profile

Payam Noursalehi

(62) Toronto Housing Approvals: What’s Changing for Developers? - Jag Sharma - Deputy City Manager - City of Toronto

Published 14 days ago • 2 min read

New Episode:

(62) Toronto Housing Approvals: What’s Changing for Developers?

Jag Sharma

is the Deputy City Manager of Development and Growth Services for the City of Toronto, where he oversees City Planning, Development Review, Toronto Building, the Housing Secretariat and the new Housing Development Office. Jag has served as President and CEO of Toronto Community Housing, Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Newmarket, and City Manager and Commissioner of Community Services for the City of Oshawa.

Interested In Making Mid-Rise Projects Work?

We’re exploring a one-day, in-person event in Toronto focused on what it takes to make small mid-rise projects viable and move them from concept to construction.

If you’re interested in exploring this topic with other industry professionals, click below and we’ll keep you posted as the event takes shape.

About me:

Payam Noursalehi

PMP, MBA, B.Eng.

Payam is a real estate development and construction professional with more than 20 years of experience across engineering, management consulting, construction management, development management, and private equity.

He is the founder and President of Solnik Construction Group, and founder of Mid-Rise.ca. Through his work and content, Payam helps developers and project owners understand risk, challenge assumptions, and make better decisions before significant time and capital are committed.

Solnik Construction Group

Solnik helps owners and developers move from early project ideas to realistic plans, reliable budgets, and projects that can actually get built.

The company provides development advisory, pre-construction, construction management, and owner representation for mid-rise, multiplex, purpose-built rental, mixed-use, and commercial projects across Toronto and the GTA.

Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs and real estate developers to thrive in the Mid-Rise sector by providing the resources to define, design, and deliver successful projects.

Recent Webinar Replays

  1. ​EHON, Major Streets, and Mid-Rise Housing: Opportunities and Pitfalls​
  2. ​Understanding The New MLI Select Energy Efficiency Requirements​
  3. ​Qualifying for CMHC MLI Select- Part 3: Building Performance Requirements
  4. ​Qualifying for CMHC MLI Select- Part 2: Financial Requirements
  5. ​Qualifying for CMHC MLI Select- Part 1: Accessibility Requirements​
​

Recent Episodes:

​(60) Toronto’s 2026 Housing Incentives: What Developers Need to Recalculate​

​(59) CMHC Financing for Small Mid-Rise Projects - Abtin Nikeghbali - Canada ICI​

​(58) Development Charges Explained: The Growth Cost No One Can Ignore​

​(57) Mid-Rise Purpose-Built Rental: Underwriting Rent, Absorption, and Exit Risk - Mathieu Fleury -Leader Lane​

​(56) 42 Years of Development Lessons on Building Better Communities - Jake Cohen - Daniels Corporation​

New Here? Start with these five:

​(2) Risk, Creativity, & Design Excellence: Real Estate Development with Sheldon Rosen​

​(28) How To Raise Capital For Real Estate Development? - David Roff - Cranson Capital​

​(33) 4-Plex to Mid-Rise: Best Development Opportunities in the GTA - Blair Scorgie - Scorgie Planning​

​(38) Financing Purpose-Built Rentals - Max Goyzman - Peakhill Capital​

​(20) Legal Structures in Real Estate Development - Zev Zlotnick from Gardiner Roberts LLP​

​

330 Highway 7 E, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3P8
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Was this email forwarded to you?​
Join our email list to receive future articles, podcast episodes, and practical insights on real estate development and construction directly in your inbox.

​

Payam Noursalehi

Practical insights for small and mid-sized developers

Real estate development is full of expensive decisions, incomplete information, and avoidable risk. Subscribe for practical insights on feasibility, approvals, financing, pre-construction, construction management, and project delivery—along with new episodes of the Real Estate Development Insights Podcast, articles, and upcoming events.

Read more from Payam Noursalehi

New Episode: (61) Should You Build a Multiplex? Five Questions to Answer First In this solo episode, I walk through five questions that can help you decide whether a potential multiplex is worth pursuing—before committing significant time and capital. Toronto’s rental deadline is really a readiness test Toronto’s new purpose-built rental incentives could materially improve the economics of some projects. But the most important question in the application is not how much the incentives are...

27 days ago • 3 min read

Hi Reader, Over the last couple of weeks, we ran our first Toronto Multiplex Feasibility Workshop. In two sessions, we built a sample multiplex pro forma from the ground up—and then tried to break it. I did not want this to become an Excel workshop. The spreadsheet is useful, but the real question we kept coming back to was: Does this project actually make sense as an investment—and can the owner carry it? A few key takeaways. 1. A pro forma is not a prediction tool. A pro forma is our best...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

New Episode: (60) Toronto’s 2026 Housing Incentives: What Developers Need to Recalculate Solnik Update: An important milestone for a promising East York project. Congratulations to our client on receiving Committee of Adjustment approval for 418 O’Connor Drive.This project is a strong example of the type of gentle intensification that can add much-needed housing within Toronto’s established neighbourhoods.We’re pleased to see the project reach this important milestone and look forward to...

2 months ago • 2 min read