Capital Developments has broken ground on Park Road, a 28-storey, 302-unit condominium in Toronto’s exclusive Yorkville neighbourhood.
Capital acquired an office building three years ago and then assembled adjacent properties to form the site.
“From sales to demolition start and hitting our construction and financing threshold was less than three months,” Capital president Carlo Timpano told RENX, a rare feat as the condo market across the Greater Toronto Area continues to languish.
Park Road’s unit mix is 10 per cent three-bedroom, between 25 and 30 per cent two-bedroom and 10 per cent studios, with the remainder being one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den.
Approximately 210 units have been sold, according to Timpano, who said occupancy is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
“All of our projects are in AAA locations in established nodes,” Timpano said, discussing factors he believes are important for success right now. “That’s important in a market where there’s some market risk because I don’t believe end-users and investors want sub-market risk.
“They don’t want to have to be convinced that the neighbourhood is the next big thing, layering risk upon risk.”
It’s also important to price units reasonably in order to get early sales momentum, especially in a down market, Timpano explained.
“Purchasers want to know that, if they’re putting their money into a project, it’s going to be completed. Brokers want to know that, if they’re going to spend their limited time selling a project, they’re going to get paid. Therefore, having a clear path to shovels in the ground is very critical.”
Park Road’s location and amenities
The flatiron Park Road building, designed by Diamond Schmitt, will rise above the corner of Collier and Church streets and offer protected views overlooking the Rosedale Valley ravine system and the city.
A small parkette at the west end of Collier Street will create a landscaped connection to Harold Town Park – a collaboration between Capital, the City of Toronto and the community.
Park Road will be located less than 100 metres from the Bloor-Yonge subway station and close to the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, Branksome Hall and The York School as well as the Village of Yorkville Park and Ramsden Park.
Amenities include a grand lobby with a dedicated concierge, a meditation room, a fitness facility, a variety of entertainment rooms and two terraces on the 28th floor featuring fire pits, barbecues and seating areas.
Cecconi Simone is Park Road’s interior designer.
Also under construction
Toronto-based Capital was founded in 2007 and has developed more than two million square feet of residential space. It has approximately 1.2 million square feet under active construction.
Park Road is Capital’s second condo in Yorkville after 11YV, a partnership with RioCan Living and Metropia with 24,000 square feet of street-level retail space. Almost all of the units in the 65-storey, 670-unit, Sweeny&Co Architects-designed building are sold and occupancy will begin at the end of this year.
Sales for the IBI Group-designed Olive Residences, near Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, were launched in 2023 and construction began later that same year. Ninety-seven per cent of its 350 units have been sold and completion is expected in 2026.
Construction is just above grade for the 69-storey, IBI Group-designed 8 Elm on Yonge, where 85 per cent of the 821 units are sold. The development, near Yonge and Dundas streets, is a partnership with Reserve Properties.
Broker relationships are important
When the sales process begins, Timpano emphasized that establishing solid relationships with real estate brokers, and getting feedback from them on a regular basis, can often be the difference in whether or not a deal for a condo unit gets done.
Studios and three-bedroom units have been the first to sell to investors in Capital projects, according to Timpano, the former because of their lower price and the latter because you can almost triple rental rates for a three-bedroom versus a one-bedroom – for less than three times the capital cost.
Older end-users who may be looking to downsize are seeking higher-end and larger units, but relatively few have been built in the past five to seven years, Timpano added.
“We haven’t had any issues obtaining condo development financing because we have a good track record of borrowing and repaying,” Timpano said. “Because we’ve achieved our sales so quickly we’re a good place for banks to lend and we haven’t had any issues.”
Projects in the pipeline
Capital will deliver the 46-storey, 630-unit, Sweeny&Co-designed 170 Roehampton, near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, as a purpose-built rental project. Demolition of the existing structure is expected to begin in two to three months and it’s expected to be a four-year build.
“We evaluate every project as both rental and condo and the economics to us have not made sense,” Timpano said. “But with the federal and provincial governments’ alleviation of the HST, the economics of rental have become more vibrant.
“Right now we’re seeing compression in construction costs so it’s a good time to put shovels in the ground if you have the financing to build a product.”
Capital is going through the zoning process for the proposed 69-storey, 837-unit, Diamond Schmitt-designed 90 Isabella near Church Street. Timpano expects it to be in place by the end of this year.
The company also owns a site at 88 Isabella St. and expects to execute on that 62-storey, 821-unit Diamond Schmitt-designed development first. It’s anticipated sales will launch in Q1 2025, subject to the state of the condo market at that point.
CBRE is marketing Capital’s development site at 399 Yonge St., near Gerrard Street, to potential purchasers. Timpano said there’s an agreement in principal for zoning with the City of Toronto.
“We’re still buyers in this market,” said Timpano. “We’re big believers in the tailwinds of Toronto.
“Our focus right now is on the acquisition of un-zoned land where we think the market is best-suited for condo, and zoned land where we think the market is best-suited for purpose-built rental.”
