, and I think it's because a lot of it is resident driven. These are not developers coming in to build something and then leave. These are people who are investing in their properties and their neighbourhoods."
As for municipal governments considering implementing a similar initiative, Whittmore has one piece of advice: "Be very open to hearing and to listening and understanding what the challenges are on the ground. [...] You have to be somewhat open and comfortable with being a little creative and challenging the status quo. I don't think you go into this with a status-quo kind of mindset."
Situated at the intersection of Carlton and Yonge streets in downtown Toronto since 1959, the Carlton Tower boasts coveted ‘location, location, location.’ And that in it of itself has made the 18-storey, tower-on-podium office and retail building prime for redevelopment.
As such, Northam Reality Advisors — the current owner of the property at 2 Carlton Street — has been angling for the redevelopment of the site since October 2016, which is when the company first filed plans with the City to construct a 73-storey building with around 801,219 sq. ft of total gross floor area (GFA), and 1,046 residential units.
However, according to a City report from January 2021, Northam’s initial Zoning By-law Amendment application was appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (the LPAT) in March 2018 after the City failed to make a prompt decision on what was proposed. A few years later, in February 2021, a revised development concept reflecting consultation with city staff, community members, and the TTC got the green light from the Ontario Land Tribunal (which the LPAT was amalgamated into in June 2021).
2 Carlton podium view/Arcadis
Northam is now seeking a Site Plan Approval for those revised plans: an 80-storey mixed-use tower reaching around 824 feet in height (inclusive of the mechanical penthouse). Project data that went to the City in mid-June also describes a total GFA of around 855,569 sq. ft, which breaks down into around 14,703 sq. ft of retail space and around 93,334 sq. ft of office space.
The remainder of the GFA, at around 747,532 sq. ft, would be dedicated to residential uses, accommodating a total of 1,014 units, specified to be condo in tenure. Those would be broken down into 39 bachelors, 518 one-bedrooms, 347 two-bedrooms, and 110 three-bedrooms, resulting in over 45% of the units being larger, family-sized units.
In addition, 162 parking spaces are planned for the residential, visitor, and office uses, compared to 1,191 bicycle spaces — a likely a testament to the transit-oriented location, with Carlton subway station just steps away.
2 Carlton Yonge Street view/Northam Reality Advisors
Meanwhile, renderings from Arcadis show a glassy tower with gridded windows that looms over buildings in its vicinity. The tower element is clearly delineated from the six-storey podium by its smaller floorplate. Arcadis’ visuals also depict a parkland dedication (2,562 sq. ft) on a portion of the site fronting Carlton Street.
This is the second major development proposal we’ve seen from Northam since the spring. This past May, STOREYS reported on plans from Northam and Crombie REIT that call for a 36-storey, 483-unit mixed-use condo tower at 3130 and 3150 Danforth Avenue, a six-minute walk from Victoria Park subway station.
In addition, in 2019, Northam made its plans known for the 10-storey Bell Trinity Square office complex at 483-491 Bay Street and 20 Albert Street, which it was eyeing for a 60-storey addition. Plans were then revised in 2022 to reflect a 59-storey addition (for a total of 69 storeys), as well as 538 residential units.