Almadev has broken ground on two condo towers comprising the first phase of LSQ, a 15-acre master-planned, mixed-use community on Sheppard Avenue East in the Toronto suburb of North York.

As pre-construction condominium sales have severely slumped over the past couple of years and some projects have been delayed or stalled, LSQ is one of the few condo projects launched in 2023 to officially begin construction in 2025. 

But construction hasn't launched without an acknowledgement of today's market conditions. Almadev is proposing changes to future portions of the development and is also offering innovative incentives for condo purchasers, including a cash-flow guarantee for potential investor owners.

LSQ’s Wallman Architects-designed first phase will include:

• LSQ1, a 43-storey tower with 462 units that are 85 per cent sold;
• LSQ2, a 30-storey tower with 338 units that are about 50 per cent sold;
• 83 affordable rental units in LSQ2; and
• shared underground parking.

WZMH Architects is responsible for the master plan, Truong Ly Design is overseeing interiors, Ferris + Associates is the landscape architect and Bousfields Inc. is handling planning.

LSQ is located just east of Highway 404, near the Don Mills subway station and the proposed Sheppard East light rail transit line. It’s in an area the City of Toronto has identified for mixed-use intensification and infrastructure investment and nearby amenities include CF Fairview Mall, dining, parks and recreational facilities.

Purchase incentives for investors and end-users

Remaining condo units start in the high $500,000s, with limited-time purchase incentives available on select inventory.

The first incentive package, for investors looking to rent their units, offers a cash-flow guarantee.

“Depending on the size of the unit, a purchaser can receive up to $6,500 per month in rental income for a period of two years,” Almadev chief executive officer Rafael Lazer told RENX. “This is above and beyond the natural rent increase.”

People who live in their units will receive the equivalent of the cash flow guarantee incentives so they can get the best price right now. 

There are no maintenance fees for the first two years as part of both incentive packages.

“We tried to tailor the program to give the market what it needs to support purchases,” Lazer explained. 

First occupancy for Phase One is projected for 2028.

Rezoning application submitted earlier this year

Upon full build-out, under what’s currently approved, LSQ would deliver: approximately 1,600 residential units across six towers, including 160 affordable rental units; 400,000 square feet of commercial space; 50,000 square feet of retail space; and a 1.2-acre public park. 

A rezoning application submitted early this year, however, proposes expanding the total gross floor area to 2.5 million square feet. Additional height and density were proposed for mixed-use buildings to support the need for additional housing and would boost the residential count to just over 2,800.

Residential buildings will have retail space at grade and a commercial building would provide office, self-storage and retail space. The park would also remain.

“Our application reflects both our confidence in the site's long-term potential and our continued commitment to delivering complete communities that grow with the city,” Lazer said. 

“The needs today are different and the affordability crisis is much more severe and much more apparent now compared to what it was years ago when the previous guidance was set.”

Proposals for next LSQ phases

Almadev is working with municipal officials regarding LSQ’s third tower, which is proposed as a purpose-built market rental apartment building that also includes affordable rental units. Construction for that building is expected to begin in 2027.

“We have included rental product in each and every one of our projects,” Lazer said, “even when it wasn't so popular to build rentals.”

Almadev is also proposing to demolish an existing 12-storey office building on the northwest corner of the site and replace it with a 26-storey multiresidential building.

Subsequent development phases will be dependent on market absorption, according to Lazer.

Galleria on the Park

The company is also busy with other developments, both planned and under construction.

Almadev’s 20-acre master-planned, mixed-use Galleria on the Park development at Dupont and Dufferin streets in Toronto is making good progress. 

First occupancies for the initial two condo towers, Galleria I and Galleria II, are complete and 98 per cent of the units have been sold. The buildings also include 150 affordable rental units, and 99 per cent of those have been leased.

Some retail and commercial spaces have already opened, with more soon to follow, Lazer said.

Galleria III is well under construction, with occupancy slated for spring 2026. The 95,000-square-foot Wallace Emerson Community Centre, which will replace an existing smaller centre, should be completed by the end of this year.

Construction for the next development block is anticipated to start in mid-2026. It will include a rental tower with about 540 units sharing a podium with a condo tower.

When complete, Galleria on the Park will feature 2,900 residences in eight towers, 300,000 square feet of retail space, 20,000 square feet of office space, the community centre and the new eight-acre Wallace Emerson Park.

Future Almadev developments

Almadev is a multi-billion-dollar real estate development, investment and asset management company that has specialized in large-scale, multi-phased, master-planned communities and mixed-use properties across Canada and the United States.

Almadev also owns more than seven million square feet of industrial, commercial and retail properties alongside Agellan Commercial.

The company submitted a rezoning application last year to increase building heights and densities for a proposed master-planned community on an approximately 12-acre site at 3300 Rutherford Rd. in Vaughan, Ont. that’s currently home to a variety of stores and restaurants, including Decathlon, Dollarama and The Keg.

“We are working on a couple of other sites as we speak,” Lazer said. “We are buying new sites.

“We know the market is challenging, but we still believe that if you're a good developer, you're well-balanced and well-capitalized, it’s possible to continue and build even in this hard time.”