Building complete communities
WHERE PEOPLE LIVE
ment Association (BILD), approximately 75 per cent of new homes sold in the GTA 10 years ago were low-rise. Today, the market is dominated by high-rise sales, with an emphasis on development that grows up rather than out.
It’s the legacy of a provincial growth plan enacted in 2006 that aims to increase population density in urban centres and transit corridors to accommodate the continuing population growth: projected at up to 100,000 people each year for the next 15 years.
“Developable areas that are shovel ready and have municipal services like roads and sewers, within the boundaries of the growth plan, have become limited and are therefore more expensive” says Tuckey. “Increasing government charges and fees, along with construction costs, have also contributed to rising housing prices across the region.”
Recent figures released by national real estate statistics consultant RealNet Canada Inc. showed the average new low-rise home in March in the GTA priced at $733,578, while the average price of a new condo suite was $422,672.
BILD has been at the forefront of educating government officials and GTAresidents about the needs of the region’s growing population, while advocating on behalf of the industry and new-home buyers to invest in new growth-related infrastructure.
Yet with all these challenges, new home developments can’t keep up to the vast demand among potential homeowners who are struggling for a way into the highly competitive low-rise market. More and more, developments like Aurora Trails sell out well before they even break ground.
This master-planned community was nominated for the BILD Project of the Year and the 2015 People’s Choice Award. The 600 or so homes in the development range from between about $600,000 and $1 million; phase 1 of the project, just now beginning construction, sold out in a matter of weeks and sales for phase 2 are about to start in early June, according to Daniel Salerno, director of operations, sales & marketing for Aurora Trails builder Paradise Developments.
But there are more reasons for Aurora Trails’ popularity than just the high demand for homes. “Aurora Trails sits between Bayview and Leslie at St. John’s Sideroad, right in the midst of a well-established area. It’s within a two-minute car ride of important features like schools, shopping, transit and the highway,” says Salerno.
The community has also been carefully planned to incorporate lots of green and natural heritage features. “Forty per cent of the land in the community is environmentally protected,” says Andrea DeGasperis-Ronco, president of OPUS Homes, another Aurora Trails builder. “An intertwined trail system will allow residents access to hiking and biking trails and parks within the community. A wildlife park will also be central to this community, to enhance habitat creation and protection and offer unique recreational and educational opportunities.”
For the Miculescus, who are expecting their first baby this summer, all these were perfect reasons to buy their new home. “Like many young professionals, we’ve lived the downtown lifestyle, but we want to be able to offer our kids an experience like we had growing up, and that’s what we found in Aurora Trails.”
“Developable areas that are shovel ready and have municipal services like roads and sewers … have become limited. ” Bryan Tuckey, president and CEO of BILD