This is a synopsis of the eighth of 10 Chapters, each to appear in Construction Links Network which began in November 2023. BUILDING TORONTO’s SKYLINE: TORONTO’S CONDOMINIUMS THROUGH THE AGES is available through Amazon in print, Kindle and audible editions.

Between 2002 and to the present, Toronto experienced an explosive growth of condos, and as a result, the city’s skyline has changed.

The factors leading up to this scenario included numerous changes in legislation beginning in 1991, when a court ruling declared “adult-only” buildings unconstitutional under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Suddenly, families with young children who couldn’t afford single-family houses could call a condo home. Condominium developers started building larger units aimed at families, as well as repurposing some units for small families.

More importantly, in 2005, the Greenbelt Act was established to protect the 2,000,000 acres of land surrounding the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe, where the population had risen from 6.5 to 7.7 million. The main idea was to protect agricultural lands that might otherwise be rezoned for development. One example is the Holland March, which cultivates more than $50,000,000 worth of vegetables, meats, wine grapes and other fruits and vegetables. Developers were encouraged to build up rather than out.

Various studies had mixed reviews of the Ontario Greenbelt. In 2010, it was ranked first in an international context because of its supporting legislation, yet another concluded that the Greenbelt needed a lot of work to become sustainable. The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) blamed the anti-sprawl regulations on the lack of affordable housing in Southern Ontario. Urban planners, however, dispute this and claim that there are large tracts of land set aside for development that remain undeveloped.

Then there are political differences. When Kathleen Wynne was Prime Minister, the April 2007 budget did not reduce the protected lands despite pressure from the real estate industry. Enter Prime Minister Doug Ford, who has waxed and waned on the topic, first saying he’d allow development in the protected area, then retracting that statement, then reversing his attitude again and designating approximately 7,400 acres at the edge of the Greenbelt close to services that can be used for housing development.

The past twenty years have seen major housing shifts in Toronto, and the proliferation of condos in the city has at times proven controversial. Developers began providing a variety of condo types in the early 1990s to draw in as many buyers as they could. Condos evolved into being like automobiles, coming in all makes, models, sizes, and designs.

Additionally, developers began constructing townhouses, mid-rise condos, high-rise condos and even stacked residential units stacked in addition to the conventional towers and townhouses.
Exclusive luxury penthouses were made available in prime locations, while more affordable residential units are located below. The segregated top floors have elevators, a lobby within a lobby, and some upscale amenities. Towers with enormous lobbies and pricey resort-like amenities overtook the modest early condos, much like the Model-T Ford.

Developers ran out of practical space for underground parking as they built the condo towers in the downtown area higher and higher. Along with decreasing unit dimensions and the cost of storage lockers, developers stopped including a free parking space with each residential unit. A few of them eventually stopped providing any parking spaces at all. Racks for bikes have become the standard.
The sustained level of intensification over the past 20 years makes the City of Toronto exceptional in the context of North America. The housing market has fundamentally changed, with condominiums now serving as a mature housing type that can accommodate the majority of Toronto’s growth.

Between 2002 and 2018 growth of condos exploded and 186,000 condo units were registered. That represents 72% of the residential growth in Toronto. 154 400 of the newly built condo units have been built in high rises, telling the story of Toronto’s changing skyline. By 2016, 292 000 residents in Toronto were staying in condos, with the amount only expected to increase in the future.

The author of Building Toronto’s Skyline: Toronto Condominiums Through the Decades, Nick Ainis is Founder & CEO of Fusioncorp Developments, a boutique construction management company and general contracting organization specializing in multi-unit residential condominiums. Nick is an experienced and highly respected construction professional with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Architectural Science and Project Management from Ryerson University. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, he has a strong track record of delivering high-quality construction projects on time and within budget. Nick has expertise in managing high-rise residential projects and has developed a reputation as one of the industry’s finest project managers. As CEO of Fusioncorp, he is deeply involved in all aspects of each project from pre-construction through to construction and project closeout.

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