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Ontario  + Apartments  | 
Rendering of future Toronto apartment tower.

Hazelview Looking to Do More MF Infill Projects

Hazelview is looking to undertake more multi-family infill development projects across Canada.

The investment and development company is in the process of developing a new multi-family rental tower and revitalizing an old one on a site in Toronto’s Midtown area. Hazelview plans to do many similar projects across Canada, Colleen Krempulec, the firm’s head of sustainability and brand, said in an interview.

“We see infill as having a lot of value potential,” she said. “And because we have a long history of investing in and managing multi-family properties all over the country, we have a large portfolio of real estate assets where we can look at those sites and identify infill opportunities to help bring forward the much needed housing that we need all over the country, but also to seek value out of the property.

“So, infill is something that we’re always looking at across our portfolio, and we’ve got a pretty substantial pipeline of infill development coming to market over the next many years. We have a pipeline of over about 20,000 residential homes currently in the pipeline for Hazelview, and a lot of that is infill.”

Toronto-based Hazelview owns other asset types; however, Krempulec said the company is focusing mainly on its $14-billion multi-family pipeline.

“We’re bullish on multi-family. We know that the fundamentals are strong,” said Krempulec, who is also a Hazelview managing partner,

At the Toronto site located at 73 and 75 Broadway, Hazelview is developing a new 38-storey mixed-use tower next to an existing 1960s-era apartment building, which will be upgraded. The 262,000-square-foot project is slated to comprise 520 rental units altogether, including 366 brand-new suites.

“The Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood, otherwise known as Midtown, is highly connected, so it sits right along the major public-transit line there,” said Krempulec, explaining why Hazelview wanted to expand its footprint in the area.

“It’s highly walkable location, highly transit-friendly, it’s right in the heart of the city. It’s connected to a lot of public amenities, green space, shops, restaurants and very close to major employment nodes. So this is the sort of location that’s got everything going for it.”

The new tower, situated at 73 Broadway, ranks among Hazelview’s larger projects based on unit count. Construction is slated to conclude in 2025.

Amenities at the two addresses will be extensive, featuring about 15,000 sf of shared space. The offerings will include a fitness centre, co-working areas, a rooftop terrace, and multiple lounges.

The redevelopment project will also contain many features designed to enhance sustainability, including EV charging stations, dedicated bike stalls, and waste-diversion facilities. Additionally, the development will implement energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, eco-friendly building materials, and a high-performance building envelope to enhance climate control.

Hazelview takes a similar approach to environment protection with all of its properties, said Krempulec.

“We have a portfolio of over 200 purpose-built multi-family apartments in Canada, and our entire portfolio is green-building certified, either through a BOMA Best certification, or certified rental-building certification,” she said.

“And then on a project-by-project basis, we look to invest in nature retrofit, be it energy retrofit, water retrofit, window replacement, [or] elevator upgrades to more modern, efficient standards.

“So, we do pretty intensive retrofits throughout the portfolio. In this particular instance with the Toronto project, we have a 10-storey building that was built circa- 1960s, and so we’re doing a pretty significant retrofit to decarbonize the building. It’s going to have a 95% decarbonization versus doing nothing.”

Both the new and old buildings will contain similar sustainability-related features, including electric heat pumps controlled by in-suite thermostats, which were not common back in the 1960s. (Contrary to their name, heat pumps also function as air-conditioners when the weather turns hot.)

Krempulec said tenants in both the old and new buildings will enjoy the same high level of quality and comfort, “despite the fact that one was built in the 1960s and one was built today.”

The heat pumps will also help dramatically reduce natural-gas consumption, she added.

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Inside The Story

Colleen KrempulecHazelview

About Monte Stewart

Monte Stewart serves as Content Director - Canada for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monte provides daily news coverage of major Canadian commercial real estate markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. He has written about the real estate sector for various media outlets and Avison Young since the early 2000s. In addition, he has covered sports, general news and business for several leading wire services and publications, including The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, The Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Research Money, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Natural Gas World and The Toronto Star. Monte is active in his community as a youth basketball coach and raises funds for such charitable causes as Movember.

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