Armour Heights Developments is preparing to launch sales for its 20-storey, luxury 89 Avenue Yorkville tower in Toronto. (Courtesy Armour Heights)

Armour Heights Developments began by building custom homes in Toronto and, 39 years later, president Frank Mazzotta says his company is “going to build 35 custom homes in the sky.”

Mazzotta was referring to 89 Avenue Yorkville, a property formerly occupied by a Howard Johnson Hotel and Hotel 89. Vaughan-based Armour Heights acquired the site for $31 million and will develop a 20-storey condominium with 35 high-end suites and one three-level townhouse on it.

Its Yorkville location at 89 Avenue Rd. puts it in close proximity to upscale retail, restaurants, cafes, galleries and universities.

The 45-foot-wide concrete building will have 3,900-square-foot floorplates and suites ranging in size from 1,800 to more than 3,000 square feet. Prices will start at $3.5 million and go up to more than $20 million.

“We feel there’s a huge need for that type of build in the core,” Mazzotta told RENX. “I think there’s a niche market where a lot of people who are living in the Forest Hill and Rosedale areas want to right-size.”

89 Avenue Yorkville’s features

As expected for a luxury building, 89 Avenue Yorkville will be packed with amenities, including: 24-hour concierge services; valet parking and porter services; fully automated parking; facial recognition access for main entry doors, amenities and elevators; and three high-speed elevators with card readers for individual access control.

Other features include:

* a secured storage and package delivery area, as well as cold storage for fresh food and flower deliveries;

* a mail room with individual key access;

* a pet wash;

* an indoor heated swimming pool with private cabanas;

* men’s and women’s change rooms with showers;

* an outdoor lounge with a fire pit and barbecue;

* and a resident lounge and dining room with a catering kitchen, fireplace and personal climate-controlled wine storage lockers.

“We want to give them all of the luxuries and amenities and whatever they require, and what they’ve had and been accustomed to in their large homes,” said Mazzotta.

Mazzotta spent time in New York City looking at similar projects and talking to developers to bring ideas back to Toronto for 89 Avenue Yorkville.

He’s hired architect Richard Wengle, interior designer Brian Gluckstein, landscape architect and designer James McWilliams, and Clark Construction, which will build the condo’s superstructure before Armour Heights finishes the building.

Demolition of the current building will be handled by Priestly Demolition. Site plan approval should occur within weeks and building permit submissions should be made by mid- to late November, according to Mazzotta.

A million-dollar sales presentation centre will be opened at 161 Cumberland St. The plan is to launch sales in the spring and for the condo to be occupied in March 2024.

Armour Heights has plans for other Ontario projects in addition to 89 Avenue Yorkville.

Beaverton Common

Armour Heights owns 150 acres near the junction of Highways 12 and 48, not far from Lake Simcoe on the way to cottage country. Mazzotta hopes to receive approval to develop Beaverton Common on the site’s first 25 acres this month.

The first phase will include 110,000 square feet of commercial space that Mazzotta would like to include a grocery store and fast food/casual restaurants. A second phase will have approximately 150,000 square feet dedicated to employment.

The 10-year master plan also includes adult lifestyle residences, a retirement home, an independent living facility and a medical centre.

Elbay Developments

Family-run Armour Heights has owned the site of Elbay Developments, at 930 Elgin Mills Rd. E. in Richmond Hill, since 2004. It will have 230 stacked townhomes, ranging in size from 800-square-foot one-bedroom units to 1,400-square-foot three-bedroom units.

They’ll be priced from $700,000 to $900,000. A presentation centre is being put up now and sales will launch in the spring.

Elbay Developments will include a children’s playground, an underground parking garage with two stalls for each resident, and a stormwater management pond.

Yonge MCD and Richmond Hill

Armour Heights has owned a site that includes addresses on Yonge Street, Naughton Drive and Brookside Road in Richmond Hill since 2006 on which it plans to develop a project called Yonge MCD aimed at empty nesters.

It’s been approved for 200 units, which will include semi-detached homes, stacked townhomes and an adult lifestyle platform. Prices will be in the $700,000 range for approximately 1,200-square-foot units overlooking a 3.5- to four-acre park.

Mazzotta said there will be a light rail transit stop in front of Yonge MCD. The site is currently being leased to construction companies for staging.

“We’ve got probably 1,000 units coming up in the Yonge and Elgin Mills area with stacked towns,” said Mazzotta, looking ahead at Armour Heights’ future development pipeline.

These plans include 39-storey and 21-storey condo towers with approximately 500 combined units. A purpose-built rental tower is also in the works.