Canderel has officially started construction on Forêt Forest Hill— a three-tower, master-planned condo community that will rise in midtown Toronto on a long-vacant site at Bathurst and St. Clair.
The construction financing was recently secured from a consortium that includes CIBC, National Bank, TD, Desjardins, and Laurentian Bank, signalling renewed confidence in Toronto’s condo market.
Jonathan Wener, founder and chairman of Canderel, compares this financing milestone to Aura at College Park, a highly complex project that was brought into construction with a consortium of 10 banks following the 2008 recession.
“While today’s environment presents a different set of challenges, Forêt reflects a similar achievement: moving a major project forward with the confidence of leading Canadian financial institutions at a time when the industry is facing significant headwinds,” he reflected.
Forêt sits at a prominent intersection near Forest Hill, Cedarvale, Wychwood and Casa Loma, in an area where new supply is extremely limited. The plan will transform the property into three residential towers with retail at grade: 35, 37- and 41-storey buildings that total 1,310 suites, and a new public park.
The condo community will also feature approximately 50,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities, including a two-storey fitness centre, indoor and outdoor pools, sauna, steam rooms, a juice bar, children’s recreation spaces, a pet spa, private dining areas, and various entertainment spaces including a wine lounge.
The top nine floors of the eastern tower will offer boutique suites with a private lobby and elevator, and dedicated amenity spaces. Typical suites will reach up to 2,000 square feet with options to combine suites to create much larger and unique living spaces.
“Today’s groundbreaking signals renewed energy in Toronto’s condominium market and reflects both a strong consistent sales program and recent uptick in buyer activity,” said Riz Dhanji, president of RAD, which leads sales for Forêt and other condo projects across the city. “Overall, in today’s market we are seeing buyers gravitate to well-designed and well-located projects with highly reputable developers.”
Feature photo: Canderel leaders with consortium of bank lenders at the groundbreaking ceremony of Forêt.
