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Yesterday, February 28, 2025, the team installed the first piece of unitized curtain wall at One Delisle (on level two facing the outdoor amenity terrace and beside the indoor pool). Last year I was going around telling everyone that we would have glass up on the building in the first quarter of this year, and so I'm really glad that I was not made out to be a liar. Thanks team. This is a milestone date.
For those of you who maybe aren't familiar, there are two types of window systems that are commonly used in high-rise residential buildings. They are usually referred to as window wall and curtain wall. The former is more common in Toronto because it's, well, the cheapest; but there are curtain wall buildings other than One Delisle. Sometimes the same building might also use both systems. (In saying this, I'm specifically referring to the upper floors, because curtain wall is often used for ground-floor commercial spaces.)
The key difference is that window wall systems sit between floor slabs and get anchored at the sill and the head (the top of the slab on the bottom and the bottom of the slab on the top). Curtain wall systems, on the other hand, get anchored to the exterior slab edges and also "bypass" them. You can see that in the above photo. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, but generally speaking, curtain wall is viewed as higher quality, and the more expensive option.
In the case of One Delisle, we explored and were open to both options during the design process. But ultimately window wall just didn't seem like the right system to realize the unique geometries of this building. So we went with curtain wall, worked through a lengthy design-assist process with the subcontractor, built a bunch of mockups to make sure everything looked and worked well, and now it's being installed on site.
Level two is likely going to be the most challenging floor because of the double-height pool area. So I'll be sure to share more photos once it's all enclosed.
Back in 2022, Altus Group did a municipal benchmarking study where they looked at approval timelines, development charges, and a host of other factors that could be impacting housing affordability in Canadian cities. I blogged about it then and spoke specifically about its benchmarking of approval timelines. But I revisited it this morning after seeing Mike Moffatt tweet about it and I came across the below chart.
Also, approval timelines are less of a concern today. There are lots of zoned sites that are ready to go, but can't because of the market. Instead, what the below charge does is compare municipal charges on a per square foot basis for low-rise and high-rise housing. What's interesting is that in most cases, but in all cases in Ontario and BC, the charges are higher for high-rise housing.
"Modern luxury is the ability to think clearly, sleep deeply, move slowly, and live quietly in a world designed to prevent all four." -Justin Welsh
Here's a question for you: Would you rather have the car of your dreams or would you rather live longer? (Maybe you don't care at all about cars and so this is an easy question, but bear with me, I'm sure you get the point.) This is a question that was posed to the audience at Elevate earlier this week and the entire room responded by saying that they would choose the latter. This is perhaps obvious. What good are material possessions if you don't have your health? But it's still an important frame of reference. And it's why Brazil-based developer AG7, who was at the conference, has centered their entire practice around "building wellness." Forget the fancy brands. Their buildings are focused on one thing: to help you live better and longer. This, to me, is a compelling value proposition. Because I think there's an easy argument to be made that there's no greater luxury than our own health and wellness.
Cover photo by Alex Perri on Unsplash
Example: If you bought an 800 sf condominium in Toronto and the fees were based on the numbers in this report, you'd be paying $125 psf x 800 sf = $100,000 in municipal charges alone. Once again, I am of the opinion that our industry should find a way to transparently itemize these charges so that people/purchasers can see where their money is going.
Now, part of this has to do with higher land values for higher-density housing and municipal fees that are calculated based on appraised land value. But it's also driven by suite sizes becoming smaller (to make the end price more affordable for buyers and renters).
Here in Toronto, it doesn't matter if you're building an 800 sf two-bedroom or an 8,000 sf two-bedroom apartment, the development charge fee would be the same. And so it is perhaps not surprising that as suite sizes have come down and charges have gone up, so too did the costs on a per square foot basis.
But it raises an important and obvious question: Is this what we want? I mean, aren't we trying to encourage more infill housing in places where people don't need to drive and we can leverage existing services? Yes, that's what we are saying. Unfortunately, our charges suggest the opposite.
If you'd like to download a copy of the report, you can do that over here. Please keep in mind that this is data from 2022 and there have been changes since then. In many cases the fees are now higher, but in some cases, like in the City of Vaughan, the fees are now lower.
Cover photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
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