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.

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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 worth. It is whether the project can actually begin construction within 12 months.

The City requires applicants to demonstrate a viable path to a fully funded construction start. That includes development-review and building-permit status, funding and financing, outstanding approvals, and a schedule identifying the dependencies that remain.

Approved and ready to build are different conditions

To be eligible, a project must already have approved zoning and, at minimum, a Notice of Complete Application for its Site Plan Application. If Site Plan approval is not required, the applicant needs a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate.

If you have only recently submitted and are waiting for the first round of comments, getting through the remaining design, servicing and technical coordination within 12 months may be difficult. If you have already completed several rounds of comments, resolved the major issues and narrowed the outstanding conditions, the schedule becomes much more credible.

Financing is the other half of readiness

The Phase 2 application explicitly asks for a funding and financing plan, the status of financing applications and evidence that the project can become fully funded and start within 12 months.

The 20% affordable requirement must work inside the pro forma

At least 20% of the project’s units must meet the City’s affordable-rent requirements for 40 to 99 years. The affordable units must also be materially equivalent to the market units in unit mix, size, layout, construction, furnishings and finishes, subject to the explanations permitted in the guidelines.

A smaller project has fewer market-rent units over which to spread the effect of the affordable units and certain fixed development costs. There may simply be less margin available to absorb the requirement.

That does not mean a smaller project should not apply. It means the developer needs to model the required rents, utilities, operating obligations, financing and affordability period before assuming the incentives make the project viable.

Phase 2 applications are due September 18, 2026, at 5:00 p.m

​Here is the link to the City presentation deck on the topic.

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October Registration Is Now Open!

​The Toronto Multiplex Feasibility Workshop​

Registration for the October sessions is now open. We will work through a representative Toronto multiplex project—from buildability and rents to financing, peak equity and returns.

​Register at the Early-Bird Rate​

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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.

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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.

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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.

330 Highway 7 E, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3P8
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