The Daniels Corporation and partner Diamond Corp. recently broke ground on a new 3.6-acre condominium community at 5131 Sheppard Ave. East called Daniels FirstHome Markham Sheppard.
The land, which was purchased from Build Toronto, will be transformed into a community consisting of 328 contemporary mid-rise condominium suites and townhomes, all designed with first-time buyers in mind. The lands were tendered for sale incorporating a mandate to provide 30 per cent affordable ownership housing within the entire community.
Daniels FirstHome Markham Sheppard offers purchasers a five per cent Gradual Deposit Payment Plan, which involves monthly deposit installments until five per cent of the purchase price has been met before moving in.
In addition, Daniels created the First Home BOOST, a down payment assistance program for the 30 per cent of the homes that will be financially accessible. Designed to help first-time buyers with an annual household income that falls below $90,500, the 60th percentile of income for the City of Toronto, eligible purchasers may qualify for an interest and payment-free second mortgage for over 10 per cent of the purchase price, thereby ‘boosting’ their five per cent deposit to over a 15 per cent down payment.
The second mortgage will be held by the City of Toronto and will be repaid, along with a percentage of capital appreciation, when the unit is resold. Funds for the First Home BOOST program are provided by the Federal and Provincial governments and administered through the City of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Office.
Build Toronto worked with the Affordable Housing Office to assist in securing 30 per cent affordable ownership housing on the property, contributing $1.6 million towards down payment assistance.
“I applaud both the City of Toronto and Build Toronto for recognizing the opportunity to harness the power of the private sector to create much needed affordable ownership housing in our city,” said Niall Haggart, executive vice president of The Daniels Corporation, in a press release. “Becoming a homeowner is a big financial step, and we have been working hard for decades to help make this a reality in the communities in which we build.”
The 228 condo units at FirstHome Markham Sheppard will be priced from the $290,000s and will be located in three six-storey buildings ranging from 443 square foot studios to 1,053 square foot three-bedroom units. The condominium buildings will be built using wood-frame construction due to changes made to the Ontario Building Code in 2016.
There will also be 100 one- and two-storey townhomes in one-, two- and three-bedroom designs ranging from 528 to 1,172 square feet.
Construction is currently underway on the community, with first move-ins scheduled to take place in spring 2019. In the summer of 2018, Daniels will release a select number of homes for sale to those who qualify for the BOOST program, following the previous success of the company’s strategy to build the homes before the launch of sales, causing them to frequently sell out within hours of going on sale.
