海角社区官网

Glass walls divide the spaces where people are supposed to sleep and eat to make up for the absence of windows in bedrooms. The kitchen is a wall with a fridge and an oven that is precariously close to the only natural spot for a sofa.听

It鈥檚 a Frankensuite, explains Helen Stopps, an architectural science professor at 海角社区官网Metropolitan University.

鈥淭here’s not that many three-bedroom units on the market and many of the ones that are are kind of like Frankenstein-style,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got glass dividers around tiny, tiny rooms. You have a closet and can fit a bed but you can barely walk around it.鈥�

Housing experts say we need more family-sized condos to help fix Toronto鈥檚 housing crisis, but what we鈥檙e building just doesn鈥檛 work. Families don鈥檛 want Frankensuites and aren鈥檛 living in them.听

鈥淓ven though you see some builders in theory building three-bedroom units, they鈥檙e not really functional family-sized spaces,鈥� said John Pasalis, president and broker of Realosophy Realty Inc.

鈥淭here aren’t a lot of families buying condos these days. Units have been progressively getting smaller in the past 15-20 years because the private sector is in the business of maximizing profits. They鈥檙e not in the business of solving our problems. Policymakers need to be part of the solution.鈥�

Of 8,823 condo apartments currently listed on MLS, fewer than 10 per cent have at least three bedrooms, according to an analysis of 海角社区官网real estate data provided by Pasalis. Studio and one-bedroom units accounted for more than 55 per cent of all new occupied homes added to the city’s housing stock between 2016 and 2021, Statistics Canada data show.

Most newer three-bedroom condo suites are 鈥渄orms not homes,鈥� said David Fleming, founder of Bosley-海角社区官网Realty Group. These units are geared to unfussy post-secondary students and definitely not adults living with children, he said. 鈥淭here is no counter, no island to roll out Christmas cookies.鈥� He refers to the bar-style kitchens that now commonly back onto living spaces as 鈥渓itchens.鈥�

The City of 海角社区官网is aware of the problem. In 2020, it published a set of guidelines to encourage condo developers to plan for children and growing families in their vertical communities. It pushes for larger bedrooms, each with a view to the outside, wider hallways for strollers, in-suite storage closets as well as indoor and outdoor common areas that invite children to play.

It’s unclear yet whether new developments are heeding the advice. But what has dominated the 海角社区官网housing market in recent years are condos with crowded, awkward layouts, amenities that neglect or restrict children’s need for play 听and exorbitant prices that scare off families searching for their forever home, experts say.听

Because of this, Toronto’s 鈥渂uild it and they will come鈥澨齛pproach is failing. In the past two years, 220,000 more Canadians have abandoned this city than arrived, many of them families fleeing to the outer regions of Greater 海角社区官网for affordability and space 鈥斕齱ith experts saying the city is worse off because of it.

Who are three-bedroom condos made for?

At Bay and St. Joseph streets, a condo marketed as a three-bedroom plus den, two-bath unit is listed for sale at $1,150,000 and for lease at $4,700 per month. At less than 900 square feet, it has sliding, frosted glass doors partitioning bedrooms that abut the 鈥渓itchen.鈥�

While the listing uses words like luxurious and functional, its target consumer is clear: a buyer who can 鈥渆njoy the convenience of a low maintenance fee ($673) and the potential for high rental income.鈥�

鈥淵ou can see in the last five, 10 years, the private housing market has been building shoebox condos for investors,鈥� says 海角社区官网Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4, Parkdale鈥擧igh Park), who chairs the city’s housing committee.

Developers rely on pre-construction sales to fund their projects. They typically need to sell 70 to 80 per cent of a building for construction to begin and, in Ontario, 80 per cent of preconstruction condos are bought by investors.

鈥淭he easiest unit to sell is the cheapest one,鈥� explains Fleming. As prices increase, the pool of investors with cash in hand decreases so developers are motivated to shrink the size of units.听

鈥淒evelopers build for investors because investors buy,鈥� Fleming says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e created this system that we can鈥檛 get out of.鈥澨�

Layouts that cram three or more bedrooms into less than 900 square feet are designed to attract investors looking to maximize rental income.听

Sliding glass doors or in some cases fixed glass walls that stop short of the ceiling help developers build more of these units by turning narrow strips of space into multi-bedroom suites that borrow light from an exterior window in a living/kitchen area.

Tridel, which has been building condos across Greater 海角社区官网since 1969, highlighted the 鈥渋nnovative use of glass and metal walls and doors to separate rooms鈥� as a top interior design trend for 2024.

In a blog posted to the company’s website, Tridel states 鈥渢he design choice is about more than aesthetics; it鈥檚 about bringing in an abundance of natural light and maintaining an open, airy feel across the living space.鈥�

A Tridel spokesperson declined further comment about the prevalence and practicality of this feature.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking for a way to get natural light into what they want to call a bedroom,鈥� explained Stopps.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to say anything that shows the new condos in a positive light,鈥� she adds.

Too small or too expensive

In a bid to bring families back into 海角社区官网and keep those that haven’t yet left, in 2020 for new condo construction.

They state听a condo building should provide a minimum of 25 per cent large units: 10 per cent of these should be three-bedroom suites at least 1,140 square feet in size with 15 per cent set aside for two-bedroom units that total at least听969 square feet.

Developers are asked to think about including in-suite storage near the entrance, to keep some walls empty for furniture and include operational windows in bedrooms.

鈥淭he design of a unit that is suitable for families relies not only on size, but on functional, good design,鈥� the guidelines state. 鈥淎s children go through their stages of development, they have distinct needs, including safety and the desire for varying levels of independence.鈥�

The goal is to ensure that 鈥渇amilies can invest in, and remain in their units through various life stages.鈥�

City staff told the Star its guidelines have spurred a shift in condo developments.

For example, in 2019 the city said it approved construction of roughly 13,000 two- and three-bedroom units in mid- or highrise projects proposing 20 units or more. In 2023, the approval total increased to nearly 80,000 such units.

The city said it doesn’t have data on the sizes of the proposed units.听

鈥淒evelopers may or may not increase the size of the two- or three-bedroom units, as per the city’s request,鈥� a spokesperson said.

While condos are generally regarded as the most affordable entry point into home ownership, cost quickly escalates with larger-sized units.听

海角社区官网condos that are marketed and sold before construction begins typically sell for at least $1,400 per square foot. Now multiply that by the city’s recommended three-bedroom minimum suite size of 1,140 square feet and the price is nearly $1.6 million.

鈥淎t that price,鈥� said Pasalis, 鈥測ou can get a three- or four-bedroom home with a backyard and parking. This is partly why people aren鈥檛 doing it.鈥�

The building industry concurs.

鈥淲ith the costs per square foot to build a 3+ bedroom condo, the resulting price point for such a unit is often similar in price to other housing that appeals to families 鈥� such as townhomes,鈥� said听Dave Wilkes, president and CEO of the Building Industry and Land Development Association.听鈥淭herefore, there is not the demand for family-sized condo units as one might expect.鈥�

Can we build what families want?

Toronto’s 鈥淕rowing Up鈥� guidelines state that 鈥渢he number of children is often used as a metric to measure success.鈥澨�

The idea is if urban designers and city planners build with kids in mind, there’s a wider ripple effect that yields healthier children, happier families, safer communities and more productive economies.

However, Coun. Perks said the city has to tread carefully in trying to regulate developers or risk having its decisions overturned at a provincial tribunal.

鈥淥ur authority is kind of limited,” Perks said. “The Province of Ontario is the ultimate decider of what gets approved.鈥�

Pasalis scoffs.听

鈥淓very level of government thinks it鈥檚 the other level of government that鈥檚 responsible.听That鈥檚 the one thing we can all agree on,鈥� he said.

鈥淗aving more family-sized housing would help address our housing crisis. Having them in condos would be one step forward. Multi-unit housing is a big step forward if policymakers can prioritize that.鈥�

There’s a legitimate question as to whether private developers can reasonably be expected to deliver true family-sized units that people can afford, Fleming notes.听

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 fix the price otherwise we鈥檙e no longer in a free, capitalistic society. Twenty-nine per cent of the cost of the new condo is taxes. It鈥檚 the government driving up costs, not greedy developers.鈥澨�

Fleming said people need to give up on the idea that 海角社区官网is set up to house workers and middle-class families downtown.听

鈥淚t’s just not.鈥�

Ontario’s housing system relies far too much on the private market, which is not designed to meet social needs, said Perks.

鈥淭his is why Mayor (Olivia) Chow is emphasizing social housing where we have direct control over what gets built.听We鈥檝e got 18 projects where we own the land or we are working with not-for-profits.鈥�

Over the next year and a half, a new project is scheduled to break ground every month, he said. The developments are a mix of听supportive, rent-geared-to-income and market rental.听

The city has identified an additional 90 sites 鈥渨here we can do more,鈥� Perks said. 鈥淲e just need more help in funding from the federal government.鈥澨�