Elysium Investments has received Toronto city council approval for highrise purpose-built rental developments in two different parts of the city.

They are:

• a Studio JCI-designed 70-storey, 599-unit apartment at 164-168 Isabella St., to be developed with International Property Group Inc. (IPG);
• and a Gensler-designed 36-storey, 339-unit apartment at 17-29 Glenavy Ave., to be developed with Terracap and Trolleybus Urban Development.

“Both of them were purpose-built rentals from the start and were never contemplated as condo projects,” Elysium chief executive officer Sayf Hassan told RENX.

“In 10 years, Canada will look back on this period as the moment that rental housing stopped being viewed as an alternative or like a lower class of condo development and began to be recognized as essential infrastructure.”

164-168 Isabella

The site is approximately a five-minute walk from the Toronto Transit Commission’s Sherbourne station and near the Wellesley and Bloor-Yonge stations.

The development will include 70 studios, 287 one-bedroom units, 181 two-bedroom units and 61 three-bedroom units. The average unit size will be 707 square feet.

Fifty units will be secured as rental replacement housing, giving all 38 existing rental households and eligible dwelling-room tenants the right to return under protected terms.

Since the site is relatively close to Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Toronto and George Brown Polytechnic, Hassan said the building could include a student housing component.

The project will provide approximately 27,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, 369 bicycle parking spaces and sustainability measures designed to meet the Toronto Green Standard. 

Due to its proximity to public transit, it won’t have a parking garage and will only offer four parking spots for visitors.

The site's two designated heritage buildings will be relocated, restored and integrated into the tower's base.

“We want them to be celebrated and to fit in and be contextual, and not be outranked by the tower above it,” said Hassan. “We always had this in mind from when we first saw the site.”

Hassan would like to break ground on the site within a year and he expects construction will take three to three-and-a-half years.

17-29 Glenavy

The site at Glenavy and Glazebrook avenues, in Toronto's Bayview-Eglinton neighbourhood, is within walking distance of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line.

After consultation with various City of Toronto departments, the originally proposed height of 39 storeys was reduced to 36. The upper-floor massing was reshaped to improve its relationship with neighbouring properties and pick-up and drop-off activity was moved underground to preserve a pedestrian-focused Glenavy Avenue frontage.

The building will have 64 studios, 83 one-bedroom units, 56 one-bedroom plus den units, 84 two-bedroom units and 52 three-bedroom units. There will be a four-storey podium with townhomes at grade.

The development will also include approximately 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, including a terrace, a swimming pool and a dog washing station. A green roof will cover 90 per cent of the available space.

There will be just seven parking stalls for residents and six for visitors due to the development’s proximity to public transit. There will be 438 bicycle storage spaces. 

A site plan application has been submitted and Hassan would like to start construction, which he expects to take just under three years, as soon as possible. 

Other Elysium developments

Toronto-based Elysium is a real estate investment and development firm focused on purpose-built rental and student housing. Its integrated platform spans acquisitions, investment, development and asset management, with active projects across the Greater Toronto Area. 

Elysium and Pinemount Developments, with investment from Estonian residential and commercial real estate developer Hepsor, are planning a mixed-use multifamily development for a 1.78-acre site at 3406-3434 Weston Rd. Municipal approvals have been received for 832 rental units in buildings of 39 and 35 storeys.

Elysium is still seeking final approvals for the development of three other Toronto purpose-built rental projects.

It’s proposing 41- and 39-storey towers on a mutual podium with 873 units on a 1.23-acre site assembled from 11 properties at 21-29 Oakmount Rd. and 26-36 Mountview Ave., near the Keele and High Park TTC stations and the 400-acre High Park.

IPG is the development partner for the Teeple Architects-designed project.

Four properties were assembled to create a half-acre site at 41-47 Talara Dr. in the Bayview Village neighbourhood, a five-minute walk from the Bessarion TTC station, where Elysium is planning a highrise building with approximately 350 units.

Seventeen properties were assembled for a one-acre site at 70-104 Brownville Ave. near the Mount Dennis transit hub where Elysium is seeking to build two BDP Quadrangle-designed towers on a shared podium that will offer 851 units.

Yarra Student Living developments

Elysium is also the developer of Yarra Student Living, a purpose-built student accommodation platform.

Yarra and partner 1 Asset Management, a Lithuanian investment management company with more than $740 million in assets under management, are proposing a 10-storey student residence located across from the University of Guelph at 210-222 College Ave. E. that would replace three underutilized lowrise properties with a 153-unit building composed of two-, three- and four-bedroom units with approximately 550 beds.

There are two other proposed Yarra developments close to the University of Guelph.

Yarra and 1 Asset Management also have a site at the intersection of King Street East and George Street in downtown Toronto currently occupied by a private art gallery and office space. They're proposing to develop a 25-storey building with 60 three- and four-bedroom units, yielding approximately 200 beds, and the redevelopment of a heritage asset.

The company has other properties in its acquisition pipeline and Hassan would like to see 10,000 purpose-built student accommodation beds in buildings developed under the Yarra banner within five to seven years.