Boutique buildings offer the ultimate in luxury and are more intimate than towering high-rises
Mid-rises such as 181 Davenport are typically between six and 12 storeys and offer a different sort of luxury than high-rise towers. MIZRAHI DEVELOPMENTS
Tall towers capture our attention and imagination, and few residences are more prestigious than the penthouse of a condo building that soars high into the city sky. But there’s plenty of luxury to be found in the smaller-scale boutique projects that have been cropping up along Toronto’s main avenues in recent years.
“There’s been tremendous interest in this product within the luxury market,” says Barbara Lawlor, president and CEO of Baker Real Estate Inc., one of Toronto’s leading high-end real estate brokerages. The city is encouraging development of these mid-rise projects, typically between six and 12 storeys, as they allow for the gentle growth and intensification of the city’s major arteries with buildings that preserve the character of existing neighbourhoods. Nearly 40 per cent of condo projects launched in the GTA between 2014 and 2016 were nine storeys or fewer, according to Altus Group.
Mid-rise buildings offer a different sort of luxury than high-rise towers, Ms. Lawlor says. Many buyers at boutique buildings are downsizing from single-family homes and don’t fancy living in a tall tower that offers little connection to the world below. Mid-rise condos are a more palatable alternative: smaller-scale buildings located along major streets in established areas. Not overwhelmingly big or overwhelmingly dense, the buildings are, by virtue of their size and scale, more tied in with the surrounding community, and they’re nearby to shops and services, parks and transit.
By virtue of their smaller scale, mid-rise buildings such as 128 Hazelton, above and below, are more tied in with surrounding areas. MIZRAHI DEVELOPMENTS
“Mid-rise buildings have an intimacy not found in a high-rise,” says Sam Mizrahi, president of Mizrahi Developments. “Being in a building with 70 other people feels more exclusive than one with 500 units.” Before his company embarked on the development of Canada’s tallest residential building, The One, an 85-storey tower under construction at Bloor and Yonge streets, Mr. Mizrahi built several boutique luxury projects in Yorkville: 133 Hazelton, 181 Davenport and 128 Hazelton. In Ottawa, his firm recently launched 1451 Wellington West, a 12-storey building inspired by those Toronto luxury projects. A mid-rise boutique building “gives you a feeling of home,” Mr. Mizrahi says. “It’s more like a custom-built home than a condo.”
They have become jewels in the landscape of our neighbourhoods.
— Barbara Lawlor, President and CEO, Baker Real Estate
He should know: His company started off doing custom homes before moving into condos, and it carried this custom approach through to the boutique projects in Yorkville, where Mr. Mizrahi’s team designed suites to suit specific buyer tastes. Upper-floor suites at The One also will be custom-designed, but Mr. Mizrahi acknowledges “you can typically do a much greater amount of customization in a boutique building than with a high-rise.”
Because boutique buildings have fewer units, developers can typically sell the projects faster, begin construction earlier and finish sooner.
Mid-rise condos also tend to be architecturally more interesting compared with high-rise towers. They’re often infill projects built on oddly shaped urban sites, making for quirky-looking buildings with distinctive layouts – a far cry from cookie-cutter, and therefore more exclusive. And because they’re located in established neighbourhoods, mid-rise buildings are required to step back or terrace down on several sides in order to transition to the scale of their surroundings. This planning constraint inspires architectural creativity not seen in a 50-storey tower.
“Toronto architects are some of the best in the world, and there are so many of these beautiful boutique buildings being built,” says Ms. Lawlor of Baker Real Estate. “They have become jewels in the landscape of our neighbourhoods.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.