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Condos that were part of a massive redevelopment of Etobicoke’s Cloverdale mall have been cancelled, the latest in a string of casualties in Toronto’s real estate downturn.
Developers Mattamy Homes and QuadReal “made the difficult decision to begin the process of cancelling the Clove condominium project” after pre-selling “below 10 per cent of available units,” according to a statement provided by Mattamy’s Brent Carey.
“Current market conditions — including economic uncertainty, shifting government policies and rising construction costs — have significantly impacted demand in the GTA condominium market,” the statement added.
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Buyers are being notified and deposits will be returned in full plus interest to meet the requirements of consumer protection organization Tarion, according to the statement.
Pre-construction condos — where buyers secure condos in buildings that haven’t been built yet with deposits and legal agreements to buy them when they are ready — have been hit particularly hard by Toronto’s real estate slump.
The average price for Toronto-area homes is down about 20 per cent since the peak in February 2022.
Some buyers have had trouble closing on their units due to sinking prices and higher interest rates, and several developers have recently axed high-profile projects.
The Star has mapped about a dozen developments that have either gone into receivership, been cancelled, or converted to rentals since the beginning of 2024, mostly in Toronto’s downtown core.
According to real estate market research company Urbanation, 30 projects have been cancelled over that period in the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, totalling 6,834 units, which includes nine projects and 1,778 units that have been converted to rentals.
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Sixteen of the cancellations have been this year, a record number, said Urbanation’s Shaun Hildebrand.
“The industry has been brought to a standstill,” he said.
Condo developers typically need 70 per cent of the building sold before they can move forward with financing.
And they’re only able to lower prices by so much, due to the high cost of development.
“It really just boils down to the fact that they’re unable to to attract demand at the prices needed in order to sell in today’s market,” Hildebrand said.
Urbanation is also tracking another 20 projects (4,187 units) that have either entered receivership or where sales are on hold.
The Clove condos were the first phase in the redevelopment of the Cloverdale mall that was planned to include a 33-storey tower as well as a nine-storey midrise building with over 600 units, according to a press release from QuadReal in 2024.
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The eventual 32-acre master community was supposed to include green and retail space, a whole new neighbourhood at the intersection of Highway 427 and Dundas Street West in central Etobicoke.
The mall opened as an open-air plaza in the ’50s and expanded in the 1980s.
According to a 2024 opinion piece by former Star librarian Joanne Madden, it has become a community hub, home to a large vaccine clinic during the pandemic, a pickleball court, and many mall walkers.
Over the years it’s hosted retailers ranging from Zellers to Sam the Record Man.
“We recognize this news is disappointing and understand the disruption it may cause. It was an extremely difficult decision for Mattamy and QuadReal and one we did not enter into lightly. It reflects how extraordinary and adverse today’s market conditions have become,” Carey added.
“While The Clove development is no longer possible as originally envisioned, QuadReal has been part of the Cloverdale neighbourhood for nearly 20 years and remains committed to its long-term vision for the site as a vibrant mixed-use community.”
