Luxury developers know that buyers are lured by neighbourhoods that have all the amenities easily within reach
Urban buyers are looking for properties that allows them to walk to stores, parks and restaurants. MARK KEAST
In a city such as Toronto, described as a city of neighbourhoods, the “gold dust” is being able to buy a home or condo and have every possible amenity one can imagine just minutes from the front door. “Homebuyers increasingly want to live in walkable neighbourhoods and they are willing to pay a premium for that accessibility, often sacrificing square footage or other amenities in the home in order to live in a place where they can walk to stores, parks and restaurants,” says Alina Ptaszynski, spokesperson for Walk Score (part of Redfin, the full-service real estate brokerage based in Seattle). A Redfin analysis found that, on average, one additional Walk Score point increases the price of a home by an average of US$3,350, or 0.9 per cent. The Walk Score algorithm measures the walkability of any address based on its distance from amenities, population density, block length and pedestrian friendliness.
Toronto ranks 11th in terms of North America cities – with a Walk Score rating of 71.4, according to Ms. Ptaszynski. New York is No. 1 at 89.2, with Vancouver (78) just ahead of Toronto when considering Canadian cities (Montreal is a smidgeon behind Toronto – 70.4).
Take the Pembina Institute and Royal Bank of Canada study in 2014 examining homebuyers’ preferences for home location in the GTA as another example. The survey asked people to gauge where they would want to live based on factors including walkability, home size, neighbourhood, and commute times. Eighty-one per cent of homebuyers preferred walkability, or transit-friendly neighbourhoods, over locations dependent on car transportation, if cost wasn’t a factor – even if it meant trading a larger house with extra bedrooms and a yard, for a more modest condo, house or townhouse (60 per cent of families with three or more kids would trade away a larger house in a car-dependent neighbourhood; just 19 per cent of those surveyed would choose a large home and yard, where a car is required to commute).
I think luxury is defined by freedom – not being burdened by having to drive your car somewhere.
— Sam Mizrahi, President, Mizrahi Developments
An Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences study in 2016, found that obesity rates in highly walkable neighbourhoods in Southern Ontario cities remained stable for a decade but continued to rise in less walkable ones. Neighbourhoods designed to be more walker-friendly also saw a decrease in new cases of diabetes (according to Diabetes Canada, 3.4 million Canadians were estimated to have the disease in 2015, or almost one in 10; diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss, kidney failure, cardiovascular disease and limb amputations; it is estimated diabetes will cost the Canadian health-care system $16.9-billion each year by 2020).
Overall, whether it’s the Walk Score algorithm or another study, the car is fast becoming an accessory, no longer a necessity. Just ask Sam Mizrahi, president of Mizrahi Developments, the company behind The One – an 85-storey tower on the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor that will feature uber-luxury retail (including an anchor tenant occupying 17,000 square feet of corner space), restaurants, hotel and condominiums (with multilevel penthouses). He describes it as the “nexus” of the city (more than 409,000 TTC riders flow through Yonge and Bloor on a weekday, according to TTC statistics – a big reason for that).
Mr. Mizrahi says that 70 per cent of the project is now sold (construction is just starting, with an opening date five years down the road), with the vast majority of buyers checking walkability at the top of their want list.
The One – designed by world-renowned Foster + Partners of London with Toronto’s award-winning CORE Architects Inc. – is a unique offering that will offer no compromises for the discerning buyer, Mr. Mizrahi says. Hallmarks of the project include innovative design, private, secure entrance off Bloor Street, elevator to the building’s glass-enclosed and marbled Sky Lobby on the sixth floor, concierge desk addressing all conceivable needs, and a garden terrace 100 feet above Yonge and Bloor, featuring an infinity pool with dramatic views of the city. Uniformed valets will park and retrieve residents’ cars from underground parking. The building, Canada’s tallest residential building, will reshape Toronto’s skyline.
“When talking about the type of building and the quality of it, I expect this will be the first of many like this to come, signalling the new architectural landscape,” Mr. Mizrahi says. “These buildings will all be walkable – come out the front door with access to everything. That’s what urban living is about. It’s about the conveniences of not having to take your car or park. You can walk anywhere. I think luxury is defined by freedom – not being burdened by having to drive your car somewhere. From a health standpoint, and lifestyle standpoint, more and more people are subscribing to this – to really live in the heart of a city, to really feel its soul.”
Lorna Day, the City of Toronto’s director of urban design, says that, when it comes to walkability, the city’s official planning policies reflect not only what exists today, but how the city wants to extend that into the future. “It’s about the economic and physical health of the city,” she says. “We are generally a clean city that promotes walkability with good amenities on our sidewalks – which is about the width of our sidewalks, what you can find there in terms of trees, bike rings, benches, we have good furniture in our public realm … animated streets with good retail frontage. Generally, our main streets have uses that promote that walkability. We are not New York or Paris yet, but we are well on track to being one of the top walkable cities in the world.”
Mr. Mizrahi points to some of his favourite walking cities in Europe, including London, Paris and Rome. “This is something we have seen in Europe for centuries,” he says. “Even New York, where you walk out a short distance and you are on 5th Avenue, for example. If you have to get into your car to go somewhere, it’s the anti-luxury. You look at the transformation of Bloor Street in the past 10 years – all these major international brands opening stores … that are redefining Bloor into international-focused retail and international walkability, the way we have seen in New York and other international cities. “Luxury residential living as part of the downtown core – there is something very unique, very symbiotic, about it.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.