On The Map
Six-acre master-planned community called Trailside coming to Oakville
The lure of Oakville, named the most desirable place to live in the GTA by Moneysense magazine two years ago, has something to do with its sprawling greenspaces like Bronte Creek and Lions Valley Park, its slower pace and upscale housing, especially the fancy jobs on Lakeshore Boulevard.
What it isn’t known for is affordability. The average price for a single- family home there in October 2020 was $ 1,641,392, up 27.2 per cent from $1,290,881 in 2019, The Canadian Real Estate Association reports.
The average c ondo clocked in at $ 628,944 in 2019 and $ 679,680 in 2020, The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board reports.
But Emil Toma, president and co- founder at Distrikt, is hoping his new six- acre master- planned community Trailside — comprised of two towers and townhouses — will open Oakville to the budget- conscious while bringing variety to its condo scene.
Backing onto leafy Shannon Creek Trail, both Trailside towers are 10 storeys high. The 283- unit Trailside West also includes 36 townhouses; the 349- unit Trailside 2.0 has 15.
Prices s t art in t he $400,000s for suites ranging from 475 to 1,340 square feet at Trailside West, and from 483 to 1,115 square feet at its sister building.
Shovels have already been raised on Dundas in central Oakville, a block east of Neyagawa Blvd.; the project is scheduled for mid-2023 occupancy.
“This i sn’ t an Oakville- catered rural project,” says Toma who, alongside Fiera Real Estate, is building the development. He likens the offering to the sort of “urban condominium living that you would see in the downtown of any major city.”
“Oakville is an ideal location that has until recently been largely overlooked by the multi- residential development industry,” he adds, noting that “the Oakville GO Station is the second busiest outside of Union Station.”
The Kirkor Architects + Planners-designed buildings won’t have any of the trappings of traditional Oakville design. In place of limestone cornices, glass and sleek geometric lines will dominate. The buildings’ soffits will be brass, and panels will decorate the facade to give it a decorative edge. The lobbies will feature fireplaces, marble touches and wood panelling.
Suites by the interior design firm Figure3 feature dark laminate flooring that can be upgraded, as well as stone counters. All of the faucets and door knobs will be brass, instead of the usual chrome. And the suites sport nine- to 10- foot ceilings. Floor- to- ceiling windows will let in natural light.
“Historically, Oakville has had a traditional design sensibility, but that’s beginning to shift,” says Dominic De Freitas, principal designer at Figure3. “We wanted traditionalism and modernism to coexist. He also describes “luxury fashion” as an inspiration for the project.
Imported kitchens and vanities are by Trevisana. “I just built two $ 4- million semis in Forest Hill and put in the same Trevisana kitchens that I’m putting in the Trailside condos,” Toma says.
The project is 85 per cent sold, and all of the retail spaces on the ground floor have been spoken for.
There will also be more than 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space that will include a fitness studio and private terraces equipped with gas for barbecues.
A proprietary smart home technology system, Distrikt AI, meanwhile, is standard in each suite. Each unit has a digital front-door lock that opens with a cellphone. A smart panel controls the thermostat.
And residents can view all of the cameras in the building and let guests safely into the parking garage remotely.
Another cool, a nd COVID- appropriate, feature is the touchless elevator system by KONE, a billion- dollar Finnish company, which is making its Canadian debut at Trailside. Using a smart phone, a user can call an elevator from anywhere in the building and direct it to the desired floor via a cloud- based system, meaning germy buttons don’t need to be touched.
Having built more than 2,000 units in Oakville — at Station, Trafalgar and the recently completed 6ixth projects — Toma has come to appreciate the town.
“If I wasn’t so rooted in midtown Toronto with my family, I would move to Oakville in a heartbeat,” says Toma. “I actually go there on the weekend sometimes instead of the cottage. We take the kids and walk around. It’s beautiful, and every time I’m there I discover something new.”
South Oakville has prestige, he adds, not only because of the houses along the lake and the walking path in a park-like setting. There are boutique stores, restaurants and cafés too.
“On those gorgeous summer days, you have access to it all, and it’s not congested like downtown Toronto.”
Units start in t he $ 400,000s for 475 square feet. For more information, appointment- only visits at the Distrikt Trailside sales centre, at 349 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville, can be arranged via distrikt.com.