Scenic park a natural location for Picnic
Midrise boutique on the edge of High Park is the fourth enterprise for young partners at North Drive
That a sleepy street in Toronto’s west end could play such a transformative role in the area’s future is a testament to its favourite sons.
Jordan Morassutti, 30, his brother Taylor, 32, and 26-year-old Robert Fidani are the founders of North Drive, a building company named after the street its founders grew up on. And now the trio are putting their stamp on the area with a growing stable of boutique condominiums.
The Morassutti Group has a substantial portfolio comprised of multi-family residential apartment buildings in Toronto and Fidani’s family owns Orlando Corp., whose focus is commercial real estate.
“Neither family has ever focused on highrise or midrise residential,” said Jordan Morassutti. “We’re looking to carve out our own niche doing midrise developments and get out of our fathers’ shadows.”
North Drive is launching sales on its fourth project, Picnic — the High Park II, a nine-storey second phase of the High Park being built1-1/2 blocks away in Bloor West Village. The boutique condominium is targeting empty nesters and upsizers — would-be buyers currently renting or living in smaller units.
The founders paid their dues in the building industry prior to conceiving North Drive, and in the process informed themselves about Toronto’s market needs.
“We started having discussions about this in 2010,” said Morassutti. “I was working in the acquisitions group of a real estate manager, my brother was working for a condo developer and Robert was working for Orlando Corp. The three of us wanted to do something entrepreneurial together.
“We came up with a business plan for an urban intensification fund. We got that green-lit in 2011 and then started acquiring properties and going through the rezoning exercise. We saw an opportunity to develop boutiques that are geared specifically toward the end-user in desirable
“We’re looking to carve out our own niche . . . and get out of our fathers’ shadows.” JORDAN MORASSUTTI NORTH DRIVE CO-FOUNDER
neighbourhoods, because there was tremendous opportunity and pent-up demand for this kind of product.”
North Drive has partnered with the Minto Group on Yorkville Park, but prefers to build closer to home with 4 the Kingsway, the High Park and now Picnic — all boutique condominiums.
Building boutiques eases the sales burden because there’s more pressure to buy than there is to sell, said Morassutti.
“The fact that it’s a boutique creates a sense of urgency for the buying public because you look at a plan and there are five or six units in the buildings with that layout and that exposure, and if you don’t act quickly you miss out on the opportunity,” said Morassutti.
It may seem unusual for millennials to forgo hip neighbourhoods, such as Queen West or the Annex, in favour of developing mature buildings in established neighbourhoods. But they’re firm on their business plan.
“Our focus is supply-constrained neighbourhoods and we see a great market opportunity within those neighbourhoods. The Queen Wests of the world are crowded in terms of new supply coming on the street,” said Morassutti. “We feel like if you design elegant, modern, wellcrafted buildings in mature and desirable neighbourhoods, the market will respond favourably.”
Quadrangle Architects designed the High Park’s exterior, while Cecconi Simone designed its interior.
Location: 2114 Bloor West Developer: North Drive Architecture and interior design: Quadrangle Units: 68 Price: From $400,000 to $1 million
Contact: picnichighpark.com, 416-670-3699, or email info@picnichighpark.com