On The Map
Nine-storey Junction House is under construction
Architects and developers have an intrinsic if sometimes conflicting relationship. Architects want their structures to have impact, while developers need them to be profitable. Pricey finishes, elaborate esthetic details and unusual floor plans asked for by architects can eat away the bottom line.
Brandon Donnelly knows these competing interests well. Before earning an MBA at the Rotman School of Management and becoming the managing director of development for Slate Asset Management, a global private equity firm, he graduated from architecture schools at the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania.
“I often joke about how I studied architecture for seven years to not become an architect,” he says. “I love design, it’s important to me. I often pull out trace paper and draw out ideas. But even in design school, I kept thinking about how I wanted to be involved with more than the design. I wanted to be a part of the broader decision- making process to ensure good design actually gets built.”
Donnelly’s latest venture, Junction House, currently under construction in the Junction neighbourhood, is a good example of how he goes about balancing competing interests. The nine- storey building is packed with desirable architectural ideas. There are 60 different layouts among the 150 units. (“Everyone wants to feel as though their home is unique,” he says.) All the upper-levels units are two-storey condos, with living space on one floor and bedrooms above. “We’re trying to replicate the feeling of a low- rise, single- family house,” he explains. “The separation of floors creates more privacy, more of a sound barrier, which is especially nice for parents with kids.”
Superkül, the architects leading the project, and Donnelly go way back. The firm’s founder, Meg Graham, used to teach him at the University of Toronto, where he graduated in 2006. “I’ve known her for a long time,” he says. “I have a deep respect for her design sensibilities,” referring to her warm yet minimal esthetic — which at the Junction House was expressed through raw concrete ceilings and oak floors inside, red brick and white panelling outside.
Donnelly picked the site, at 2720 Dundas St. W., just west of Dupont, because it is steps from mass transit. “I don’t think people give Dundas West enough credit for the number of transit options,” he says. “There’s the UP Express, the subway, a bus, connections to the GO.”
The proximity has helped Junction House almost sell more than 75 per cent of the units, impressive considering the relatively high prices. Some of the units cost upwards of $ 1,400- persquare-foot — a steep ticket, even for overheated Toronto. Part of what justifies the cost is that the building itself is smaller. “It can be a lot more efficient to build a big tower,” says Donnelly. “And here, we’ve learned we probably can’t go smaller than about 150 units. The numbers just wouldn’t work.”
Size has factored centrally in the marketing of Junction House, making it popular with a certain type of condo buyer — end-users who want to live in their units, versus investors who plan to rent to tenants. “Our buyers asked a lot of questions about the demographics of their prospective neighbours,” says Donnelly. “Ultimately, they were interested in the community they were buying into — they wanted to know they will have good neighbours.” What they didn’t want was to feel like they’re living in a big hotel, with strangers coming and going.
Donnelly and his team have been conscious about using design to foster a sense of community. For the amenities, in addition to a second- storey gym and yoga room, there will be a co- working space off reception that will look like a hotel lobby bar. With a wall of design books, marble-topped tables, it will be the kind of place where people feel comfortable mingling.
There will also be a patio that spreads across the roof, with barbecues and lounge chairs for catching the sun. “There’s no pool, no hot tub, though,” says Donnelly. “We tried to be mindful of people’s condo fees. We didn’t want things to too expensive.”
Units starting at $628,000 for 563 square feet. For more information, visit junctionhouse.ca.
Everyone wants to feel as though their home is unique.