Urban Capital and Rogers Real Estate Development have topped off the towering 81-storey M3, part of their 15-acre M City development in Mississauga that will eventually be home to eight multifamily buildings containing more than 6,000 units.

The IBI Group-designed, approximately 900-unit M3 condominium is now Mississauga’s tallest building - and the tallest in Canada west of Toronto.

Construction on M3 began in the summer of 2020 and occupancy will begin at M City’s third tower in Q1 2026.

There are more than 1,570 units in M City’s CORE Architects-designed 62-storey M1 and M2 twin condo towers, which are complete and were occupied in 2022 and 2023.

The community remains a hive of development activity.

Also under construction at M City

Urban Capital vice-president Steven Barr told RENX the 67-storey, 954-unit CORE Architects-designed M4 condo is “essentially sold out, with a handful of suites remaining that will be released next year.” Construction of M4 began in the third quarter of 2022 and occupancies are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2028.

“We're forming Level 12 of the tower right now and the windows are being installed around the podium,” Barr noted.

More than 90 per cent of the 430 units at the 36-storey, IBI Group-designed M5 condo have been sold and a small number of suites that were held back will be released for sale next year. Construction at M5 is happening in tandem with its counterpart M4, with completion also scheduled for 2028.

Tradespeople are forming and pouring concrete for the seventh storey, which is the building’s amenity level and the last floor of the podium before the tower begins, Barr said. There will be a retail component at grade.

“With the size of the buildings and the construction start dates at M City, we weren't affected, in a sense, by the more recent ebbs and flows of the construction market — meaning we weren't getting hit by some of the cost escalations that we were seeing,” Barr explained. “Nor have we, in effect, benefitted from a lot of the cost reductions that I think has been enjoyed in the industry.

"These projects are five- to seven-year cycles so when you put a shovel in the ground you want to make sure that you've locked up your major trades and are taking a lot of the cost risks off the table.”

Still to come at M City

More than 30 per cent of the 889 units at the 58-storey Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed M6 condo have been sold. When construction will begin on the building, which will have retail at grade, will depend on market conditions. Barr expects it to take five years to complete once it starts.

The 50-storey M7 and 45-storey M8, both designed by Hariri Pontarini, will combine to offer approximately 1,450 units and will share a podium and underground parking.

“Our strategy has always been to remain nimble and ready to respond to the market,” Barr said. “As always, we'll move forward with a sales launch when the market has demonstrated a readiness for it.”

Barr said the development team is also considering M7 and M8 becoming purpose-built rental apartments, but no decisions have yet been made.

“We have seen costs come down in some categories and — naturally, with a lot less starts — we're going to see a more competitive marketplace with trades for jobs,” Barr said of the effect a stalled condo market is having on construction costs.

“It's going to be beneficial to developers who are working on these super-talls, but also those who are working on some of the mid-rise typology along the avenues.” 

Upon completion, the Cooper Robertson-master-planned, 4.3-million-square-foot M City will also feature nearly 85,000 square feet of retail space, public art installations and access to more than two acres of parkland, including M Park and the Mary Fix multi-use trail.

Rogers Real Estate and Urban Capital

Rogers Real Estate Development Limited is the owner and developer of M City, located at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Road West and Confederation Parkway in Mississauga's downtown area. It engaged the services of Urban Capital to manage the development in 2007. 

The M City site has been owned by the Rogers family since the 1960s. It was rezoned in 2002 to allow for a wider possibility of uses, including increased residential development.

Toronto-based Urban Capital has over 10,000 condominium units completed or under development in Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg and Saskatoon since its inception in 1996.

“We’ve got projects at various stages of sales, construction and completion in Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa and Montreal,” Barr said. “We have a few making their way through approvals in Toronto and a few others in the pipeline in the early stages.”

Urban Capital is now selling:

• Navy Lane, a nine-storey, 169-unit condo with ground floor retail and rooftop amenities that’s under construction at 2179 Gottingen St. in Halifax;
• and CM3, the third and final condo at Cité Midtown, located at 250 Marcel-Laurin Blvd. in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, which will have 187 units.

Construction has also begun on a purpose-built rental apartment building with approximately 120 units at Cité Midtown, a mixed-use community that also includes a public park, retail and shared amenities.