On the Map
Monza in pre-sales but 50% of units have been sold
In 1 997, developer Mitch Abrahams likely couldn’t have imagined the city would ever be ready for a project like his latest, a nine- storey midrise called Monza at 863 St. Clair Avenue West.
At the time, Abrahams, who is now the founder of the Benvenuto Group, had just moved from Montreal to Toronto to take the job of senior vice- president at GWL Realty Advisors. His first impression of his new home was that it was fairly sleepy. Other than a few key intersections — Yonge and Bloor, Queen and Spadina — the city didn’t have the same vibrant street life as it does now, with cafés, shops and restaurants lining most blocks and new condos popping up everywhere.
“It used to be that people would say, ‘ Let’s go to the Yonge- Eglinton Centre,’ or, ‘ Let’s go to Young and Sheppard,’ because that’s where you would find shops, at the base of an office building,” says Abrahams. “Now I walk out the door and there’s a vibrancy that’s exciting — a better balance between residential and commercial. It’s more like what you find in
Montreal and New York.”
Abrahams has noticed some of the biggest changes in his own neighbourhood. In 2008, a derelict streetcar maintenance facility at St. Clair and Christie was converted into the Artscape Wychwood Barns, a huge draw for local families, with an outdoor beach volleyball court, a splash pad for kids and a bustling weekend farmer’s market. In 2010, a new dedicated streetcar line opened on St. Clair Avenue West, improving midtown’s public transit, boosting the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists on the street and curbing the number of cars.
Since then, the city has rezoned St. Clair for midrise condos, a way to add density near transit and increase housing options in in- demand neighbourhoods where it’s needed most; stand alone homes in the area cost well over $ 1 million, more than double what they would have in the late 1990s.
The rezoning helped pave the way for Monza, the Benvenuto Group’s seventh condo residence since Abrahams launched the business in 2003.
“Mid- rise can be challenging for developers,” he says. “We were lucky that we didn’t need any rezoning for more height because our proposal fit within the existing guidelines.”
Another break: Monza’s site was previously two commercial properties — a former muffler shop and a small retail strip.
“One thing that makes mid- rise difficult is when there are a number of rental tenants to relocate,” he says. “Commercial, on the other hand, is easier to vacate and redevelop than residential.”
Monza is still in pre-sales, with just over 50 per cent of the units sold. But when complete in two to three years, the building, as Abrahams sees it, will contribute to the area’s growing liveliness. It will include two retail spaces at street level, the larger of which Abrahams hopes will become a café.
“There is a provision for a terrace at the corner,” he says.
Another terrace is planned for the rooftop, which will also feature a communal entertaining area with patio lounge, an outdoor dining room and barbecue stations overlooking St. Clair with additional patio views south to the downtown skyline. Likewise, each of the units — from the smallest at 583 square feet to the largest at just over 1,000 — will have balconies that run the length of each apartment.
“The idea is to have a space that flows well both inside and out,” he says.
To perfect the design — a crystalline, ultra- angular form in understated greys — the Benvenuto Group worked with Studioac on the project, an up- and- coming architecture office that was named Canada’s best emerging practitioners by the Design Exchange Museum in 2019.
Instead of leaving blank walls for IKEA hooks by each entry, Studioac has designed built-in cabinetry that matches the kitchen millwork. Even in the smallest suites, the
principal bedrooms are adjacent to a window — which might sound like it should be standard in every condo, but some developers tuck sleeping spaces against a back wall, away from natural light.
Abrahams believes those considerations will bring lasting value to St. Clair.
“I hope that whoever lives in the building will enjoy being out in the neighbourhood,” he says. “But I also hope they come back to their place and think, ‘Ah, this is nice. I’m home.’”
Pricing starts at $719,900. For more information, visit the sales centre at 863 St. Clair Avenue W.