The Mississauga YMCA property, which has been acquired by RGF (Mississauga) Developments Inc. (Courtesy RGF)

RGF (Mississauga) Developments Inc. has purchased a 4.5-acre property on the northeast corner of Burnhamthorpe Road West and Confederation Parkway in Mississauga, which includes a YMCA building and its 182-space parking lot, for $90 million.

“They were sitting on a valuable asset and probably felt that it’s better to crystallize the value of this strategic asset and take care of the future of the YMCA,” John A. D’Angelo, president of RGF (Mississauga) Developments Inc. and chief executive officer of HBNG Holborn Group, told RENX.

The YMCA’s objective was to maximize upfront cash sale proceeds. A call for proposals was issued and RGF secured exclusive negotiation rights for the property.

Mississauga’s Downtown Core Local Plan supports high-density, mixed-use development, which provides a significant opportunity for the site. All forms of high-density residential development, office space, hotels, retail commercial uses, community infrastructure and parkland are permitted on the property.

The Mississauga YMCA property

Future development of the YMCA property will take place over several phases and will potentially consist of multiple mixed-use towers atop ground-floor retail. D’Angelo said it’s still too early to talk about more detailed plans.

“We’re just coming to grips with the design team about the vision,” he said.

Mississauga YMCA’s facilities include childcare services, a gym, a fitness studio and a swimming pool. The YMCA wants to stay in place as long as possible and has negotiated a leaseback deal to continue to operate at the property.

D’Angelo said if it is asked, RGF will provide space for the YMCA as part of its future development plans.

The YMCA site at 325 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W. is within walking distance of retail, offices, schools, parks and institutional facilities. The area is home to Square One shopping centre and Celebration Square, which is widely considered to be the hub of the community.

The surrounding neighbourhood has had a surge in condominium development in recent years, fuelled by incentivizing land-use policies and increased demand for residential units.

Construction has started on the nearby Hurontario light rail transit line (LRT), which will provide connections across Mississauga and Brampton. The LRT is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2024.

City Centre Transit Terminal, providing MiWay services and GO Transit connections across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Greater Golden Horseshoe region, is located within walking distance.

The property is located a five-minute drive to Highway 403, a seven-minute drive to the Queen Elizabeth Way and a 10-minute drive to Highway 407 — three of the major highways in the GTA.

HBNG Holborn Group

RGF (Mississauga) Developments Inc. is led by HBNG Holborn Group, a fully integrated development company that’s involved with a range of real estate investments throughout the GTA and beyond in Ontario.

“RGF Real Estate Fund is essentially a public-private partnership where half of the fund is a small group of high-net-worth private families that are real estate development families and the other half is institutional with major Canadian pension funds,” said D’Angelo.

“When things come on the market that we feel can change a skyline or can have a serious impact on the growth of a city and the look of a city, we want to be there.

“We’re a growth-oriented company and we have the mandate and appetite to grow. But, you can’t do all of the deals, so you have to pick the ones that you feel are most in line with our mission.”

HBNG’s companies are:

– Kapp Infrastructure, which manages and executes infrastructure developments throughout the GTA and Southern Ontario;

– Maystar General Contractors, a full-service contractor with design/build, general contracting and construction management expertise;

– Poetry Living, a low-rise residential development company;

– and Soho Innovation Lab, an investor-backed co-working space in downtown Toronto designed for developers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

HBNG’s portfolio

HBNG’s portfolio includes a variety of different properties. “We’re not concentrating on any one specific area,” said D’Angelo.

RGF Real Estate Fund L.P. is partnered with Mattamy Homes on approximately 100 acres of land and 700 homes in Caledon, just north of Toronto. Poetry Living has been contracted as the official builder.

Grand Genesis was developed in partnership with Guizzetti Corporation and built by Maystar.

It’s comprised of two 15-storey multifamily residences on Yonge Street south of 16th Avenue in Richmond Hill. A central podium housing a winter garden connects the two towers and is surrounded by 30,000 square feet of retail and office space.

Parkside is a 12.6-acre site consisting of nearly 400 homes and townhomes, two schools and a park at Highway 89 and Boyne Street in Alliston.

The View is a 22-acre residential development at Major Mackenzie Drive West and Weston Road in Vaughan. It was developed by HBNG, site-serviced by KAPP and eventually third-party-built into more than 130 homes.

Soho Centre has more than 35,000 square feet of retail, office and parking space at 260 Queen St. W., on the corner of Beverley Street, in downtown Toronto. It was developed by HBNG and built by Maystar.

A 34,000-square-foot Walmart in Collingwood was developed by HBNG, site-serviced by Kapp and built by Maystar.

RGF Real Estate Fund L.P. led the purchase of The Country Club golf course in Woodbridge in May 2017. The 290-acre property along the Humber River will be the home of the Country Club Village low-rise residential development.

D’Angelo said a development application has been submitted for the site and community consultation is taking place.