CentreCourt Developments has broken ground on the first two multi-residential towers at Pickering City Centre in Pickering, Ont.

The buildings, at 40 and 45 storeys, will include approximately 974 condominium units. More than $25 million in site servicing is also underway, including new roads, utilities, and the construction of City Centre Park across from Pickering City Hall on lands already conveyed to the city. The park will feature space for cultural events, skating, splash pads, and green areas.

The progress has been enabled in part by a development-charge deferral policy from the City of Pickering and the Region of Durham. Under the policy, CentreCourt will pay charges at occupancy rather than permit issuance, easing upfront costs and supporting project viability.

“This policy has been instrumental in allowing construction to begin at a time when many projects across the province are stalled,” said Mitch Gascoyne, a CentreCourt partner and the firm’s senior vice-president of development. “By collecting fees at occupancy, the city and region are maintaining fiscal responsibility while accelerating the delivery of much-needed housing. It’s the kind of smart, collaborative approach our industry needs right now.”

The deferral spares CentreCourt from borrowing funds and paying interest to cover the development charges until the first occupancy.

The city has deferred its development charges for building permits, typically for a three-year period, Mayor Kevin Ashe told Connect in an interview.

City hall thought it was prudent to do anything within its powers to stimulate some construction at a when homebuilders, especially condo developers, are struggling and sales are lagging, said Ashe.

“There is a housing crunch in our country,” he said. “There is an affordability crunch in our country, and anything that governments could do to partner with these developers that hastens the period of growth or lessens the impact in regards to lower cost and affordability, we we must consider in these times.”

According to the mayor, Pickering was “ahead of the curve” as the Ontario government prepares to introduce development-charge deferral legislation that will allow cities across the province to make similar postponements.

Ash said the Pickering project is very important because condo buildings will mark the first steps in the development of a downtown.

The city has put off receiving about $10.3 million altogether, the city says. Ashe said it’s hard to tell how a deferral on one project could affect the city’s finances.

“Development charges are used for growth-related projects, so some of them would have to be financed differently or deferred,” he said. “But we’re a growing city, so we have many projects, so it’ll have a fairly modest impact on our bottom line, and even less of an impact in terms of priority items that will still proceed.”

The deferral spares CentreCourt from borrowing funds and paying interest to cover the development charges before the first occupancy. Ashe said the condo buildings mark the first steps in the development of a downtown in the Toronto suburb.

“Coupled with this development is the conveyance of land to the city that will house our first urban park, which will have a skating feature in the winter and a water feature in the summer, similar to [Toronto’s] Nathan Phillips Square,” said Ashe. “So, we’re most excited about that, and this is a type of development which is walkable to the GO train and transit-connected.

“And, we’re really excited about partnering with CentreCourt to get this off the ground.”

Once complete, the 55-acre site will contain 6,000 homes across more than 10 towers, a shopping centre, now known as the Shops at Pickering City Centre, that is being developed by Salthill Capital; and, new street-level retail, and extensive public spaces, including a 55-storey tower that will be the tallest in Pickering.

“Pickering City Centre represents an unmatched opportunity to reimagine a beloved community hub as a modern downtown destination,” said Gavin Cheung, managing partner and president of CentreCourt.

He described the project as a transformative development that will deliver a complete community, including residential, retail, commercial and public spaces for residents and visitors alike.

Pictured: Future Pickering City Centre project in Pickering, Ont.

Rendering: Courtesy of kg & a/CentreCourt