Construction has begun for The Bedford, By Burnac's high-end 13-storey condominium at 287 Davenport Rd. in Toronto's Yorkville-Annex neighbourhood. 

By Burnac is a wholly owned family business launched in the 1990s and headquartered in Toronto. The fully vertically integrated company specializes in urban multifamily and mixed-use developments.

“We typically only build one or two projects at a time and we are very much not commodity-driven,” vice-president of development Zach Burnett told RENX. “We gravitate more towards buildings with architectural articulation, an animated streetscape and not just building glass boxes.”

By Burnac has always been location-driven and places an emphasis on walkability. Its primary focus is midtown Toronto, with its area of interest roughly bounded by St. Clair Avenue to the north, Bloor Street to the south, Bathurst Street to the west and Mount Pleasant Road to the east.

Past projects include:

• 277 Davenport, a seven-storey, nine-suite boutique condo that’s next door to The Bedford site;
• the 20-storey, 252-unit 85 Bloor Condominiums;
• Park Avenue Residences, a mid-rise 160-unit condo at 48 St. Clair Ave. W. and 33 Delisle Ave. that combines a restored and reimagined building with an added modern wing;
• South Hill on Madison, a 159-unit condo/townhouse development at 377 Madison Ave.; and
• Madison Avenue Lofts, a six-storey, 211-unit condo at 380 Macpherson Ave.

All of By Burnac’s projects use family money and it doesn’t take on development partners. CIBC is providing financing for The Bedford.

The Bedford site

The Bedford site is an assembly of three residential properties and one commercial property acquired over a 10-year period, according to Burnett. The development is aimed at end users, as none of the suites contain less than two bedrooms and some offer four. 

The condo will have two staffed entrances. The Bedford will also include three three-storey townhomes and some commercial space at grade.

The Bedford features architecture by Audax, interior design by Studio Paolo Ferrari and landscape architecture by Ronald Holbrook.

Suites range in size from approximately 1,500 to more than 4,000 square feet and they’re selling for an average of $2,300 per square foot. Monthly maintenance fees will be $1.15 per square foot.

“We wanted to build a building with homes inside that had good proportions for people who might be downsizing or side-sizing from Rosedale or Forest Hill, where they want a kitchen, a dining room and a living room with proper proportions, but they only need two bedrooms instead of four,” Burnett explained.

Sales at The Bedford

The Bedford was originally intended to have 90 suites, but some purchasers have been combining them, which has pushed that number down to 63. It could drop further as sales continue and owners choose to consolidate. 

There were 13 suites listed as available on the condo’s website on Feb. 23. A new sales centre will open in a few weeks after the original one was shut down to allow for construction.

“We're obviously doing well in a market that's not doing well,” said Jamie Sarner, a founder and partner in Austin Birch, which is responsible for selling The Bedford’s suites.

“The size and the flexibility has led to buyers feeling a sense of being taken care of where, in the Toronto market, buyers have been taken for granted. Everyone’s just moving so quickly and people don't get that level of service that they deserve, especially at this level. We've given them that.” 

The Bedford’s amenities

The Bedford will offer hotel-inspired services, including 24-hour valet, concierge and dedicated porter staff. Property management will be provided by The Forest Hill Group.

Amenities will include: a pet spa; an executive meeting room; a private dining lounge; an outdoor lounge with barbecues; a media lounge; a children’s play room; a private catering kitchen; private training rooms; a gym; a personal services room; a locker/change room; three elevators; parcel storage; bicycle storage; and 134 underground parking spaces.   

“It's a building that's big enough that you can have a robust set of amenities and a robust set of services, but the cost to run those services aren't out of whack,” Burnett said. “With some of the smaller buildings it's hard to offer that many services because you can't amortize it over enough units or enough square footage.”

Occupancy for The Bedford is slated for late 2028.

“This isn't a building where I see any of our current buyers leasing their units out, which I think speaks to a high level of care for the building,” Sarner said. “The resident group will be invested in making sure the building remains beautiful.” 

By Burnac’s view of the condo market

By Burnac owns some legacy land parcels but Burnett said they’re not in the same class as where The Bedford is being built. He added they’re looking at a couple of potential acquisition sites, but there’s nothing else in its pipeline at this point. 

“We're very, very selective in what we buy,” Burnett said. “We might look at 100 or 200 deals before we pull the trigger on one.”

Burnett believes the Toronto condo market has been “commodity-driven” for too long, with developers focused more on selling to investors looking to make a profit by renting units than to people who want to live in them. That has been a contributing factor to the current slump in sales and new launches.

“It's not like the good old days where you could just have a couple of beautiful renderings and blow out a condominium over the weekend,” Burnett said. “It needs to be thought through. 

“Developers need to deliver and, frankly, I think that over the last 15 years everybody under the sun became a developer. I think the herd will probably thin out a little bit and the professionals who really know what they're doing and have the experience and put the thought into it are the ones who will continue to succeed.”