Starlight Investments has topped off 557 The West Mall — a 249-unit rental apartment building in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke — as it continues to execute its infill development strategy.

Starlight has been leveraging under-utilized land on its existing properties to address the demand for new rental housing. In this case it has developed a 21-storey residence on a former surface parking lot on a site where there’s already a 14-storey, 119-unit apartment building.

“Cities thrive when they allow people to live closer to each other,” Starlight vice-president of development and public affairs Howard Paskowitz told RENX. “Every unit we build in a high-density rental community is a step toward unlocking the city's economic potential.”

Not having to purchase additional land in order to develop more housing obviously benefits the bottom line for landlords like Starlight. But new amenities that come with infill development also benefit the residents of existing buildings.

“It really is about improving and enriching the lives of our existing residents while we create homes for future residents,” Paskowitz explained. “The focus on community-building amenities at all of our developments is a great way to foster connection and belonging for all of the residents and create the social cohesion that really provides a sense of community.”

What 557 The West Mall will offer

Infill development comes with challenges, however. The biggest of those is being sensitive to existing residents and minimizing the adverse impact of having construction taking place next door.

“Our approach is from Day One, even before the project starts, where we are communicating with our residents,” Paskowitz said. “We're letting them know exactly what to expect, we’re making sure we understand what their concerns are and we're mitigating those throughout the development.”

When complete, 557 The West Mall will feature a mix of one‑, two- and three-bedroom units and an array of new indoor and outdoor amenities, including: a fitness centre; multi-purpose spaces; a social room and lounge; games rooms; co-working spaces; a rooftop terrace; and a dog run. 

Additional features will include improved landscaping, an outdoor mini soccer pitch, a playground, pedestrian connections, new bicycle parking and underground parking for vehicles.

The property is located just south of Rathburn Road and is surrounded by local services and amenities, including schools, libraries, community centres, parks and direct Toronto Transit Commission connections.

The apartment building should be ready for occupancy in about a year.

Other current Starlight developments

Starlight is a privately held owner, developer and asset manager of more than 70,000 multiresidential units, making it the largest provider of rental housing across Canada. It also has more than seven million square feet of commercial space among its $30 billion of assets under management.

“By the end of 2025, we’ll have close to 1,800 suites across the country either completed or under construction,” Paskowitz said of the company’s current multiresidential development pipeline. 

A recently completed project called The Lively is providing 40 rental units (including four affordable units) within a new four-storey building and a three-storey stacked townhome on the site of an existing 15-storey, 88-unit apartment at 137 East Keith Rd. in North Vancouver.

A nine-storey apartment building and townhomes that will add 159 units as an infill development at an existing Starlight property on Leith Hill Road in the Toronto suburb of North York, near CF Fairview Mall and the Don Mills subway station, will soon come online. 

Ground was broken in August on Phase 1 at Harris Green Village in Victoria, which will provide 526 rental units, including 80 affordable units. The master plan, if fully realized, will eventually add 1,500 new rental homes and 100,000 square feet of commercial space.

Another Vancouver Island development, The District, is under construction at 1100 McCallum Rd. in Langford and will deliver 597 rental units and almost 10,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.

Future apartment developments

They are part of a busy agenda for Starlight.

“We've got projects in major urban markets across Canada, mostly in Ontario and British Columbia,” Paskowitz said. “In British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island we have 17 projects currently underway.”

Starlight announced in September 2023 that it was on track to build up to 28,000 new rental apartment units over the next 10 years, but it has set an internal goal to exceed that target.

“Some of our projects obviously have been impacted by economic and market factors over the past several years, but we are still committed to delivering as much of the pipeline as we can,” Paskowitz said.

Priority projects with the biggest upside will continue to move forward, though others may be paused while Starlight considers alternative ways to deliver them, Paskowitz noted.