Hazelview Investments opens first rental tower at Toronto's Bloor & Dufferin
The 1,100-unit Station House is part of a larger development that secured one of the largest CMHC-insured loans under the MLI Select program.
TORONTO — Hazelview Investments has opened its Station House rental tower to residents in Toronto, marking a milestone in the larger Bloor & Dufferin development that will bring more than 1,100 new rental homes to the transit-connected neighbourhood.
The project, which welcomed its first residents in September, is part of a broader portfolio where the developer says turning housing plans into actual homes requires financial certainty and long-term conviction.
"It starts with a total project cost that produces returns strong enough to attract capital," said Michael Williams, managing partner and chief development officer at Hazelview Investments. "A good site and a strong concept won't carry a project whose numbers don't work."
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At Bloor & Dufferin, Hazelview secured one of the largest Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation-insured loans issued under the MLI Select program to advance 856 new purpose-built rental homes, with construction financing provided by First National Financial LP.
The project qualified under both the program's energy efficiency and accessibility categories.
Williams said certainty behind approvals, construction pricing and schedule is needed so investors and lenders can underwrite with confidence.
That certainty must be paired with a long-term view. For Michael Tsourounis, co-CEO and CIO of private real estate at Hazelview, moving projects forward also requires "conviction in the long-term investment thesis and conviction in multi-residential as an asset class."
"It takes an exceptional team, backed by institutional-grade processes and governance that keep a large, complex project disciplined over many years," Williams said. "The execution model needs to stay flexible. On a multi-year project, markets, costs, policy and conditions will change, and the team has to adapt without losing sight of the plan."
While residents move into Station House, the next generation of rental housing is advancing at other Hazelview sites in Toronto.
At 72 Perth Avenue in the Junction Triangle, Hazelview and Castlepoint Numa broke ground this year on an 18-storey purpose-built rental development that will deliver 255 homes, including 51 affordable homes.
At 383–389 Cleveland Street in Leaside, Hazelview and Sierra Corporation broke ground on a 15-storey purpose-built rental community that will deliver 217 homes, including 43 affordable homes. With approximately 8,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, the project will also be Hazelview's first development to incorporate a geothermal-based mechanical system.
In Halifax, Story of Willett West has added 530 rental homes in the growing Clayton Park community.
Each is at a different stage, but together they demonstrate what a development pipeline looks like in motion.
The experience of Station House is also informing what comes next. For Tsourounis, that includes remaining balanced in Hazelview's conviction through changing market cycles and maintaining a long-term strategy rather than reacting to short-term headlines.
Moving projects forward is only part of the equation. Purpose-built rental housing is designed to operate for decades, making decisions during development critical to long-term performance.
Hazelview's integrated investment, development and property management capabilities provide a direct connection between the communities it operates today and those it is developing for tomorrow.
"It gives us a deep understanding of what residents need and how they experience a building, and that informs design decisions well before construction starts," Williams said. "You wouldn't invest in, design and manufacture a car without feedback from the people who drive it. We apply the same principle to the homes we build."
For investors, that means development is considered not as an isolated stage, but as part of the full lifecycle of the asset.
Canada's housing shortage will not be solved by the number of projects on paper, the company said. New homes must be economically viable, appropriately financed, approved, built and successfully operated.
Increasing that pace will require collaboration between governments, municipalities, lenders, investors, developers, construction partners and communities. It also requires an environment in which long-term capital has the confidence to invest.
With files from UrbanToronto