The rapid outward expansion of real estate development from Toronto’s core is pushing residents and businesses to the outer reaches of the GTA. We are seeing the proliferation of new communities bringing with it prosperous financial and cultural growth.
Photo by Richard Hong on Unsplash
Fast Growing City Needs a Fast Growing Approach
The GTA is one of the fastest growing markets made up of a complex variety of private and public sectors and we are seeing an incredible growth in real estate opportunities within strong growth corridors, bringing with them a need to service these growing communities.
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is a vital resource to the smooth ebb and flow of the local and international markets that operate within the GTA and national wide, servicing 49 million passengers and carrying 312,000 tons of commercial air cargo each year. Pearson Airport is the river mouth leading to the beautiful sea that is the great city of Toronto and it has long been the main port of travel for tourism and trade throughout the Greater Toronto Area and country of Canada as a whole.
Abundance of Opportunity
There are large numbers of residents being served and businesses expanding in the Airport Employment Zone (AEZ) of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
This has proven to be Canada’s second largest employment zone and is an essential growth corridor for the city of Toronto, which is home to more than 300,000 jobs across Mississauga, Brampton and Toronto, according to the AEZ Coalition. As with all major growth corridors in Canada, this community is in need of hotel capacity expansion to provide the increasing need for resources and services for tourism and corporate businesses residing in the AEZ.
The New Regal Plaza
Regal Plaza acts as a perfect example of the direction we need our businesses to start shifting towards. The new $130 million mixed-used commercial property is part of the Toronto-Airport East Holiday Inn expansion at Dixon Rd. and Highway 401. Rising 11 storeys and boasting 200,000 sq. ft. of ground-level retail, office condos and a new 204-room Holiday Inn Staybridge hotel with a banquet hall, the project will offer quick access to Toronto Pearson, Highways 27, 401, 427, and the Toronto Congress Centre.
SAMM Holdings’ Regal Plaza
There is a phenomenal opportunity at this juncture for businesses in and around airport hubs, such as the AEZ, to prosper through the progressive push for commercial properties. High growth in volume of traffic through Toronto Pearson has peaked in recent years, with The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) noting a 5 per cent increase from 2017-2018, with upwards of 49 million and counting.
A spike in year-over-year passenger growth has made it evident that there is a need and opportunity to expand hotel capacity within this growth corridor. As this shift occurs we are seeing more and more gains to this approach, especially for those venturing into the office condo market. Business owners and their staff are benefiting from being in close proximity to the airport as it provides ease of work travel and ability to meet with partners from all over Canada and the world in an efficient and productive manner. They also benefit greatly from being near to banquet halls, conference rooms, hotels and accommodations, for any and all of their business needs.
Opening Up Possibilities
The world is changing quickly and retail businesses must keep up. Commercial real estate developers need to start looking at joining and servicing these cultural and financial hubs in order to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding city. The growth of any community begins first and foremost with a heavy investment in infrastructure and people.
This opens up the possibility for a harmonious growth of both businesses and individuals, creating a thriving balance that will lead to richer communities and more substantial growth for real estate investors and developers.