Aiming to be the very best
Arista Homes has built 6,000 homes across the GTA since it first broke ground in 1994
If Arista Homes has a nice ring to it, that’s just the way founder Michael DeGasperis wanted his company’s name to come across. He liked Arista because it was “short, catchy and had a nice sound to it,” he recently explained.
It was only upon further investigation that DeGasperis discovered Arista means “the best” in Greek; it also happened to be the same name as one of the biggest record companies in the world at the time, a label that boasted talents like Whitney Houston and Milli Vanilli.
But DeGasperis was unaware of this when he launched Arista back in 1994 — blame it on the rain.
Since then, Vaughan-based Arista Homes has built more than 6,000 new homes in communities across the GTA, including Aurora, Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, Milton, and of course, on its home turf of Vaughan.
Arista has done the lion’s share of its building in the 905, but the company recently launched a project in the 416: Lilly Factory Towns, a community of114 homes and townhouses at Warden Ave. and Danforth Rd.
Though many lowrise homebuilders have shifted into the urban highrise world in recent years, DeGasperis indicates Arista is taking a wait-and-see approach to higherdensity development.
“We are currently not very confident about the condo market,” he said. “But we are preparing ourselves for the next round of a stronger economy and considerations for highrise condos.”
Arista believes in, practises giving back to the community
In the meantime, Arista continues to focus on a flurry of lowrise home development across the GTA.
In Milton, the company is building Milton Trails, a community of townhouses and single-family homes with views of the Niagara Escarpment.
At Yonge St. and Jefferson Forest Ave. in Richmond Hill, Arista has launched the second phase of Jefferson Forest, a collection of townhouses and single-family homes bordering the Summit Golf and Country Club. In Woodbridge, sales have launched at Vaughan Valley Estates, an upscale community of homes at Weston Rd. between Teston Rd. and Major Mackenzie Dr.
And in Markham, at 9th Line and 14th Ave., Arista has started work on the final phase of the Boxgrove master-planned community, which it is building in partnership with two other developers.
Also in Markham, at Kennedy Rd. and 16th Ave., Arista is teaming up with three lowrise builders on the Upper Unionville subdivision, which will ultimately include 1,700 homes.
ARISTA PRIDES ITSELF
on quality of construction and customer service; the company has ranked as one of the top five homebuilders in the J.D. Power & Associates client satisfaction survey for the past five years, and in 2007 Arista was a finalist for the Tarion Builder of the Year Award of Excellence.
The company has what it calls a “Life Friendly” corporate philosophy that’s aimed at encouraging the development of “exceptional people, to build exceptional homes and communities, and deliver a product to our clients that we would be proud to own.”
The idea is to give clients prompt, fair and courteous service at all levels of the operations, and to be held accountable for the delivery of services. For employees, this Life Friendly philosophy means they’ll have an environment that facilitates a life-work balance and nur- tures exceptional people in order to help build the business, according to Arista’s website.
ARISTA HOMES’ FOUNDER
Michael DeGasperis, the youngest of three brothers, started his career working for the family business, TACC Construction (it stands for The Amazing Construction Company). Started in 1977 by older brother Silvio — with help from his brother Carlo and father Giovanni — TACC has grown into a diversified group of companies that today includes Arista Homes, along with Transpower Utilities, DiCrete Construction and Munro Concrete Products. In total, TACC employs more than 1,000 people. Michael is vice-president of TACC, Silvio manages land development and contract negotiations, and Carlo oversees daily operations.
Following the example of the DeGasperis patriarch — known affectionately as “Papa John” — Michael DeGasperis believes in giving back to the community.
He is currently chairman of the Vaughan Health Campus for Care, a director and past chair of the Vaughan Health Care Foundation, and former director and treasurer of York Central Hospital.
Last fall, the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association of Toronto presented DeGasperis with its Community Leader award in recognition of his years of volunteer efforts with the local hospital.
“I work very hard and I usually succeed at whatever I set out to do,” he was quoted saying at the time, crediting his parents and family with guiding and supporting him. “But that success, whether it be business or personally, is also shared with others in many different ways.”