The first half of the year is now over, crazy how fast things go!
My wife and I enjoyed having some time away over the long weekend to relax and recharge.
We enjoyed several different fire works shows over the weekend celebrating Canadas 158th anniversary of the countries confederation.
Bill, Corrie and James enjoyed there third annual trip to the Carolina’s this past week, enjoying the sun and making new family memories.
Project Updates
The servicing is going in at our six-plex in Oshawa. With adding additional units to the property the services needed to be upgraded to support the increase in occupants.
With the servicing complete we can now begin to finish the rest of the exterior of this property. Finishes have been well underway here and we are expecting to have occupancy within a few months on the property.
The pair of triplex’s in Bowmanville are moving along nicely. The exterior cladding is nearly complete and the drywall is well underway inside. Interior finishes are expected to begin within the month.
6-plex’s in Toronto
One of the hottest topics in the missing middle space recently has been the potential of city wide 6-plex’s in Toronto. Council recently met to make a decision on the topic and we have finally been given the guidelines on if and or where they can be built.
🏛️ June 12, 2025 – Planning & Housing Committee Meeting
On June 12, 2025, Toronto’s Planning & Housing Committee met to discuss a suite of reports aimed at increasing housing supply across the city. The most significant item was the proposal to permit five- and six-unit low‑rise multiplexes as-of-right in all residential neighbourhoods, including both new builds and conversions of existing detached homes.
📋 Key Proposals Discussed
Six-plex Zoning Permissions City‑Wide
Staff recommended allowing six-plexes (buildings with up to six units) across all low-rise neighbourhoods, extending beyond the current Ward 23 standalone pilot.
Multiplex Monitoring Program Update
The update reviewed progress since city-wide fourplex legalization in 2023 and Ward 23’s six-plex pilot. It looked at building permit trends, affordability analysis, parking demand, tree canopy impacts, utility capacity, and school capacity.
Neighbourhood Intensification Bulletin
A snapshot highlighted the potential yield: initiatives like six-plexes, laneway, and garden suites could add up to 54,600 homes by 2031, and 163,785 by 2051.
🔍 Staff & Expert Analysis
City planners emphasized six-plexes as a “bold incremental” step to tackle Toronto’s housing affordability and supply issues
The proposed zoning would:
• Limit six-plexes to detached dwellings (or converting each half of a semi-detached into a fourplex).
• Allow a slight 0.5 m height increase to improve ceiling heights in basement units.
• Cap bedrooms: fourplexes at 8 bedrooms, six-plexes at 12 bedrooms to avoid rooming-house conversions.
⚖️ Community and Council Reactions
Supporters lauded the initiative for unlocking CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund resources to build nearly 12,000 affordable homes and rejuvenating underused residential areas.
Concerns were raised about:
• Neighbourhood character and potential overshadowing.
• Parking strain, although data showed most multiplexes include 1–4 on-site spots without major impact on street parking permits.
• The risk of overdevelopment near single-family homes.
📅 Late June 2025 – City Council Final Vote
Following the June 12 Planning & Housing Committee endorsement, Toronto City Council reconvened late in the month to make a final decision on the sixplex zoning expansion. The original proposal to permit sixplexes city-wide faced elevated opposition from suburban councillors concerned about density and infrastructure strain.
With the increased opposition we did not see city wide adoption of the six plex policy only 9 wards will have sixplexs as of right with the remaining wards being able to opt in if they choose.
Most of these wards are in higher density areas with better transit options where the majority of other missing middle projects in Toronto are currently being constructed.
Unfortunately sixplexs aren’t exempt from development charges and since 4+1’s in Toronto are exempt we are unlikely to see many investors decide to incur these additional costs for a single additional unit.
Hopefully as time progresses adjustments are made to the policy to make adoption more likely but for now we are unlikely to see much change in Toronto due to this policy change.
Want to learn more about what we are involved in?
Check us out through the links below!
For any concerns or inquires you can reach us at info@northlakesdevelopments.ca or through our website contact page.
