Cityzen Development Group

Source: Exec Digital Canada

Date :26/07/2007 11:34:26

Cityzen Development is helping to transform the Toronto skyline with buildings that capture the public’s sense of imagination

Written and produced by David Weldon & Michael Townsend

As a country with a land mass twice that of the United States, but a population only one-eighth its size, Canadian cities have historically had little problem accommodating their growing populations or commercial centers.

But for the city of Toronto, that picture changed dramatically two years ago, with the establishment of a new “green belt” along Lake Ontario and greater Toronto, restricting where and how future development can take place.

The result is a new approach to building in downtown Toronto that focuses on up, not out.

And with that new emphasis, Cityzen Development Group hopes to quickly establish itself as the force to be reckoned with.

It’s an aggressive mission for Cityzen Development, considering the company is only four years old. But Cityzen is already putting a distinct stamp on the city by designing buildings that it intends to be icons for Toronto for decades to come.

That strategy is clearly seen in the company’s current project, dubbed “the Marilyn Towers” by the general public.

According to Joseph Cordiano, a partner with Citizen Development, the Marilyn Towers are part of the Absolute City Centre, which features two completed high rise condominium towers of over 32 floors each, a third tower approximately half finished, and the two largest towers — slated for 50 and 56 stories — just getting underway now.

But it is the two early towers have already captured the public’s fancy, with their prominently curved exteriors apparently reminding many of the famous movie star Marilyn Monroe.

“They have a very Marilyn look,” Cordiano offers.

Whether the curvaceous actress was the image the company was going for or not, it did want to make an immediate impression, Cordiano says. And that will be the development trademark for the young company going forward.

A new vision for Toronto

Cityzen Development Group formed in 2002.

But rather than forming a single new development firm, two were actually created — Citizen Development, to handle development management, and Dominus Construction, a separate but companion company to actually undertake building construction.

Dominus was conceived as a separate company because — although its current projects are all with Cityzen Development — it will be able to take on projects with other partners as well.

“We intended to have it do work beyond our own work,” Cordiano says. “Our aspirations are that it would seek other projects and become more of a well-rounded construction firm.”

Cityzen has formed strategic alliances and partnerships with Fernbrook Homes (Danny Salvatoe), Milford (The Cheung Family), and Myriad (Goldenberg Family), and currently has 11 projects underway, whether in the early planning stage, in actual construction, or finished and in the marketing phase. The largest is the Absolute City Center project.

Another showpiece project for Cityzen, Cordiano says, is the Pier 27 project, which “we’re about to go to market with. Pier 27 is located on the waterfront, right at the heart of Young Street.”

Anyone what has visited Toronto knows that Young Street is the lifeline for the city, starting at Lake Ontario - adjacent to the city’s famous space needle - and running up the large hill that forms the entrance to downtown Toronto. Young Street is famous for its large abundance of retail stores, colorful mom and pop shops, diverse restaurants, and — most importantly — large-scale gathering of the city’s residents.

Because Young Street is the most populated in the city at any given moment, it is drawing a lot of interest by developers, who are looking to build new, or build anew on existing properties. Several housing dev-elopments are on the boards or in the works for the long thoroughfare, and Cordiano says that Cityzen Development was quick to jump on the waterfront gateway to Young Street.

“It is one of the best locations on the waterfront,” Cordiano says. “It is a high-end condo project that will resemble a five-star resort, with all of the amenities that you would expect from that.”

That approach has also worked wonders with recruiting for the company. Aiming to be the best, of course, means attracting and keeping the best talent. And Cityzen has found that its unique approach to development creates lots of buzz with job seekers as well.

“We are building our organization,” Cordiano says. “We want to attract people that want to work for a company that is growing and dynamic.”

One of the most distinctive features of Pier 27 is what Cordiano calls ‘The Bridge” — the horizontally built upper floors that essentially lie flat atop two towers, outstretched on either end.

“The concept was to duplicate the wharf arch that you had 150 years ago, when this was a major port,” Cordiano says.

As unique as the exterior of Pier 27 is, the inside is equally eye-catching. All units have 10-foot ceilings, a rarity in a commercial project, and each has a view of Lake Ontario.

The outside design also results in a number of units with unusual wall layouts.

“Because of the unique design of the building’s exterior, we get a lot of one-off interiors,” Cordiano says, meaning many unusual floor plans.

“There are all sorts of opportunities for people to have unique places, and that is an approach that helps sell,” he notes. Indeed, there are approximately 40 different floor plans available in the various units at Pier 27.

Another large project Cityzen is involved with is the “L” Tower, which will sit atop the Hummingbird Center, an existing theater.

“This would be placed on the southwest corner of the theater, to rise above it,” Cordiano says. Once completed, the L Tower will offer approximately 496 high-end condominiums.

Obviously the projects that Cityzen has underway don’t represent the total development picture for Toronto. Still, if this seems like a lot of condominium development, Cordiano says it all comes in response to a long-standing housing need.

“We had rent control in Toronto in the 1970s, and that slowed the market for building new rentals,” Cordiano says. “The supply came to a halt for the most part for 30 years.”

The impact was to force many previous developers out of this space, Cordiano explains, reducing the competition pool. But that pool is growing again. The green belt effect on development outside the city limits, and the relaxation on rent controls within it, have sparked a renewed interest in building condominium and rental space, and to do so ahead of the rush.

For Cityzen, a key strategy is to get a jump on the largely-undeveloped Toronto waterfront. Development in Toronto has historically spread up the hill and outward away from Lake Ontario. Most of the neighboring shoreline has remained untouched.

Aiding in its efforts will also be a dramatically changed political climate.

“The provincial government has encouraged intensification with its policies,” Cordiano says of the new practice of putting larger buildings into existing downtown spaces. “Intensification is adding density, and putting development where there are services already available, and there is infrastructure for it.”

The renewed attention to the downtown area will bring a number of improvements, Cordiano says.

“We have had some erosion of the downtown retail areas because of the advances of surburban retailers,” Cordiano notes, especially malls and strip-malls. “As you get back to the idea of living in close proximity to each other, there is a need for more local retailers.”

That is why Cityzen is working closely with government officials as it targets potential development sites: to make sure that they fit within the larger neighborhood, and bring benefits to it.

“We painstakingly choose our sites,” Cordiano says. “They must be close to all of the local features. You’re selling that urban lifestyle.”

Citizen is also mindful that with the upscale properties it is building, tenants will want to have access to all the city has to offer. That means building in choice locations, which, of course, in turn means higher development costs and asking prices. And justifying higher prices means building the very best.

“People want to live in space that has all the modern amenities, and the features we have are pretty impressive,” Cordiano notes.

And people also enjoy living in buildings that are special, he adds.

“We are building structures that are identifiable in the public mind. They are landmarks, household images,” Cordiano stresses.