Osmington Gerofsky Development Corp. (OGDC) and WJ Properties have started geothermal drilling for their 38-storey, 474-unit purpose-built rental apartment tower, Phase I of a new development at 9 St. Dennis Dr. in Toronto.

The Weinbaum family-owned WJ already owns and maintains two older adjacent rental apartments: a 17-storey, 278-unit building at 7 St. Dennis Dr.; and a 17-storey, 284-unit building at 10 Grenoble Dr.

In addition to the new 38-storey building, the site is to be further intensified in the future with three more multiresidential towers.

OSGD chief operating officer and executive vice-president Laurie Payne told RENX that, while WJ has a larger ownership stake in the development than her company, they operate as joint venture partners and are committed to it for the long term.

Pivot from condominium to rental

The building was originally conceived as a condominium, but that was scrapped due to the depressed sales market.

“It's going to take a long time for that investment model and those investors to come back and we believe there's a huge amount of demand in the rental market,” Payne said. “There just haven't been the structures to implement it very easily in Ontario, but CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) has been a big help in that regard.”

While there have been very few new condo launches, and even some purpose-built rental projects have been put on hold due to unfavourable conditions, Payne said the decision to move forward with 9 St. Dennis was made because construction costs have come down, the building has an efficient design and there were no financing issues.

With the lack of new construction starts in 2024, 2025 and 2026, there’s going to be strong rental housing demand near the end of this decade that OGDC wants to take advantage of.

What 9 St. Dennis will offer

The 9 St. Dennis location across the street from the former Ontario Science Centre offers convenient access to the Line 5 Eglinton light rail transit line and a future stop on the Ontario Line subway system that’s under construction.

Units in the building will range from 282 to 952 square feet with this breakdown: 90 studios; 210 one bedrooms; 126 two bedrooms; and 48 three bedrooms.

Twenty per cent of the units will be considered affordable. The developers will work with The Neighbourhood Organization for the delivery and lease-up of the affordable units.

The building’s amenities will include:

• 24-hour concierge and security;
• co-working space;
• a party room;
• a fitness centre;
• a lounge;
• a children’s play room;
• guest suites;
• a workshop and hobby room;
• a landscaped terrace with barbecues;
• and a one-acre public park with walkways and areas dedicated to play, fitness, picnics and pets.

a-A is the architect, while Ste Marie is the interior designer and The MBTW Group is the landscape architect.

The building’s sustainable features

Geosource Energy is installing a geothermal system to handle heating and cooling of the building, which will also include: a high-performance building envelope with triple-glazed windows and improved air tightness; in-suite energy recovery ventilators; and low-flow fixtures.

These measures are expected to enable the building to use 62.1 per cent less energy and produce 81.8 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a typical new structure.

Construction is expected to start in early June, with completion anticipated in Q1 2029.

OGDC’s formation and evolution

OGDC came together in 2021 as a partnership between former First Gulf principal and CEO David Gerofsky and Osmington Inc., a private commercial real estate and investment company controlled by Thomson Reuters chairman David Thomson.

The company targets multiresidential sites in public transit-oriented neighbourhoods where it can achieve relatively high densities in Toronto.

While OGDC is currently focused on purpose-built rentals, its future could potentially involve condominium, office and industrial development. 

“There's a lot of flexibility in what we do and what projects we pursue,” Payne noted. “We can turn to whatever the market points us to.”

Other OGDC developments

Drilling will begin shortly for a hybrid geothermal system at another OGDC development at 50 Irvington Cres. near the Bayview subway station and Bayview Village shopping centre. It’s partnering with Alterra on the project.

It will be home to a 44-storey, 477-unit, Wallman Architects-designed purpose-built rental apartment with 134 parking stalls, 181 spaces for bikes and indoor and outdoor amenities. 

It’s hoped that another purpose-built rental development at 253-263 Viewmount Ave. and 12-18 Romar Ave., near the Glencairn subway station in north Toronto, can launch before the end of this year. It will have 39- and 36-storey towers with a shared podium offering 990 units (including 20 per cent affordable), 227 parking stalls, 580 spaces for bikes, and indoor and outdoor amenities.

OGDC could break ground next year on a proposed 50-storey tower with 610 residential units and retail at grade at 6355 Yonge St. near Centerpoint Mall and the future Yonge-Steeles subway station.

“We are looking at further acquisitions and continuing to grow our pipeline now that these projects are underway,” Payne said. “There’s lots of availability, it’s just trying to match with people who want to sell for a price that's realistic in this market.”

OGDC zoning projects

OGDC worked with CAPREIT on getting zoning for two proposed infill apartment buildings in midtown Toronto:

• a 41-storey, 540-unit tower at 60 Balliol St.;
• and a 33-storey, 432-unit residence at Davisville Avenue and Pailton Crescent.

OGDC’s involvement with those projects has ended and it won’t be a partner in building them.

The company has a longstanding relationship with Rogers Real Estate Development Ltd. and collaborated with it to get zoning for a site at 350 Bloor St. E. for a proposed 63-storey, 806-unit building. OGDC won’t develop that either and Rogers is expected to sell the property when the market improves.

OGDC and Rogers are working on a zoning project for a site at Huntley and Isabella streets for two 60-storey towers with a combined 1,396 units.

OGDC is also involved with a zoning project in partnership with La Caisse for a site at 39 Newcastle St. where approval is being sought for buildings of 40, 43 and 43 storeys with a combined 1,579 units, 429 parking stalls and 593 spaces for bikes.