TORONTO — Canderel has officially begun construction on Forêt™ Forest Hill, a three-tower master-planned community at Bathurst and St. Clair in Toronto.
Construction financing was recently secured from five major Canadian banks, a release reads, with the financing consortium led by CIBC and includes National Bank, TD, Desjardins and Laurentian Bank.
“This financing milestone brings back memories of Aura at College Park, where, coming out of the 2008 recession, we advanced a highly complex project into construction with a marquee financing structure from a consortium of 10 banks,” said Jonathan Wener, founder and chairman of Canderel, in a statement. “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.”
Canderel’s vision will transform the long-vacant site into a new community hub with three residential towers and retail at grade. The towers will be 35, 37- and 41-storey buildings with approximately 1,310 suites across the three buildings.
The project team includes BDP Quadrangle (architecture), II BY IV Design (interiors) and Site/C (landscape). Digging for the underground infrastructure for the project’s geothermal heating and cooling system was completed last year, the release notes.
The redevelopment will also deliver a new public park, a child care centre and community space.
The new condominium community will 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, dedicated amenity spaces and ultra-high-end finishes throughout. Typical suites will reach up to 2,000 square feet with options to combine them, the release adds.
“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, RAD, which leads sales for Forêt and other condominium 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.”
