Graywood Developments will launch sales for Centricity, a 53-storey, 594-unit condominium development next to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), early in 2023.

Graywood acquired the site at the northeast corner of Church Street and Dundas Street West for $73 million two years ago and chief development officer David Hamilton told RENX the rezoning and approvals processes went smoothly.

Launching the sales process is a sign of the company's confidence in the project and in Toronto's housing market despite recent headwinds.

Centricity is part of Graywood's development pipeline of more than 6,000 units, encompassing approximately 5.2 million square feet and valued at more than $4.3 billion, across the GTA and in Alberta.  

“We like to think they're all great AAA locations with good amenities and access to rapid transit,” Hamilton said.

And, Graywood is continuing to look for more acquisition opportunities and will move forward with planned launches despite a softening condo sales market.

“We're very aware of the current economic environment, interest rates and some of the challenges with sales,” said Hamilton. “But we believe that if it’s a great product and it's priced right, we'll be successful.”

Toronto-based Graywood is a private investment management company formed in 1985. It provides a range of real estate development and investment services with a team of more than 50.

The firm has developed more than 31,100 housing units with a combined value of more than $8.3 billion across several asset classes, including residential lots, low-rise housing, mid- and high-rise condos, hotels and retirement residences. 

The Centricity condos development

Centricity’s units will range in size from studio to three-bedroom-plus-den configurations, with approximately 10 per cent having three bedrooms. Pricing hasn’t yet been disclosed.

Turner Fleischer is the architect for the project, with DesignAgency overseeing its interiors.

The building’s interior amenities will include: a gym with a spin studio and yoga room; creative maker spaces, including a photography studio and podcast room; a room for children; and co-working spaces.

Outdoor amenities will include: a children’s play area; a bar; a communal barbecue; a dog run; and a fitness area.

The former Esso gas station and Circle K variety store at the 241 Church St. development site has been converted to a sales centre for Centricity, which will provide easy access to public transit and downtown Toronto shopping, dining, entertainment and employment options.

Centricity will cater heavily to cyclists by offering them a dedicated lobby at ground level, direct access to bicycle parking, a bike service and wash station, and nearly 600 dedicated parking and storage spaces.

In comparison, the condo will offer 63 parking spaces for motorized vehicles.

Hamilton is expecting many TMU students to live in Centricity and that, combined with its central location, made it a natural candidate for focusing on being bike-friendly.

There are plans to do similar things in other Graywood developments.

“We're trying in all of our projects to make bicycle rooms more attractive, with better lighting and higher-quality finishes,” said Hamilton.

“You'll see the City of Toronto continue to go green with more dedicated cycling lanes and cycling paths. They’re the future, so we're trying to get ahead of the curve and plan for it.”

Under construction or approved in Toronto

Wonder Condos, comprised of 285 units in townhomes and a seven-storey condo at 462 Eastern Ave. in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood, will be completed in the spring of 2023.

Graywood partnered with Alterra on the project, which is on the site of a former Weston Bread factory.

Occupancy of Peter & Adelaide, a 47-storey condo with 696 residences and about 45,000 square feet of retail and office space at grade and on the second floor of the podium, will begin in Toronto’s Entertainment District next summer.

The 12-storey, 269-unit SCOUT Condos development at 1791 St. Clair Ave. W. in Toronto will be completed next year.

A nine-storey, 174-unit condo and townhouse development at 250 Lawrence Ave. W., just east of Avenue Road in Toronto’s Bedford Park neighbourhood, is scheduled for a fall 2023 completion. 

JAC Condos, a 34-storey, 489-unit condo and townhouse project from Graywood and Phantom Developments at 308 Jarvis St. in downtown Toronto, should be completed in 2024. 

The Goode Condos, a 32-storey, 540-unit development at 33 Parliament St. in Toronto’s The Distillery Historic District, is under construction and scheduled for 2025 completion. There are a few remaining unsold units.

The Diamond + Schmitt Architects-designed 506 Church Street is a proposed 14-storey, 160-unit condo located just south of Maitland Street in downtown Toronto. It has received approval to move forward and sales should launch next year.

Graywood is partnering with KingSett Capital on a 35-storey, 300-unit, Turner Fleischer-designed condo at 29-39 Pleasant Blvd., southeast of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue West in midtown Toronto. It doesn’t yet have full planning approval.

Graywood's Greater Toronto Area projects

Graywood and Phantom Developments are partnering on a three-tower-plus-podium mixed-use development at 3201 Highway 7 as part of the master-planned Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

They were proposing to build two 55-storey towers and a third at 26 storeys, with approximately 1,730 residential units, when the site was acquired a year ago.

“We're tweaking the design and making some modifications,” said Hamilton.

The partners are going through the planning approval process with City of Vaughan officials and anticipate the project will be ready to launch next year.

Graywood is proposing to build a nine-storey condo with approximately 100 units in the Bronte neighbourhood of Oakville. The development application is going through an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal.

Graywood and Falconcrest Homes have a proposed development called Park & Lake in Oshawa that overlooks a park and Lake Ontario. They’re proposing to build approximately 160 single-family homes and are moving forward in the approvals process.

Graywood in Calgary

The Theodore, a 10-storey, 114-unit condo at 417 10 St. N.W. in Calgary’s Kensington community, was completed this year.

First & Park, an 18-storey, 211-unit condo at 727 1 Ave. S.W., is scheduled for completion in 2025. The building is located close to the Bow River, Peace Bridge and Prince’s Island and its units are 90 per cent sold.

Graywood launched sales for Metroside at Fish Creek Exchange, part of a master-planned community in southwest Calgary that’s a 20-minute CTrain ride to downtown, earlier this year. 

Metroside’s condos and townhomes are the third development phase for Fish Creek Exchange and Hamilton said sales are going well. The first and second phases are under construction.