Month: September 2021

Originally published by: Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Amid a dearth of new condo launches, Toronto is receiving one of its first new luxury boutique releases.

Capitol Residences, a 14-storey, 145-unit condominium from Madison Group and Westdale Properties in the bustling Yonge and Eglinton epicentre of Midtown recently launched sales for units of up to 3,000 sq ft with pricing starting at $1 million. The building’s units are superlatively designed with 10-foot ceilings, curated finishes and signature kitchens featuring everything from gas ranges to high-end appliances and oversized terraces and balconies.

The building pays homage to the former Capitol Theatre, which opened in 1914 and closed in 1998, and saw locals through the difficulties of the Great Depression and 1930s. The amenity package features a speakeasy-inspired golf simulator and social club, and more.

“The amenities harken back to the essence of what the grandness of life was at the original Capitol Theatre, which anchors the project. To come in through a grand lobby, have a state-of-the-art fitness facility, a golf simulator that’s paired with a bar and social lounge; there is a really unique kids’ play area that has a theatre stage that was inspired by the original Capitol Theatre,” Josh Zagdanski, VP of high-rise at Madison Group, said. “There is a social club with both a living and dining room that opens up to a really magical terrace, which is social-oriented, depending on how you want to use it. There will be a brand new city park next to the development, too.”

The Studio Munge-designed entryway retains the theatre and film theme omnipresent in Capitol Residences, but as much as the building’s interior is a blast from the past, the surrounding neighbourhood is arguably the greatest amenity, says Zagdanski.

“The site is in the Yonge North Village and the proximity of the urban centre is continually evolving and with the LRT and all the amenities as well as increased density in the area,” he said. “You can see it in the form of retail and office tenants and residents coming to add value and completing an area where they live, work and play to the fullest extent.”

Originally published by: Toronto Sun

The Capitol Residences aims to capture the nostalgic vibrancy of its theatre past.

It’s called The Capitol Residences, and once built, will combine the new with the old in a luxury 14-storey structure located in North Toronto at the corner of Yonge St. and Castlefield Ave.

Madison Group and Westdale Properties have teamed up in a joint project they say pays homage to the Capitol Theatre, a building that is designated a historic structure. As such, plans submitted by Hariri Pontarini Architects and Turner Fleisher Architects, preserve the original marquee and façade at the first three floors.

“Over the last century, the Capitol Theatre has been a staple in Toronto’s entertainment scene,” says Josh Zagdanski, vice president of high rise at Madison Group. “This mid-rise project will capture the nostalgic vibrancy of years past while adding a modern twist on the original style.”

The theatre first opened in 1918 and stayed in operation until 1998 at which it was turned into an event venue. “The essence of the project comes from the grandness of life that was the Capitol Theatre in its heyday,” says Zagdanski. “It inspires the interior design and the architecture.”

Once built, there will be 145 suites with pricing starting at $1 million for a one-bedroom unit and costing upwards of $6 million for a three-bedroom plus den. At that type of cost, no expense will be spared on the interiors and the amenities, which are being designed by Toronto-based Studio Munge.

The Capitol’s amenities, says Alessandro Munge “are so much more than rooms; they are tailored experiences, original and incredibly social.” Interior amenities will include 24/7 concierge service, gym with private workout areas, a social club featuring a lounge, dining and server, a golf simulator and lounge, outdoor lounge and dining area as well as a play area for children.

As for who a typical owner might be once sales start at the end of the month, Zagdanski, says the feedback “we have been getting is people who live in the surrounding neighbourhoods who really want the chance to have urban living without all the drawbacks.

“With the amenities and size of the suites, the fact that you back on to a park. You are surrounded by neighbourhoods, but close to the urban centre and with all the shops and restaurants.
“You are in the perfect blend from our perspective of town and country. Town being restaurants, shops, amenities and transit nearby, while country being park and surrounding neighbourhoods.”

The park he refers to is currently a Green P parking lot on Castlefield Ave. and in July, North York Community Council voted to make it happen after the Madison Group and the city resolved a series of legal issues and came up with a working plan.

Labelled the Joni Mitchell Project by ward 8 councillor Mike Colle, in a letter of support for the project released in June, Eli Aaron, director of the Lytton Park Residents’ Organization, wrote that the Yonge-Eglinton Area is “park deficient and requires the addition of substantial new parkland in the coming years.

“The population of the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan Area is projected to grow by by 98 per cent or 61,000 people over the next 30 years. The subject site is one of the only city-owned pieces of land, which can accommodate a sizeable new public park within walking distance of Yonge and Eglinton.”

Originally published by: Renex.ca Real Estate News Exchange

Madison Group plans to launch a new mixed-use Toronto condominium within weeks at the historic The Capitol Event Theatre property.

The Capitol Residences is the latest in a series of major residential-based initiatives for the firm, which plans to launch a second major development later this year and has amended its plans for a third project as it continues to expand its footprint.

Toronto-based Madison Group, which also has a New York City office, has evolved from a family business into a multi-faceted company that owns, develops and manages mixed-use high-rise projects, low-rise master-planned communities, office, retail, industrial, rental and retirement properties.

“Every decision is kind of rooted in the same philosophical goal,” Madison Group vice-president of high-rise Josh Zagdanski told RENX. “We want to be in amazing and highly desirable locations in each asset class, where we can really build a community for the residents or users.”

The Capitol Residences

Madison Group and Westdale Properties are partnering on The Capitol Residences, which will encompass 11 addresses from 2490 to 2510 Yonge St. but is focused around The Capitol Event Theatre at the corner of Castlefield Avenue.

The theatre, built in 1914 and featuring Classical Revival-style architecture that will have historical elements retained, has been used as an event venue throughout this century.

The boutique luxury mixed-use project between Eglinton and Lawrence Avenues will include 145 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with a mix of condo units and townhomes in a 14-storey residential building that will include private terraces and oversized balconies.

The units will range from 425 to 3,000 square feet, with the majority two bedrooms or larger, and prices will start at $1 million. Sales are expected to launch in mid- to late September. The target markets are families and people who live in the surrounding neighbourhood who are looking for more carefree living, as well as luxuries and amenities.

“The units are designed for what we call up-living,” said Zagdanski. “There are outdoor spaces and larger-than-average suite sizes than you’d find in your typical condo project throughout Toronto.”

Hariri Pontarini Architects and Turner Fleischer are the architectural firms, the heritage architect is Christopher Borgal of GBCA Architects and the interior design team is from Studio Munge.

There will be retail units on Yonge Street and amenities will include: a 40,000-square-foot park; 24/7 concierge service; automated parcel storage; a golf simulator and lounge area; a gym with private workout areas; a social club with a lounge, dining and serving areas; exterior lounge and dining areas; a kids’ play area; a guest suite; and a pet spa.

Revised Eglinton and Redpath proposal

Not far away, Madison Group is also working on another multi-tower proposal. It received approval in 2018 to build a 46-storey tower with residential, retail and office uses at 150 Eglinton Ave. E. in midtown Toronto, but has since expanded its land assembly.

“The expansion of the site allowed new opportunities and we thought the appropriate thing to do would be to go back and redesign it to take advantage of all of those opportunities,” said Zagdanski.

Madison Group recently submitted new applications to the city for BDP Quadrangle-designed 46- and 43-storey towers on top of a six-storey podium with retail, traditional office and live/work office uses, as well as indoor and outdoor publicly accessible areas.

The MBTW Group is the landscape architect.

Plans are for two studios, 126 one-bedroom units, 288 one-bedroom-plus-den units, 338 two-bedroom-plus-den units and 91 three-bedroom units. There will be indoor and outdoor amenity spaces and three levels of underground parking to accommodate 304 motor vehicles and 907 bicycles.

The site is currently occupied by low- and mid-rise office and retail buildings and a surface parking lot.

“It’s pushing the project out considering it was already approved, but we thought in the interest of city-building and place-making that it was a worthwhile exercise and an opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up,” said Zagdanski.

Nobu and Alias

Madison Group and Westdale are also partners on Nobu Residences, a 47-storey twin tower development on Mercer Street in downtown Toronto where all 650 condo units are sold. The base of the two towers will retain the brick façade of the original Pilkington Glass Factory and art deco elements from the early 1900s.

The Teeple Architects-designed project will also include Canada’s first Nobu Restaurant and first Nobu Hotel. Construction is well underway and occupancy is expected in late 2022.

Zoning is complete and site plan and building permits have been submitted for Alias, a 45-storey condo with approximately 480 units at the corner of Church and Richmond Streets in downtown Toronto.

It will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, interiors by Studio Munge, and more than 18,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities.

Zagdanski said more details will be released closer to the Alias launch date, which is expected in late autumn.

Farther down the line

Madison Group has a large mixed-use project that’s in the approvals stage for a site at 50-90 Eglinton Ave. W.

Another project in the approvals stage is at 10-32 Raglan Ave., near Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue West.

“We have a large pipeline of projects beyond that that are either in the approvals process or in the land assembly process and we’re constantly looking to acquire sites and grow the portfolio,” said Zagdanski.

Originally published by: National Post

When the Capitol Theatre at Yonge and Castlefield opened in 1918, pork-pie-hatted visitors and their flapper dates packed the place to watch Mary Pickford films and vaudeville acts. As time shot forward, silent pictures at the Capitol gave way to talkies, several decades of them, but by 1998 the Art Deco pile was primarily hosting weddings and other private functions.

“It’s a spectacular building,” says Josh Zagdanski, vice-president of high rise at Madison Group.

Together with Westdale Properties, the developer is stage-managing the landmark’s next act, its transformation into The Capitol Residences.

Suites at the 145-unit 14-storey building, which has a move-in date of July 2025, starting price of $1-million and suites go up to 3,000 square feet and up. 

“The building set its sights on us,” says Zagdanski, recalling how he was approached by the McClelland family that built, owned and operated the theatre.

“We do a lot of work in this area and they recognized it’s time for the building’s next iteration,” says Zagdanski. “We were honoured they came to us — it’s a really special boutique project for Midtown. One we’re extremely honoured to shepherd into its next life.”

Yonge and Eglinton has it all, notes Zagdanski. “It’s an incredible location in the heart of the Yonge north village, where you have shops and restaurants. It’s close to transportation and amenities.”

The Madison Group, a five-decade-old developer, is behind several nearby high- and low-rise office and retail spaces, rental and retirement properties, as well as the ART program, the illuminated walkway designed by muralist David Guinn and lighting designer Drew Billiau.

Hariri Pontarini Architects and Turner Fleischer Architects, along with heritage architect Christopher Borgal, will retain the Capitol’s façade, previously designed by John MacNee Jeffrey, as well as the vestibule. The plans include a marquee and an elaborate porte cochère.

Extensive private terraces and oversized balconies, meanwhile, offer city views, says Zagdanski.

Tiered levels on the building’s east side will allow residents to bring the landscape several stories up, onto their large terraces, while those living on the west side of the property will enjoy the new 3,700-square-metre parking-lot-turned-park, says Zagdanaski.

“This is not ordinary; it’s the antithesis of a traditional project in midtown Toronto,” he says.

The lobby is being designed by Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge, bringing drama to the building’s public and private spaces: the fun custom fixtures, plush furnishings and arched doorways in the lobby; the moody-toned speakeasy-inspired golf simulator and social club with mile-long drapery and jade hues, and even an imaginative kids’ play area.

Other amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness facility, a pet spa, automated parcel storage, 24/7 concierge service and an outdoor lounge and dining areas with a garden and grill stations.

As for the suites themselves, “what makes them special is they are larger — they are designed for living,” says Zagdanski. “They’re all 10-foot ceilings, which is unique to any condo project.”

There aren’t too many repetitive layouts either, he says. “Every one is individually designed, so they’re similar to the homes in the area. There are even gas ranges.”

Such features are “meaningful to the people in this demographic who are transitioning out of homes that had all of those things.”

Zagdanski describes a move into the Capitol Residences as “upliving,” not downsizing.

Residents, he says, will “have bigger suites, great amenities, you’re still in the village and you’re backing onto a park.”

If they could only find a movie house to catch a film in.

For more information, visit thecapitolresidences.ca.