Momentum keeps building in Equiton Developments’ condominium portfolio with the acquisition of a land parcel in Toronto’s coveted Broadview North neighbourhood.
The Equiton subsidiary has proposed turning the property, located at 1099 Broadview Ave., into Ten99, a 12-storey, 355-unit midrise.
Should it come to fruition in proposed form, Equiton Developments’ all-mid-rise portfolio will have nearly 1,000 Greater Toronto Area-based condo suites announced in the past year-and-a-half. This also includes 333 homes at Sandstones in Scarborough and 186 at Kül Condominium in Etobicoke.
Broadview North is a key growth area within Toronto proper. Including Equiton Developments’ latest announcement, there are more than 2,300 units of housing in various stages of development approval along the Broadview corridor.
The neighbourhood is primed for growth because of several salient fundamentals, not the least of which is ample green space to attract growing families amid a housing crisis inflamed by unprecedented population growth. Toronto recently became North America’s fourth-largest city after Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles.
“It’s a proven location, it’s very close to the Broadview Subway Station and it’s walkable; it’s easy to get to the Don Valley Parkway,” Ryan Donkers, Equiton’s VP of investments, told RENX.
Donkers added Broadview Avenue, which runs through Queen Street East in Leslieville and Danforth Avenue, is a stone’s throw from a plethora of services and amenities, including countless restaurants and pubs, and a short jaunt from the Financial District in the downtown core.
“With the restaurants and nightlife that you get on Broadview, it’s a pretty well-located property that is going to help us with all the proven entitlements there to get this to the next stage when we’re ready to sell,” he said.
Fertile market conditions in Toronto
Equiton Developments purchased the former Vicinity Condos in September from Format Queensway Inc. for $12.75 million after Colliers listed it on the market.
That project, which has since been rebranded Kül Condominium, had already been granted rezoning approval but had, at the time of purchase, spent more than a year waiting for site-plan approval.
However, being in advanced stages of the planning department process mitigated risk on Equiton’s part. That is significant because, as a firm with a reputation for consistently producing investor returns, Equiton is known for a studious, if tempered, approach.
Since it is located at 875 The Queensway, which is serviced by east- and west-bound streetcars, the development conforms to the Places to Grow Act of 2005, which mandated intensification as a necessity.
Similarly, Sandstones at 2257 Kingston Rd. is a strategically located project with nearby transit, and by both capitalizing on indomitable fundamentals and adhering to intensification stipulations, that project also pencils out well.
To understand Equiton’s commitment to those projects, as well as Ten99, Donkers pointed to Equiton’s organization-wide assessment process.
“We’re very conservative in our due diligence and underwriting assumptions,” he said. “We look at a lot of sites each week and it takes a lot of time to find one that works for us and the vendor at the right terms.”
Strategic ROIs
Ten99 is projected to yield exactly what Equiton is looking for.
According to company projections on its webpage dedicated to the project, Ten99, tentatively slated for occupancy in late 2028, is anticipated to reach $386 million in total value. While Equiton’s investors receive payouts when projects are completed, Ten99 states investors could earn up to 20 per cent annual returns.
As Donkers said, a GTA-focused investment strategy underpins many of the decisions the company makes.
The GTA, buoyed by the most diverse economy in the country, is the main draw for newcomers to Canada, who numbered over a million in the 12 months ending July 2023.
“Right now, our strategy is focused on Toronto and GTA markets where there’s a strong market for tailwinds, such as surging immigration and scarce supply,” Donkers said. “Our sweet spot today is finding mid-rise projects in the neighbourhood of 200,000 to 400,000 square feet of GFA (gross floor area), and all three of our projects are in that range.”
Despite efforts to bolster planning departments with additional staff and even favouring as-of-right zoning, however, the chasm between unprecedented demand for housing, both for ownership and rentals, and its supply remains wider than ever.
That is incentive for developers to continue making investments similar to the one Equiton Developments made by acquiring the plot of land that is to become Ten99.
Moreover, its recent foray into the condo market is telling, especially since Equiton’s multifamily apartment fund, which Donkers called its “bread and butter,” remains as active as ever.
But the population explosion has opened another door to help investors, Donkers advised: “It’s a new opportunity.”