Construction is underway on the first phase of Sky Towers, a master-planned apartment development that will ultimately bring 928 rental units to Barrie, Ont.
SkyDev, the Guelph, Ont.-based developer that’s part of Skyline Group of Companies, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 15 to celebrate the construction kick-off at the Grove Street West site.
Barrie is experiencing tremendous demand for rental housing, with a 2023 vacancy rate of just 2.7 per cent, a current total rental market of just over 4,000 units, and a population that’s expected to more than double and reach 298,000 by 2051.
“We like the fundamentals of Barrie,” SkyDev president Greg Jones told RENX. “It’s the 10th-fastest growing city in Canada and the fifth fastest in Ontario.
“We’ve got a lot of population growth and need housing for it. There’s a new battery plant in Alliston and a lot of investment in the area and these people need housing. We’re happy to answer that call.”
The city is about 75 kms north of Toronto, with connections to the Greater Toronto Area via both Highway 400 and the regional commuter GO Train service. This access, combined with somewhat lower housing costs and its location near the gateway to Ontario’s cottage country region, has made it a popular destination for families.
What Sky Towers will offer
The development site was formerly owned and occupied by the YMCA, which sold it for an undisclosed price almost five years ago and used the proceeds to build a new facility at 535 Bayview Dr. The City of Barrie gave site plan approval for the new location in September.
SkyTowers’ first phase at 22 and 26 Grove St. W. is comprised of 25- and 27-storey buildings providing a combined 541 units, including 32 affordable housing units. It’s slated for completion in 2027.
Future phases at 18 and 20 Grove St. W. will include 29- and nine-storey buildings providing a combined 387 units. It’s not yet known when they’ll be launched.
The average unit size in the first two towers will be about 675 square feet, allocated pretty equally among one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus den and two-bedroom suites.
Amenities will include: an indoor/outdoor rooftop space overlooking Kempenfelt Bay (Lake Simcoe); electric vehicle charging stations; a pet spa; a kitchen; a bar; a lounge; a games room; and a gym and yoga facility.
The property is near the intersection of Highway 400 and Bayfield Street.
“It’s walking distance to downtown, walking distance to Bayfield Mall, and on four different bus routes,” Jones said. “It’s a good spot for housing.”
There will be $6.7 million in government funding allocated to building the 32 affordable apartments within the project, comprising about two-thirds of the City of Barrie’s Housing Community Improvement Plan that’s investing $10 million across six new developments.
“We intend to continue to apply to that program for the course of the project to get up to 10 per cent affordable,” Jones said.
There’s also a 10-year property tax phase-in for the apartment buildings.
Skyline Group of Companies
SkyDev is operated and managed by Skyline Group of Companies, a fully integrated asset acquisition, management, development and investment entity that acquires, develops and manages real estate properties and clean energy assets.
Skyline Group has approximately 1,000 employees across Canada and manages more than $8.23 billion across its real estate and clean energy platforms.
The Skyline Group of Companies operates and manages Skyline Apartment REIT, which owned 240 properties with 21,867 residential units in 57 communities in seven provinces as of early September.
“The nuance between SkyDev and the apartment REIT is we don’t do all of the apartment REIT’s development,” Jones noted. “They also work with other developers across Canada.”
Still to come from SkyDev
New rental housing is being developed in several other Ontario communities, with SkyDev overseeing 1,100 units under construction and 3,000 more in the pipeline.
SkyDev recently broke ground on Spencer Place, a 199-unit apartment building at 157 Queensway East in Simcoe. It’s in close proximity to retail, services and restaurants and adjacent to natural green spaces and trails.
Ground was broken for Residences at Silvercreek — a three-building, four-storey complex with 187 units on Prince of Wales Drive in Collingwood, — in May. It will increase the town’s purpose-built rental supply by one-third upon its slated completion in the spring of 2026.
Residences at Silvercreek will include a 4,800-square-foot central amenity building with an indoor kitchen, fireplace, games room and gym, as well as an outdoor terrace, hot tub and pickleball court.
Construction will begin soon on Sienna Avenue, a two-building, 164-unit apartment complex that backs on to conservation lands and Potter’s Creek at 201-205 Sienna Ave. in Belleville.
Jones is hoping to launch construction on East Bayshore Road, a 712-unit apartment complex with views overlooking Georgian Bay at 3195 E. Bayshore Rd. in Owen Sound, next year.
The site is adjacent to the Kiwanis Soccer Complex, close to public transit and recreational trails, and less than a 10-minute drive to downtown Owen Sound.
